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THE LIFE

GEORGE M. TROUP.

EDWARD J. HARDEN.

SAYA.\\AJI:

K. J. IM'IISE, \o. <> WHITAKER STREET.
MDCCOLIX.

for tli-

T ROM A S M . F () K M A N . B 8 ..

DK. I). H. IJ. T IIOUP.

i s M o r I;

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

8808

PREFACE.

THE biography of GEORGE M. TIIOUP is submitted to the pub-
lic, iu the hope that it will be useful, and that its defects will be
indulgently considered. Undertaken at the request of friends,
whose opinions are worthy of regard, the work has grown to pro-
portions not at first foreseen ; and much of the labor lias arisen
from the difficulty of deciding what portions of a mass of mate-
rials, could, with least injury be omitted. Taking into view the
length of time Governor TROUP was before the public, and the
important m \isuics hi which he acted, this difficulty is easily
seen.

Little merit is claimed for the work, beyond the labor of a
compilation. Governor THOUP is generally permitted to speak
for himself: few speak so well; none more truthfully. It is
possible, undue prominence has iven to some portion.-; of

his history; but it is hoped no important part of his public life
has been omitted. His private correspondence must have been
extensive ; arid, without doubt, much of it has be^n irrecoverably
lost. Some of his letters, written in the privacy of friendship,
axe, for the first time, published ; and they contribute no little to
the interest of his biography. This interest would have been
increased by the publication of other private letters — especially
those relating to agriculture, in which their author felt deep
concern ; but this was forbidden by the prescribed limits of this
volume.

To preserve connection in the history, and present its facts in
their order, documents have been interwoven in the body of the
work ; and they constitute its principal value. With a view to
bring the volume into .suitable compass, and a desire not to
give matters merely political too great preference, some of the
documents have been put in an Appendix in small type.

It is scarcely necessary to state that the book has been printed
wholly in Savannah ; or to express the hope that it will be found
as free from typographical errors as books usually are. Even in
printed copies of the same document, disagreements have been
found ; thus adding greatly to the labor of determining the true

PBBI

reading. An abbreviated designation has been used to distinguish
original i.

The fac-simile of <i»yern. .nature, which accom-

panies the engraved til - taken troni a letter written in

lxll. Smie year- later, and down to the period of his death, he
usually, it' ii"t uniformly, employed only the initial letters of his
•i name.

•he many i in the work, this

return -im.-Te thank- ; but ' -Sally

due to Majur \V. .} . M i . Hun. JOHN ('. NIC..I.I.. I. K.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. Birth — Parentage— His Boyhood — Academic. Collegiate and Legal Education —
.-Vrvice in the Legislature — Marriage — Death of his first wife. &c., Ac 1 — 13.

CHAPTER II. Early Career as a public man — Election to Congress — Political Kelations — Traits
nf Character 14—21.

CfJAi'TER III. State of the Country — Foreign Relations — Meeting of Congress in 1807— Em-
bargo—Mr. Tronp'a SpeecheB — Letter to Mr. Harris, and to Gov. Mitchell — Army Bill —
Gunboat System 22 — 17.

CHAPTER IV. Yaxoo Fraud — Its history — Claims growing- out of it, before Congress — Speech
of Mr. Randolph — Mr. Troup's Course and Speeches on that subject — Settlement of
Claims 48—84.

CHAPTER V. lie-election to Congress — Mr. Madison's Presidential term — State, of Foreign
Relations— Preparations fur War — Mr. Troup's Speeches and Letters— Non-intercourse —
Hank of the United States 8S— 104.

CHAPTER VI. lie-election to Congress, in 1810 — Congress Convened by the Preaideilt— Threat-
ening posture of Foreign Relations — Mr. Tror.p advocates strong measures — Letters to Gov.
Mitchell — Speeches on Enlistment and the Militia — Declaration of war — Speeches on En-
listment of minors, mid <>i\ Army Bill— Defences of the Country 105— 1"2

Cii.U'TicR VII. Re-election to Congress, in 1812 — Appointed Chairman of Military Committee
in the House— Progress of the War — Speeches on war measures— Capture of Washington
City— Enlistment and Conscription— Letter to Gen . Mitchell— Battle of New Orleans —
Close of the war — Military Peace Establishment— Mr. Troiip's Retirement from Congress.
&c 133— 158.

CHAPTER VIII. Election to U. S. Senate, over Dr. Bibb— Course in that Body— African Slave
Trade "Concert" — Mr. Troup's Speeches thereon — Resignation — State of Parties in Georgia
— William H. Crawford — Gov. Clark — Col. Troup a candidate for Governor—Defeated in
1819, and again in 1821 — Elected Governor in 1S23, by the Legislature — Internal Improve-
ment—Land Lottery 159 — 193.

CHAPTER IX. Beginning of Indian Difficulties— Cherokee Controversy— Correspondence on
that subject — Federal Relations — Slavery Agitation by Ohio Legislature — First Annual Mes-
sage of Gov. Troup — Election of Governor given to the People — Commissioners appointed
to treat with the Creeks — Governor rei|iiested (o receive L:\Fayette, &c., &<• 194 — 253

CHAPTER X. Treaty concluded with the Creek Indians — Disturbances growing out of it —
Precautions of the Governor — Murder of Mclntosh and others — Governor's Reception of
LaFayetto — Extra Session of the Legislature — Governor's Message — Recommendations —
Views on Slavery Question — Governor Troup, Judge Berrien and Mr. Wirt — Proceedings of
the Legislature — Major Andrews and General Gaines at Milledgeville — Governor's corres-
pondence with them and the Government at Washington, begun, &c. — Case of the Indian
>f 254—333

•:;•• • v,;tli t!

. Ac. —

Mcswage — L- ;

•
: "jiOK'Icncp- I

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP.

CHAPTER I.

Birth, Parentage, Education, and First Appearance in Public

Life.

BY the Charter of the Province, the boundaries of Georgia
included all that territory " which lies from the most
northern part of a stream, or river there, commonly called
the Savannah, all along the seacoast to the southward, to
the southern stream of a certain other great water or river,
called the Alatamaha, and westwardly from the heads of
the said rivers respectively, in direct lines to the South seas ;
and all that share, circuit and precinct of land, within the
said boundaries, with the islands on the sea, lying opposite
to the eastern coast of the said lands, within twenty leagues
of the same, which are not inhabited already, or settled by
any authority derived from the Crown of Great Britain," &c.

By a royal proclamation, dated the seventh day of Octo-
ber, 1763, " all the lands lying between the rivers Alata-
maha and St. Mary's," were added to the province of
Georgia.

It is hardly necessary to remark that the term " South
seas " * conveyed no definite idea of the western boundary
of the province, or that the claim under that description
never extended, practically, to the west of the Mississippi
river. Accordingly, we find that, by the fourth article of
the Treaty between the United States and Spain, dated the
27th October, 1795, "it is likewise agreed that the western
boundary of the United States which separates them from
the Spanish colony of Louisiana, is in the middle of the

* The Pacific Ocean \vas originally called the South Sea. — ED.

2 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROT [CHAP. I.

channel or bed of the ri . 'ssippi, from the northern

boundary of the said States to the completion of the thirty-
first degree of latitude north of the equator.'' And l>y the
Constitution of the State of Georgia, adopted the J'.i'th day

iv. 17:'N the boundaries of the State were set out as
follow:- : •• that is to say, the limits, boundaries, jurisdiction
and authority, of the State of Georgia, do and did, and of

• ought to extend from the sea, or the mouth of the
river Savannah, along the northern branch or -tream
thereof, to the fork or continence of the rivers now called
Tugalo and Keowee, and from thence aloi,
northern branch or stream of the said river Tugalo. till it
intersects the northern boundary line of >
the said branch or t-tream of Tugalo extends so far north,
reserving all the islands in the said rivers Savannah and
Tugalo to Georgia; but if the hea
branch or stream of the said rivrr TiiLra!

te northern boundar •!' South Carolina, t!

west line to the Mississippi to be drawn from the i
spring or source of the said branch or strea Mgalo

. whi.-li extends to the higher :n hit it

'•edown the middle of the said river Mississippi until
it shall intersect the northernmo-1

ce of north latitude; south by a line drawn
from the termination of the line last n 'i, in the

;de of thirty-one degrees north of th r, to the

middle of the river Apalachicola or Chatta

„' the middle thereof to its junction with Flint i
thence straight to the head of St. Mary's river, and thence

_: the middle of St. Mary's river t 'antic o<

and from thence t

the place of beginning; including and comprehend!!:,
the lands and waters within the said limits, boundaries and

fictional and aNo all the islands within twenty

>f the seacoast."

At the time of < '.]>'< l>irth, sth September, 1 7V".

all the country west of the present western boundary of
Georgia (except a small portion of "\Vest Florida,) and

CHAP. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &C. 3

within the limits aforesaid, were within the acknowledged
limits of that State. It was within the bounds of the present
State of Alabama, then a part of the territory of Georgia,
that he was born.

The following letter to Col. Pickett, the historiographer
of Alabama, will show this fact and the precise spot of his
nativity more clearly. The statement of Col. Pickett
having been questioned, he wrote to Gov. Troup on the
subject, and received the following reply :

YALDOSTA, November 5th, 1852.
Col. A. J. Pickett,

Dear Sir : I have uniformly said to those who have
appealed to me for facts connected with the history of
persons and things in past time, and particularly such as
relate to myself and family, that I have not a scrap of paper
in the form of a record, memorial or authentic manuscript,
that has been preserved for the purpose, or, indeed, any
whatever, to my knowledge, spared by time, or by those
yet more active destroyers, rats and mice. I must except
the Bible, treasured by every family, and thus saved from
the wasting influences of both. I have one of these, an old
Oxford edition of 1772, in which is found recorded, in the
hand-writing (the most beautiful and legible I ever saw,)
of my father, the birth-place of six of his children. I
copied this, word for word, into a new family Bible, and
now have both before me. The following is a literal
extract from the former, and all that appears in my father's
hand-writing.

" John Mclntosh Troup, born the 3d of December, 1778,
at Mobile in "West Florida.

" George Michael Troup, born at Mclntosh's Bluff, on
the river Tombigby, 8th of September, 1780.

" David Troup, born at London, 8th November, 1781.

" Roderick William Troup. born at Charleston, South
Carolina, on Friday the 28th of February, 1783, at half-
past three o'clock in the morning.

" Robert Lachlan Troup, born at Savannah, the day

of December, 1784.

4 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CnAP. I.

" John James McGillivray Troup, born at Savannah, the
31st of August, 1786."

You would not receive an historical fact better authenti-
cated. It was the possession of this Bible which embold-
ened me to send you anything for your history, touching
the life of myself and family. Its chronology and register
of places rendered it invaluable. It seems that mother or
father, or both, were in Mobile in 1778 ; at Mclntosh's
Bluff, on the Tombigby, in 1780 ; at London in 1781 ; at
Charleston in the early part of 1783 ; at Savannah in 1 T
and in Savannah still in 1786 ; and, finally, that 1m in--
removed from Savannah, he was (although not in his hand-
writing, but in the hand-writing of his chief clerk, an
enlightened and educated man,) in 1778 in Mclntosh
county, (old Georgia, if you please,) at his residence called
Belleville, where he lived, died, and was buried.

Thus you have, upon what I consider unquestionable
evidence, the fact of my birth-place, to which I never
ascribed any importance, and in which I could not imagine
that any, out of our family, would feel the least interest.
I never, for any moment of my life, doubted that I was
born on the Tombigby. I was as much a native of Georgia
as if born on the southern bank of the Savannah river,
where Oglethorpe built his town, whether in possession and
under the jurisdiction of Spaniards, Englishmen or Ameri-
cans. The English occupation was short-lived, and acquired
by force. Our constitutional and chartered rights were
undoubted, and were never to be surrendered without our
consent. The civilians may differ, but, if driven to the
wall, I would be a Georgian or Alabamian by the law of
Postliminium. You will see that what the registry of the
family Bible exhibits, I implicitly adopt. "What I had
presumed to submit to you from the store-house of my frail
memory, I deemed unreliable, and already I think that
errors may be detected in that part which relates to the
connection and alliances between the different branches of
the Mclntoshes — a part which could only have been learned
from my family and their friends, and in my earlier life.

CHAP. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &C. 5

Major William Mclntosh, of Savannah, son of Col. John,
and brother of the late Colonel who fell so gallantly under
the walls of Mexico, can, better than anybody else, make
the correction, and, if they interest you at all, you can use
them as you please. There have been other mistakes
besides the birth-place, and more amusing. Some of my
kind friends, to assure themselves of my personal identity,
have set me down in print and in writing with a middle
name which I do not answer to, and Mclntosh has been
preferred to Michael, on account, I presume, of my mother's
name and genealogy, and my known connection with that
family.

But certainly I have written enough on this subject,
writing from a sick bed, and snatching intervals of pain.
First, your urgent request ; second, the claims of truth,
even in little things ; and third, the gratification of grati-
fying the rational and harmless curiosity of esteemed
friends, will be my apology, which will, I think, have been
anticipated before you come to it. Yet I cannot close it
without saying that my friend, Col. J. W. Jackson, had
written a memoir, published in White's Statistics of Georgia,
in which he not only eschews the mistake, but gives the
true place and time as if from the original. No man is
more sensitive to every omission or departure from truth,
and it would have pained him to have committed the most
innocent error. This work, entirely of his own observation
and research, according to the best lights extant, (I could
afford him nothing,) was the offspring of an affluence of
friendship, was penned with a sedulous regard to matter of
fact, and lofty disdain of everything that would savor of
flattery or embellishment. Whilst he has most happily
succeeded in the first, he may not, with all his care, have
been so entirely successful in the last ; but, as far as it goes,
and as far as it purposed, it is a true history, and greatly
better than any I could have written myself, and has saved
me a vast deal of trouble.

Yery truly and respectfully, your friend,

G. M. Troup.

g LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. I.

P. S. It surprised me exceedingly, that you should have
found among the old white Indian traders, any memorial or
tradition of our family, although we had an uncle who
was one of them— an uncle on our mother's side, and named
Mclntosh— a very respectable man, I believe, for I never
saw him but once, when a very small boy, he came from
the Nation on a visit to my mother. He must have been
the son of Capt. John, of Mclntosh Bluff. It is yet more
remarkable they should have corroborated our Bible.
they assuredly did, when they said I was taken from the
Tombigby when I was two or three years old. A few
years after, I was a child at school with Miss Stuart at
Savannah. G-. M. T.

The reader having been thus introduced to Major W. J.
Mclntosh, of Savannah, we prefer to continue this narrative
in his own words, reduced to writing at the request of the

author, and bearing date

SAVANXAH, 1st February, 1858.

Dear Sir : In compliance with your request respecting
my recollections of the early life of the late Gov. Troup,
of Georgia, I will reply briefly and as accurately as I can
in connection with his family, but must go hack prior to
the first settlement of Georgia by its founder, General
Oglethorpe, to trace his descent, especially on his mr.ther's
side, whose family was a branch of the Mclntoshes of
Borlam, Inverness, Scotland ; and I feel myself also called
on by Gov. Troup, in a letter to Col. A. J. Pickett, the
historian of Alabama, to state the connection of the two
families. And this induces me, necessarily, to introduce
the name of Mclntosh so prominently, in speaking of this
truly great and good man.

Of his father's descent or history I know but little ;
though, when a young boy, I was often in his house, a play-
mate of his sons, at his residence called Belleville, a
beautiful site on Sapelo river in the county of Mclntosh —
which name it still bears, but long since passed from the
proprietorship of his family. The axe, neglect, and the

CHAP. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &C. f

ravages of time have left it but a faint picture of what it
was when forest-clad, and under the improving hand of
Mr. Troup. Here he became a planter, here he died,
and here his remains were interred. He bore the repu-
tation of a well-bred and honorable gentleman, born and
educated in England ; and at one period of his life was
extensively and successfully engaged in commerce, but
was never for any length of time confined to one locality.
He married Catharine, the daughter of Captain John
Mclntosh, and we find from an old, well-preserved Bible —
the family record — that although Mr. Troup had six sons,
no two were born in the same place, except the two
youngest.

These sons are all deceased. The Governor, who sur-
vived his brothers, was called George Mclntosh Troup,
from his known connection with the family, instead of
George Michael, his real middle name. His eldest brother
it was who bore the name of Mclntosh after his grand-
father. The initial of their middle names being the same,
the unimportant mistake was easily made, but was never
adopted or sanctioned by the Governor himself.

Mr. Troup, the father, married, as before stated, Catha-
rine, the daughter of Captain John Mclntosh, brother of the
eccentric Captain Roderick Mclntosh, of the British army,
commonly called Rory, with whom the late Mr. John
Couper, of St. Simon's Island, a distinguished and intelli-
gent planter, was well acquainted during the Revolutionary
war, and of whom he gives some amusing anecdotes in
White's Historical Collections. Mrs. Troup's father and
his eccentric brother were relations of John More Mclntosh,
the progenitor of the name in Georgia, and who served
under General Oglethorpe, as commander of the High-
landers, in their battles with the troops of Spain in Georgia
and in Florida. Many of this clan suffered severely in the
Rebellion of 1715 and in that of '45, in consequence of their
adhesion to the interest of the Stuarts, and taking up arms
in their cause under the Earl of Mar against the Hanoverian
succession to the crown of England ; not because those

g LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CnAr. I.

Highlanders believed in the "Divine right » of their kings,
but the right to war against the usurpation of a throne, the
rightful heir to which they believed to be a descendant
the House of Stuart.

Captain John Mclntosh had also a son, William, broil
of Mrs. Troup, and who was a captain in the British army,
and also an agent of that government, under Col. Stuart, to
theMuscogee or Creek nation of Indians during the Revo-
lutionary war, and who was the father of the Indian Chief,
Gen. William Mclntosh, the friend of civilization among
his own people, and the friend of Georgia, and who won
for himself a Brigadier's commission from the United
States, by bravely fighting against and subduing the hostile
Indian tribes in Georgia, in Alabama and in Florida, under
Gen. Jackson. This warrior-chief had a brother named
after his grand-uncle, the eccentric Captain Rory, and
who, it has been said, was in council what his brother was
in the field. These men were the first (Indian) cousins of
Gov. Troup, and it was remarked of their father, the Gov-
ernor's uncle, that he was a "brave and generous man,
and was qualified, physically and morally, to have iigurod
in the most desperate strife." This gentleman, after the
Revolutionary war, married a sister of the late Gen. John
Mclntosh, of the Revolution, which drew closer the con-
necting tie of the two families.

The father* of Gov. Troup, though often removing from
place to place, was a lover of books, and had secured a
well selected little library for his residence at Belleville,
where his son George received the rudiments of his early
education, under the guidance of a private tutor and the eye
of his father ; and in this library, where he had free access,
he acquired the taste for reading, and that delight in books,
not usual with boys of his age. His hours of relaxation
from study were spent with his horse, his dogs and his gun,
in the use of which he was indulged by his father, his oldest

* Tt seems that this gentleman was at one; time mir:i.iil in m.Trant
Charleston, S. C., and Sunlrary, Oa., with Col. John Baker, of Liberty county, vli<> ill"!
in the year 1792.— ED.

CHAP. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &c. 0

brother having died early, and the others being too young
to participate fully in their enjoyment. He was afterwards
sent to school in Savannah, and, at a proper age, to Eras-
mus Hall, an academy then of great repute in Flatbush, on
Long Island, New York, where many youths of the South
were educated ; at the head of which was Doctor Peter
Wilson, an elderly and religious Scotch gentleman of great
learning, afterwards of Columbia College in the city of
New York.

The Doctor was a stern, unbending Republican, much
respected by the students ; and many of them here doubtless
took their bias, and imbibed their predilections in favor of
the cause he was known to espouse ; and during the contest
for the Presidency, between Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson,
and when the excitement was high and boisterous in Flat-
bush, amongst the village politicians, there were frequent
gatherings to discuss the claims of the candidates. "When
these were seen, and young Troup could by any means be
present, there he would be, amongst the old men, ready to
engage in argument, and could scarcely be restrained by
older heads and less excited friends, from mingling in the
crowd and taking part in the discussion, unmindful or re-
gardless of the danger to which his youth and h'ery zeal in
favor of Mr. Jefferson, would expose him. I was at Flat-
bush with him, and frequently witnessed the great concern
he manifested for the success of the Republican candidate.

He was of a slender frame, fair complexion, good figure,
and rather handsome ; of a feeling heart, and susceptible
of the kindest emotions. He was studious, and of a warm
temperament, polite and friendly to his fellow-students, but
never seemed to have formed any close, boyish or bosom
friendships, so common among youths of his age ; inclined
to taciturnity and reflection, though not backward in the
enjoyment of the manlier sports of the time. He was
exceedingly tenacious of his honor ; and any reflection
calculated to impair it, would be instantly met by a pun-
gent reproof, in a seemingly quiet way, yet sufficiently
significant of his determination, if the insult were not
2

1Q LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CHAP. I.

retracted, to proceed to extreme measures ; and his decision
of character was so well known, that he never had the
trouble of doing more. I never knew him to be concerned
in any senseless, wicked or mischievous act, that would
reflect discredit on his name, or involve him in unpleasant
scrapes, which were common enough then and there ; ami
when he thought himself sufficiently advanced in his
studies for college, he left Erasmus Hall, for Princeton,
with an unsullied reputation. It was supposed, by his
associates, that he would not look higher, on entering col-
lege, than the Sophomore class; but they were soon
surprised, on -learning, that, without difficulty, he became
a member of the Junior class ; and in due time he •rni'iu-
ated with distinction.

He returned to Georgia, and commenced the study of
law in Mr. Noel's office in Savannah ; and, whilst so en-
gaged, he wrote many political essays, over the signature
of Z, much admired as coming from so young .1 man.
About this time, he was appointed, by his friend and
patron, Gen. James Jackson, then Governor of Georgia.
and the scourge of evil-doers, his Aid, with the tit e of
Colonel, then considered more honorable than now, from

the indiscriminate manner in which the title is conferred.

•::• •::- •:•:• •::• -:;• •:•:- •:* •::• # •:-:- *

Emerging from his minority, in 1801, he was elected to
the Legislature, where he at once occupied a high position.
In 1S04-, he removed to Bryan county, having prcvi<
married Miss McCcrmick ; and, as soon as constitutionally
eligible, was elected to Congress, of which he was a mem-
ber until 1815, when he retired to private life. His support
was given to the administrations of Mr. Jefferson and Mr.
Madison ; and he possessed the entire confidence of both
these eminently great men, and was chairman of the com-
mittee on Military Affairs during the war — a position nr-
duous and of great responsibility.

In the year 1809,-" having been a widower for some

* The exact date of Col. Troup's secon.l nuu the 8th of November, 1809.

The fact was thus announced in the Savannah Republican, of 26th November, 1809:

. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &c.

years, and without children, he married Miss Carter, a lady
of Virginia, by whom he had six children, three of whom,
two daughters and a son, arrived at maturity. The eldest
daughter married Thomas Bryan, Esq. ; by which union
there were born to Gov. Troup several grand-children.

I find that I have already gone beyond the limit of your
request, to wit, my recollection of Gov. Troup's early life,
the characteristics of his boyhood, &c., &c. I trust an
exact and impartial history of his public life, services and
character, may soon be accessible to all.

Truly, your friend and obedient servant,

W. J. McIxTosn.

The precise year of Gov. Troup's graduation at Prince-
ton, was 1797, one year after that of his cotemporary, Judge
Berrien, and two before that of Mr. Forsyth. On his re-
tnrn to Georgia, he entered the law office of the lion. John
Y. Noel, at Savannah. On the 29th day of May, 1800, he
was admitted, before the Superior Court of Chatham county,
the Bon. Thomas P. Games presiding, to plead and prac-
tice, as an attorne}', solicitor and proctor, in the several
courts of law and equity in the State, on the certificate of
Thomas Gibbons, Charles Harris and William B. Bulloch,
Esquires, stating, that, " after due examination, we conceive
him fully entitled to admission, and recommend him ac-
cordingly." It does not appear that he ever practiced law
to any extent. Even had his taste lain in that direction,
his early connection with political and public life would
have interfered with the duties and calls of a profession, re-
quiring, for its active pursuit, all the zeal and energy of
early manhood and mature life. In 1800, he declined an
election to the Legislature, (at the call of the Republican

"Alexandria, Nov. 11.

" J'arried, on tho 8th instant, by the Rev. Mr. Gibson, Gieorgs M. Troup, Ksq., menr.ber cf
the House of Uepresentative s from Georgia, to the amiable and accomplished Miss Ann Carter,
daughter of the late George Carter, Esq."

Besides Florida, (the wife of Thomas M. Forman. Esq.,) who died several years before her
father, Col. Troup left, by this marriage, two other children— Oralie, who is yet living, and
George M., who died within two years after the decease of his father. Mrs. Troup died in
May, 1S28, many years before the Governor.— EP.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. I.

party of Chatham county,) on account of his minority. In
1801, he consented to serve, and was elected a Representa-
tive ; and he was re-elected to the same post, in 1802, and
again in 1803. The General Assembly then sat at Louis-
ville ; and there, on the 30th of October, 1803, he was
married to Miss Ann St. Clare McCormick, eldest daughter
of Dr. James McCormick, then late of that place. In 18« M-,
he removed to the county of Bryan, and settled at a pi:
near Hardwicke, now known as Troup's Old Field. At
this place, he had the misfortune to lose his wife, on 30th
September, 1804, less than a year after his marri;'.
The exact length of his residence in Bryan county is not
known ; but the county records show, that, in the year 1
he was placed, by the Interior Court, on the list <>i' t
owning slaves liable to do road duty, and that he
put on the grand jury list; though the minutes of the Court
do not show that he was drawn, or that he ever server.
a juror. It was probably because of his domestic loss, that
he returned to Savannah, where he seems to have been re-
siding at his election to Congress in 180G.

We may close this portion of the narrative, by remark-
ing, that if, as a boy, his manner was reserved and unob-
trusive, so, when he came to act a part in the drama of life,
he seems to have been unconscious of possessing those
qualities which endeared him to his fellow-citizens, and
which were fitting him to pass, with honor, through scenes
as trying as they were checkered.

From Pickett's History of Alabama, (vol. 2, beginning

* Tho circumstances connected with the doatliof this lady, possess :i
and may not be out of place here. Colonel Troup had prepared himself for a lift.1 of a
happiness, and hail fitted up his house with the luxiu .

Troup having been taken suddenly ill, a physician was Bought in vain. A^ tlu> only i
neighbor, vrho had considerable experience in blood-1

seemed to warrant the belief that bleeding would relieve1 the pnti-.-nt. On i.
neighbor proceeded to bind up the arm, and was about to ap
My, Col. Troup asked : " W- — 8, do yon think you i

The arm was immediately unbound, and the patient • • that the- 4-

anxious husband conveyed to the mind of the propi

tion would be successfully performed; and, to use the language of the latter, K.I •• un:..
him as to destroy his confidence in his own skill. Inn-lath. ;•> the writi ; .

fifty years after their occurrence, the gentleman, to whom reference i.s mad", did not
entertain any doubt that venesection would have relieved the patient. — ED.

CHAP. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &c. 13

at page 198,) published, in 1851, we make the following
extract :

" At the close of our last chapter, it was stated that the
first American Court held in Alabama, was at Mclntosh
Bluff, which is situated upon the western bank of the
Tombigby, between its confluence with the Alabama and
the town of St. Stephen's. Connected with this Bluff, there
is, to us, a pleasing historical reminiscence. Alabama has
the honor of being the birth-place of George M. Troup,
late Governor of Georgia, and who is one of the most vigor-
ous and expressive political and epistolary writers of the
age. His grandfather, Captain John Mclntosh, the chief
of the Mclntosh clan, was long attached to the army of
West Florida ; and his valuable services were rewarded, by
the King of England, with the grant of Mclntosh Bluff,
and extensive tracts of land upon the Mississippi. He had
a son, who was also a British officer, and a daughter, a native
of Georgia. The latter, while on a visit to England,
married an officer of the royal army, named Troup. She
sailed from England to Mobile, and, arriving at the latter
place, entered a barge, and went up the Tombigby river to
the residence of her father, at Mclntosh Bluff, where, in
the wilds of Alabama, Governor Troup was born, in Sep-
tember, 1780."

An article has recently appeared in a Georgia newspaper,
from which the following is extracted :

" A paper was published in Louisville, Jefferson county,
prior to 1800, by Ambrose Day. It was called the Louis-
ville Gazette & Republican Trumpet, and George M. Troup,
at that time a lawyer in Savannah, contributed to its edito-
rial columns, although not generally known as the editor."

Having no reason to question the correctness of the above,
in other respects, it is yet certain that Colonel Troup was
not admitted to the Bar until 1800.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. II.

CHAPTER II.

Early Carter a.< a Public Man.

THERE is every reason to believe that the subject of this
memoir would have become eminent in the higher branches
of the legal profession, had he devoted his manhood to the
study and practice of law. Such was the opinion of his
legal preceptor, a gentleman of distinction and of great
acquirements in the science, and who was well qualified to
form a proper judgment of the mental capacity of his
student. The rigid course of preparation then necc
bring a young man forward as a candidate for professional
honors and emolument, favored the development «
qualities which are necessary to the successful practic
a science, in which, although many accumulate property,
comparatively few acquire a solid or lasting reputation.
The progress of this history will tend only to strengthen the
opinion thus formed of Gov. Troup's talents, at a time when
the future statesman contemplated probably little more than
the strifes of the forum, and the promotion which, especi-
ally in a free Government, attends the career of the diligent
and well-trained lawyer. His retirement from the bar, at
an early period after his admission, was owing, perhaps, as
much to want of taste for forensic display, as to the times
when he graduated as a lawyer, and which were calculated
to draw into the service of the State young men of talents
and patriotism. His habits were always retiring; yet, the
probability is, that, in weighing the chances of usefulness
to the public, he settled down into a conviction that he
could be more serviceable in political life ; the more especi-
ally, as it was one from which, without injury to private
interests, he could at any moment retire — as he always did
— whenever no public emergency seemed to render his
services necessary. That he deferred much to the j udgment

CHAP. II.] EARLY CAREER AS A PUBLIC MAN. 16

of his friends, in the estimate which he put upon his ser-
vices, is true ; and one of the beauties of his life seems to
have been, that his patriotism was tempered by a modesty,
which, whilst it was ready to yield to the suggestions of
friendship, was still not of a kind to betray him into a want
of proper confidence in himself when the occasion demanded
a surrender of his time and talents to the public good. But,
whether from taste or otherwise, it is certain he did not
practice long enough to acquire reputation as a lawyer;
and there is rea son to doubt if he practiced at all. It is not
improbable that he appeared as an advocate, on the criminal
side of the court ; but the records of the court, where he
was admitted, do not show that he brought any suits there.
The year 1800 is memorable for the overthrow of the
Federal party under John Adams, and the election of
Thomas Jefferson. This was the first trial of strength be-
tween the two parties which openly succeeded the retire-
ment of Washington from the Presidency ; and the princi-
ples of which turned upon the different modes of construing
the Federal Constitution. Those who favored a strong
government, voted for Mr. Adams; the friends of a strict
construction and of the rights of the States, voted for and
elected Mr. Jefferson. We have seen that young Troup
was a Republican at the school on Long Island. On his
return to Georgia, he lost none of his zeal for the same cause.
It was upon the principles of that party he planted himself,
as soon as he could form a judgment for himself; and surely
he never afterwards gave occasion to friend or foe to taunt
him with abandonment of principle. His enemies being
judges, he never advocated the principles of consolidation ;
and, in the judgment of his friends, if he erred at all, it
was on the side of the rights of the co-equal and sovereign
States of the Union.

Bat, independently of her federal relations, Georgia was
in a peculiar and an interesting condition at home. Only a
few years had elapsed since the honor of the State was
tarnished by one of the most stupendous frauds recorded in
history. This is known as the YAZOO fraud, a full narrative

lg LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CRAP. II.

of which belongs rather to the documentary history of
Georgia, than to a biography. "We have seen that the west-
ern boundary of Georgia extended to the Mississippi .River,
and embraced the larger portion of the present State-
Alabama and Mississippi. A small river, in the last men-
tioned State, gave the name to a transaction which brought
deserved infamy upon its authors. The fraud has been thus
briefly described : " Several projects for the sale of large
tracts of country within the limits of ( • dif-

ferent periods, presented to the Legislature. However
contrary to good policy, they were listened to. JUit it is
probable the majority of that body never had sagacity
enough to foresee the rapidity with which population and
wealth would increase, giving in their an immense

value to what was then a wilderness. !
however, we find them, in 17s!1, | Watkins' Dig* -4, p. .".S7. |
entering into a contract witli these companies for the sale of
fifteen or twenty millions of acres of land, including a
tract bordering on ti i Uiver. IJut a dispute

arose about the payment of the purchase money ; and the
condition upon which the grants were t not

compliedwith. During the session of ;in- General

Assembly passed an act conveying to four associations,
called the Georgia, the Georgia ppi, the U;

Mississippi, and Tennessee Companies, al- >0 of

acres of land, lying between the rivers Mississippi, Tenne
Coosa, Alabama and Mobile. The bill was warmly con-
tested in both houses, and had also to encounter opposition
from the Governor. It ultimately passed, however, by a
majority of ten in the House of Representatives and two
in the Senate. The sale of so large a territory was received
by the people with an almost unanimous burst of indigna-
tion, for it was soon known that nearly all the members
who voted for the law, had been either directly or indi-
rectly corrupted by the purchasers."*
The succeeding Legislature passed an Act, reciting,

> Tho consideration f.r tlii -,;1 ,i,,]|ar.. F,,r ,tlo Act

itself, see Watkins' Digost, \>\>. :<'," (.> .v;n KT>.

CHAP. II.] EARLY CAREER AS A PUBLIC MAJSr. If

amongst other things, " Whereas the last Legislature of
this State, not confining itself to the powers with which that
body was constitutionally invested, did usurp a power to
pass an act, on the seventh day of January, one thousand
seven hundred and ninety-five, entitled ' An act supple-
mentary to an act for appropriating a part of the unlocated
territory of this State, for the payment of the late State
troops and for other purposes therein mentioned, declaring
the right of this State to the unappropriated territory there-
of, and for other purposes ;' by which an enormous tract
of unascertained millions of acres of the vacant territory
of this State, was attempted to be disposed of to a few in-
dividuals in fee simple, and the same is not only unfounded
as being without express constitutional authority, but is
repugnant to that authority as well as to the principles and
form of government the good citizens of this State have
chosen for their rule, which is democratical, or a govern-
ment founded on equality of rights ; and which is totally
opposed to all proprietary grants or monopolies in favor of
a few, which tend to build up that destructive aristocracy
in the new, which is tumbling in the old, world ; and which,
if permitted, must end in the annihilation of democracy
and equal rights, those rights and principles of government
which our virtuous forefathers fought for and established
with their blood" ; and the Act proceeded to declare " the
said usurped act " to be " null and void," and to annul all
grants thereunder, and further, " that within three days
after the passage of this act, the different branches of the
Legislature shall assemble together, at which meeting the
officers shall attend with the several records, documents
and deeds in the Secretary's, Surveyor-General's and other
public offices, and which records and documents shall then
and there be expunged from the face and indexes of the
books of record of the State, and the enrolled law or usurped
act shall then be publicly burnt, in order that no trace of
so unconstitutional, vile and fraudulent a transaction, other
than the infamy attached to it by this law, shall remain in
the public offices thereof," &c., &c.
3

18 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP, II.

Foremost and most effective in his opposition to this
"usurped act," was Gen. James Jackson. Being then a
Senator in Congress, he resigned his place, came home,
was elected to the Legislature, and aided in passing the
annulling law. The following account of the burning de-
serves a place here :

"Having determined that the act was 'usurped,' it was
considered rightful that the records and documents pertain-
ing to the sale should forthwith be destroyed. No monu-
ment of its wickedness should remain in the public offices, to
give flattering assurance to the speculator that his corrupt
machinations might yet be gratified. It was necessary to
show to the universe, by decided conduct, that Georgia
loathed the corruption, loathed the speculators, loathed the
evidences of fraud, and would never abandon her ground !
By order of the two Houses, a tire was kindled in the great
square in front of the State House. Thousands of happy
and elated citi/ens, who proudly conceived that their
wrongs were redressed, had repaired to the spot, to witness
the most remarkable spectacle ever presented within our
limits. They were convened from every part of the State;
and had, from the commencement of the session, remained
at Louisville, intensely surveying the proceedings of each
successive day. A circle was formed by the members,
around the fire, the Governor and the high officers of the
Departments being present. John Milton, the Secretary of
State, and the Committee of Three who reported the mode
of destroying the testimonies of our debasement, Mr. Sims,
Mr. Few and Gen. Jackson, produced from the archives the
enrolled bill and usurped Act. These were delivered to
the President of the Senate, for examination. By him they
were passed to the Speaker of the House, who handed them,
after inspection, to the Clerk. He read aloud their titles,
and gave them to the Messenger, who, committing them to
the flames, cried out with loud and decisive voice,

' God save the State, and long preserve her Eights, and
may every attempt to injure them perish as these wicked and
corrupt Acts now do ! ' " *

* Savannah Republican, and Georgia Journal, for 1825.— ED.

CHAP. II.] EARLY CAREER AS A PUBLIC MAX. 19

"Whilst these things were passing in Georgia, young Troup
was quietly pursuing his college studies at Princeton. But
he was not an inattentive observer of the political events
in his State. His subsequent course in the Legislature
showed that he was an enemy to the enemies of Georgia,
and that the Yazoo fraud touched no chord of sympathy in
his bosom. The imperfect history of the times does not
enable us to state, with certainty, more than that, as a
member of the Legislature in 1801, 1802 and 1803, he ful-
filled the just' expectations of his friends, giving his support
to such measures as were calculated to advance the interests
of the State, and maintaining those republican principles
on which rests the liberty of the country. He was soon to
be transferred to a wider if not a more useful field of labor,
where we shall find him, as ever, the enemy of fraud* and
the champion of liberty, justice and equality.

In 1806, Joseph Bryan, one of the Representatives from
Georgia, having resigned his seat in Congress, Col. Troup
consented to become a candidate for the vacant office,
which the Governor had ordered to be filled by an elec-
tion to take place on the first day of September. The
following neat and just tribute was published, editorially,
in a Savannah paper of that date :

[From "The Southern Patriot," September 1st, 1806.]

This day an election takes place for a member to repre-
sent this State in the Congress of the United States, for the
residue of Mr. Bryan's term. Col. G. M. Troup is among
the candidates, a gentleman whose republicanism, integrity
and talents entitle him to claim a very distinguished place
in the affections of the people of this county, as well as of
his fellow-citizens at large. He has frequently represented
the people of this county in the General Assembly of this
State, and in that capacity has discharged his duty not only
to the perfect approbation of his constituents, but in a man-
ner highly honorable to his own firmness, consistency and

* A succeeding chapter is devoted to Col. Troup's course in Congress on the Yazoo
fraud, and his speeches on that subject. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. II-

patriotism. It is expected that his old friends will not be
backward or lukewarm at this important occasion, but that
they will come forward with their usual alacrity and zeal.
Col. Troup has never in a single instance deviated from the
persuasion of a democratic republican ; but if personal and
political honesty, combined with the warmest and most
enthusiastic attachment to the government and constitution
of his country, are qualifications which all virtuous men
wish to see concentrated in the character of a representative
of the people, then this gentleman is entitled* to the respect
even of that class of his fellow-citizens between whom and
himself there may be some shades of difference in political
opinion.

The election resulted in the choice of Dr. Dennis Smelt;
but, at the general election held just five weeks after, Oth
October, 1806, Col. Troup was elected, with Dennis Smelt,
William W. Bibb and Unwell Cobb, a "Representative for
the full term to commence on the 4th of March, 1807 ; and
he took his seat in the House of Representatives at Wash-
ington, on the 26th day of October, 1807.

The rapidity with which he had acquired the public
confidence and risen to stations of honor and responsibility,
whilst it did not inflate his pride, seems not to have excited
the apprehension of his friends. If there were no other
evidence of his integrity and talents, this sudden promotion
to important stations, as soon as he was constitutionally
eligible to them, would afford strong presumption that he
possessed both qualifications ; but the proof will be fur-
nished when we come to consider his acts. It is believed
that he never solicited an appointment of any kind ; and
this is known to be true of him in mature life. This was in
the earlier if not the better days of the republic. How far such
conduct may commend itself to the politicians of the pr«
day, the future historian of the country must determine.

In 1824,* he said: "Our political morality will never
be pure as long as offices are sought with the avidity and

* Sec his iininiiil message, an Governor, for 1824.— ED.

CHAP. II.] EARLY CAREER AS A PUBLIC MAN. 21

importunity which now distinguish the canvass for them in
all the States with the exception of New England. When-
ever it is believed by the people that those who seek office
with most eagerness, are frequently the most unworthy, the
evil will have found its remedy. Merit is always con-
spicuous enough, and our people will be sufficiently enlight-
ened to discover and appreciate it. The nomination,
therefore, as well as the election of the candidate, ought to
belong to them. The American historian will blush to
record the scenes in which, within the passing year, can-
didates for the first dignity have not disdained to be actors.
A practice, ripened into custom among a whole people,
though proved to be a bad one, is not easily changed or
discontinued. It is known that this must be the work of
time, and of the intelligence and virtue of the people
themselves. Whilst I am disposed to respect as I ought,
long established habits and opinions, 1 would reproach
myself were I to withhold a single sentiment, the expres-
sion of which it was believed the interest or honor of the
country required."

At a subsequent period — one important in the history of
Georgia — and when there was danger of conflict between
Federal and State authority, he used this remarkable lan-
guage, in a message to the Legislature, in reference to
himself : " If it be possible, which I do not permit myself
to believe, that a certain person filling a certain station,
stands in the way of the peace and harmony which ought
ever to subsist between this and the general government,
and on this account valuable interests are endangered, that
person will retire instantly, and with much more pleasure
than he ever occupied that station."

Knowing the sincerity of Gov. Troup's heart, and the
frankness of his character, the reader may well believe he
spoke truly of himselfj when, in his inaugural address of
1825, he said, "possessing no very great confidence in my
own qual ideations for the public service, I have not habitu-
ally or pertinaciously sought the public favor."

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CnAr. III.

CHAPTER III.

State of the Country. — Mr. Troup in Congress. — His Course

There.

THE year 1807 was an eventful one in the history of the
United States. The two great belligerents of Europe,
England and France, were contending for supremacy, and
what the latter had gained on land, she had some time
before lost on the ocean. England was the acknowledged
mistress of the seas. For years previously, the neutral
commerce of the United States had suifered by the desola-
ting wars of Europe, to which we were no party. A detail
of the consequences of this state of things, belongs rather to
a general history of the country, but they will be noticed
sufficiently, in the progress of this work, to give a general
idea of the irritating causes which finally led to the Avar of
1812. It was in vain that the United States insisted upon
their rights, as a neutral power, to carry on trade witli
either belligerent, or with any other European nation —
contraband of war only excepted. Negotiation had failed,
and was likely still to prove fruitless. As a last resort, Mr.
Jefferson, in 1807, recommended an embargo. This was
resisted by nearly the whole power of the Federal party,
whilst the Republicans as generally supported it. In his
message to Congress, of 18th December, the President said :
" The communications now made, showing the great and
increasing dangers with which our vessels, our seamen and
merchandise are threatened on the high seas and else-
where, from the belligerent powers of Europe, and it 1>>
of great importance to keep in safety these essential re-
sources, I deem it my duty to recommend the subject to
Congress, who will doubtless perceive all the advantages
which may be expected from an inhibition of the departure
of our vessels from the ports of the United States. Their

CHAP. III.] STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 23

wisdom will also see the necessity of making every prepa-
ration for whatever events may grow out of the present
crisis."

A bill was accordingly introduced, the same day, to lay
"an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and
harbors of the United States ;" and after a debate of four
days, and sundry amendments, was passed in the House by
a vote of eighty-two to forty-four — Col. Troup voting in the
affirmative. It passed the Senate, the same day, with the
amendments, and was immediately approved by the Presi-
dent. It provided, amongst other things, that "an embargo
be, and is hereby laid on all ships and vessels in the ports and
places within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States,
cleared or not cleared, bound to any foreign port or place;
and that no clearance be famished fb any ship or vessel
bound to such foreign port or place, except vessels under the
immediate direction of the President of the United States;
and that the President be authorized to give such instruc-
tions to the officers of the revenue, and of the navy and
revenue cutters of the United States, as shall appear best
adapted for carrying the same into full effect : Provided,
that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent
the departure of any foreign ship or vessel, either in ballast
or with the goods, wares and merchandise on board of such
foreign ship or vessel, when notified of this act." The
second section enacted, " that during the continuance of
this act, no registered or sea-letter vessel, having on board
goods, wares and merchandise, shall be allowed to depart
from one port of the United States to any other within the
same, unless the master, owner, consignee or factor of such
vessel shall first give bond, with one or more sureties, to the
collector of the district from which she is bound to depart, in
a sum of double the value of the vessel and cargo, that the
said goods, wares or merchandise shall be relanded in some
port of the United States, dangers of the seas excepted,
which bond, and also a certificate from the collector where
the same may be relanded, shall by the collector respective-
ly be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury. All

2£ LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHJLP. III.

armed vessels possessing public commissions from any
foreign power, are not to be considered as liable to the
embargo laid by this act."

This was the beginning of a system of commercial re-
strictions, intended, not so much as measures of retaliation,
as an inducement to the two great belligerent powers of
Europe to respect the rights of a neutral pursuing her
lawful commerce without interference in the quarrels of
the world, with which the United States were then at peace.
The blow was virtually aimed at England, which the Fed-
eral party were supposed to favor ; whilst they, in turn,
accused the Republicans of too great partiality for France.
That some measure of this sort was necessary, the judg-
ment of the country has since proved ; but it revived, at the
time, all the bitterness of party spirit which had seemed to
become dormant, to a great extent, on the re-election of
Mr. Jefferson in 1804.

But another, and, for the time, a more serious occasion
for alarm, grew out of the pretended right of Gre.it Britain
to search American vessels for British subjects. This
doctrine of impressment was one to which the United States
could never give their sanction. If a neutral flag could
not protect neutral property, it was yet in the power of
Congress, by a system of embargo, or non-intercourse, to
make it the interest of the British people to respect il it-
rights of neutrals; but the doctrine of impressment struck
at the right of the government to protect itself from the
violation of a fundamental principle of our national policy
— the right of every citizen or subject to throw oil' his
allegiance — in opposition to the English theory — 6/<
subject, always a subject. But even if this theory were right,
its application must be attended with difficulty. Who is
to judge whether a man be a British-born subject or a
native citizen of the United States 2 That the question
under consideration led practically to gross oppression in
many instances, was true. But injury to the rights of in-
dividuals was not the only consequence of the attempt to
enforce this doctrine of impressment. It gave occasion for

CHAP. III.] MEETING OF CONGRESS. 25

an act of atrocity on the part of Great Britain, equaled
only by the acts of vandalism committed subsequently by
her soldiery at the capture of Washington City. We refer
to the affair of the Chesapeake. This occurred on the 22d
of June. On the 30th of July, the President, by proclama-
tion, required Congress to assemble on the 26th day of
October, assigning as the reason that " great and weighty
matters claiming the consideration of the Congress of the
United States, form an extraordinary occasion for convening
them." Congress convened accordingly. The Representa-
tives from Georgia, as before stated, were William W. Bibb,
Howell Cobb, Dennis Smelt and George M. Troup. In his
opening message, the President said : " Circumstances,
fellow-citizens, which seriously threatened the peace of our
country, have made it a duty to convene you at an earlier
period than usual. The love of peace, so much cherished
in the bosoms of our citizens, which has so long guided the
proceedings of the public councils, and induced forbearance
under so many wrongs, may not insure our continuance in
the quiet pursuits of industry. The many injuries and
depredations committed on our commerce and navigation
upon the high seas, for many years past ; the successive
innovations on those principles of pimlic law which have
been established by the reason and usage of nations as the
rule of their intercourse, and the umpire and security of
their rights and peace, and all the circumstances which
induced the extraordinary mission to London, are already
known to you. The instructions given to our ministers
were framed in the sincerest spirit of amity and moderation.
They accordingly proceeded, in conformity therewith, to
propose arrangements which might embrace and settle all
the points in difference between us, which might bring us
to a mutual understanding on our neutral and national
rights, and provide for a commercial intercourse on condi-
tions of some equality. After long and fruitless endeavors
to effect the purposes of the mission, and to obtain arrange-
ments within the limits' of their instructions, they concluded
to sign such as could be obtained, and to send them for
4

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CnAr. Ill-

consideration, candidly declaring to the other negotiators,
at the same time, that they were acting against their in-
structions, and that their government therefore could not
be pledged for ratification. Some of the articles proposed
might have been admitted on a principle of compromise,
but others were too highly disadvantageous, and no suffi-
cient provision was made against the principal sources of
the irritations and collisions which were constantly en-
dangering the peace of the two nations. The question,
therefore, whether a treaty should be accepted in that form,
could have admitted of but one decision, even had no decla-
rations of the other party impaired our confidence in it.
Still anxious not to close the door against friendly adjust-
ment, new modifications were framed, and further conces-
sions authorized than could before have been supposed
necessary; and our ministers were instructed to resume
their negotiations on these grounds. On this new reference
to amicable adjustment we were reposing in confidence,
when, on the 22d day of June last, by a formal order from
the British Admiral, the frigate Chesapeake, leaving her
port for distant service, was attacked by one of those vessels
which had been lying in our harbors under the indulgence
of hospitality, was ftsabled from proceeding, had several
of her crew killed, and four taken away. On this outrage
no commentaries are necessary. Its character has been
pronounced by the indignant voice of our citizens, with an
emphasis and unanimity never exceeded."

The war spirit had been fairly aroused ; and although no
solemn declaration of war or other open acts of hostility
were made for about five years afterwards, yet it was evi-
dent that war was inevitable, except by the sacrifice of the
national honor, or by the retreat of England from her ex-
travagant 'pretensions. War did follow, and the spirit
which animated it was never allayed until that war was
terminated in " a blaze of glory at New Orleans ! "

We have seen that the embargo received the support of
Col. Troup. On the 20th February, 1808, a bill supple-
mentary to the embargo law being before the House, he

CHAP. III.] THE EMBARGO. 27

observed that he had always thought the measure of the
embargo was the best for our situation that could be de-
vised, and had no doubt that if the measure had been
followed up by a pertinent system of defence, it would have
produced an honorable peace even by this time. For the
same reason he wished the embargo to be rendered
effectual.

Nor were the people of Georgia unmindful of the condi-
tion of affairs which were transpiring, or of the measures
that it would be proper to adopt in case hostilities should
become inevitable. On the 20th of December, 1808, the
Governor approved an address to the President, which had
been unanimously agreed to, and in which it was declared :
" The Legislature of the State of Georgia,' the immediate
organ of the public will, think proper, at this all-important
period of time, to address you. It is sensible, sir, that
while the great powers of Europe are involved in a contest
almost unexampled in magnitude, consequences and dura-
tion, that the people of these shores, though happily situ-
ated at a distance from the scene of carnage, yet being
largely engaged in the pursuit of commerce, must from
necessity suffer great privations from the want of a vent
for the produce of a country fertile, extensive, and inhabited
almost exclusively by agriculturists. But, sir, the citizens
of this State, strong in their independence, and proud of
their government, feel happy that a measure has been
adopted which they conceive to be at once pacific and
manly. They will never wish to see the lives and property
of their brethren exposed to the insult or rapacity of a
foreign power. And should this measure fail to produce
the desired effect immediately, they will cheerfully submit
to its continuance; if, on the other hand, our present em-
barrassments should eventuate in a war, they will, in proportion
to their number and resources, give zealous aid to the govern-
ment of their choice, confident that from the judicious man-
agement of the public funds, and the .easy pressure of
taxation hitherto, a co'nflict could be maintained to every
advantage which pecuniary means would bring in support
of a people patriotic^and brave."

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Crur. HI.

To understand the peculiar difficulties which embarrassed
the United States in their relations to the European world,
and which crippled their commerce, and finally led to the
war of 1812, and to explain what follows in reference to
those difficulties, it is proper to subjoin the following con-
densed statement of the policy and conduct of England and
France, then the leading powers and the principal belliger-
ents of Europe. The statement is believed to be correct
in its main features :

" The battle of Trafalgar annihilated the united fleets of
France and Spain ; and all the principal ports of the French
empire, with a long extent of seacoast, were held in rigor-
ous blockade by the British squadrons. To retaliate on the
British, the Emperor Napoleon devised a new plan of
attack, which he called the Continental System. The obj ect
of this scheme was to cut off all intercourse between the
continent of Europe and Great Britain, and thus weaken
England by destroying this portion of her commerce. On
the 21st of November, 1806, Napoleon, having defeated
the Prussians, and entered Berlin, the capital of that king-
dom, issued from the royal palace of that city his celebrated
Berlin Decree* : by which lie declared the British isles in
a state of blockade, and, consequently, that every American
or other neutral vessel going to, or coming from, these isles,
was subject to capture. The same decree provided that
all merchandise belonging to England, or coming from its
manufactories, or colonies, although belonging to neutrals.,
should be lawful prize on land. This provision was carried
into effect. General Armstrong, American minister at
Paris, regarded the Berlin decree, at first, as inapplicable
to American commerce, on account of the treaty then ex-
isting between the United States and France, but in Octo-
ber, 1807, in answer to his inquiry as to the effect of the
decree, the French minister of foreign relations informed
him of his mistake. The condemnation of American vessels-
commenced in November following. The British govern-
ment, in retaliation of Napoleon's Berlin decree, issued

* Dated, " In our Imperial Camp, Berlin, Xov .20, 1S06."— ED.

CHAP. HI.] THE EMBARGO. 29

their famous Orders in Council, dated November 11, 1807.
By these orders, all direct trade from America to any part
of Europe at war with Great Britain, or which excluded
the British flag, was totally prohibited. Goods, however,
were allowed to be landed in England, and, after paying
duties, might be re-exported to Europe. On the 17th of
December succeeding, the orders in council were followed
by the Milan Decree of Napoleon, which declared that
every vessel that should submit to be searched by a British
man-of-war, or which should touch at a British port, or
should pay any impost whatever to the British government,
should be denationalized, and subject to seizure and con-
demnation. These edicts of the two belligerent powers
were, of course, destructive to the principal part of the
foreign commerce of the United States. American vessels
trading directly with French ports, were liable to capture
by British cruisers ; and if they touched at a British port,
they were confiscated on arriving in France. The British
orders in council operated with the most severity on
American commerce, as through their powerful navy the
English possessed the means of enforcing them."

The session of 1807-8 closed on 25th April, 1808.

Early in the session of 1808-9, a resolution was offered,
in the U. S. House of Representatives, to the effect that
the act of the previous session, laying an embargo, and
the supplementary acts, " ought to be immediately re-
pealed." On the question whether the House would agree
to consider the resolution, there were but nine votes in the
negative — amongst them was that of George M. Troup.
In explaining his vote, he said he felt himself bound at all
times to treat with the greatest delicacy all motions and
propositions of an ordinary nature. But there were times
in which his feelings compelled him to depart from the or-
dinary rule. This was one. He had voted against the
consideration of the resolution because he would reject,
with that dignity which it deserved, an abstract proposi-
tion at this time to remove the embargo ; and because he

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. III.

thought a prompt rejection would mark to the foreign
world the temper of the country. He suggested, since it
was to be discussed, that the discussion should be postponed
a while, until time was given to digest the voluminous
mass of documents laid before them. For in these docu-
ments were contained the best arguments in favor of the
embargo.

Soon after this, the House Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions, having made a report, submitted a series of resolu-
tions, one of which was as follows : " Resolved, That the
United States cannot, without a sacrifice of their rights,
honor and independence, submit to the late edicts of Great
Britain and France."

The House being in committee of the whole,
Mr. Troup said he was extremely happy to agree in one
thing with the gentleman who had just sat down, (Mr.
Eandolph) that the Southern had not suffered less by the
operation of the embargo than the Eastern States ; but
when, in diifering from the gentleman from Massachusetts,
(Mr. Quincy,) on a point of still greater importance, he
was also compelled to differ from the honorable gentleman
from Virginia, he did so with the deepest regret. It has
been said by the gentleman from Massachusetts, observed
Mr. T., that for the last eleven months the country has
suffered by this system of embargo the extreme of disgrace
and humiliation, and the gentleman from Virginia has
called it a measure of degrading submission. Sir, it is not
a measure of submission ; it ie a measure of resistance, and
of the most formidable resistance. Whatever may have
been the object of the Executive in recommending the
embargo, it has ever been supported by us as a measure of
coercion — as a measure of justifiable retaliation. I contend
that it is not submission. Acquiescence in the orders and
decrees — submission to seizure and condemnation — would
be submission to all intents and purposes ; but that measure
which keeps at home the ships and property which our
enemies seek to capture on the high seas, is not submission,
but resistance ; and the gentleman from Massachusetts will

CHAP. Ill] SPEECH ON" THE EMBARGO. 31

find it so to his sorrow. Commerce, sir, is the life-blood of
England ; it is the foundation of her wealth, her prosperity
and her maritime grandeur. But the gentleman says we
have retired from the highway of nations, and left our
great rival free to navigate it. True, we have retired from
the ocean ; we have left our rival free to navigate but very
little more than between port and port of her own do-
minions. We have given the finishing stroke to her
exclusion from the commerce of the civilized world ; she
has not one tittle of it left, other than what you yourselves
would have if your embargo were raised to-morrow ; and
your committee have told you what that is — a scanty, con-
temptible commerce of seven millions of dollars. England
lost one hundred millions when France shut the continent
against her ; she lost fifty millions by the occlusion of your
own ports ; and nothing of trade is left her but that she
may drive with the native powers of Asia and Africa ;
with Sweden, and, precariously, with Spain, Portugal, and
their possessions. No more, then, of raising the embargo
to carry on commerce, when, without a sacrifice of inde-
pendence— without a dishonorable submission to the Orders
in Council — we cannot carry on more than seven millions
of commerce. I know it is said that the people of the
Southern States are the enemies of foreign trade — that
their spirit and their interests are anti-commercial. Sir,
in this sentiment, which is of itself without foundation —
nay, without even the shadow of foundation — is to be
sought that jealousy which has given rise to so many evils,
and from which such serious evils are yet to be appre-
hended ; but, sir, it is a mean, pitiful, contemptible
jealousy. The Southern States are not the enemies of
commerce. Indeed, how can it be said of a people who
raise seventy millions of pounds of cotton, and for which
they have not a home market for ten millions, that they
are the enemies of commerce ! No, sir ; they have, from
the beginning of your government to the present day,
sacrificed as much to the prosperity of commerce as any
people of the Union. They have been at all times as ready

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. Ill-

to go to war for commerce — on the attack on the Chesa-
peake they were even more forward to go to war for the
honor and dignity of the flag than the people of the
Eastern States.

A little more than was said by my friend from Virginia,
as to the comparative operation of the embargo on the
Eastern and Southern States. Compare the operation of
this measure by the proper test— the only true and correct
one — the depreciation of the respective staples of those
two sections of the Union. Let the gentleman from Mas-
sachusetts state to the House what has been the deprecia-
tion of his beef, pork, fish, cheese, butter, onions, potatoes,
and cabbages, and I will tell him what lias been the de-
preciation of our great staples, cotton and rice. The
ordinary market price of cotton is between eighteen and
twenty-two cents ; the embargo price is from ten to twelve.
The ordinary price of rice is from five to six dollars ; the
embargo price is from two to three. Our people are,
besides, in proportion to their number, more in debt than
the people of the Eastern States.

But the gentleman from Massachusetts warns us against
a perseverance in the system of embargo. A perseverance,
according to the gentleman, is to be followed by open
hostility to the laws. Sir, I dread no such hostility. "We
have no reason to dread it. It is altogether impossible that
men who are actuated by the basest of human passions
can make a serious movement in a revolution. No, sir ; I
insist upon it, that we have no cause to fear the anti-
embargo men of Massachusetts. One brave, independent,
generous yeoman of Massachusetts, would drive halt' a
dozen such fellows into the ocean. But, the truth is, the
gentleman seems to have wholly mistaken the condition of
his countrymen. He told us that he had suffered every-
thing but famine ; that the distress and ruin were co-ex-
tensive with the country. They could not or would not
suffer longer. Yet, sir, the gentleman was not well seated,
before his colleague (Mr. Bacon) rose, and with equal claim
to veracity, and the same opportunity of forming a correct

CHAP. III.] SPEECH ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. ££

opinion, told you that his honorable colleague had given a
very high coloring to the picture ; that the distresses of the
people were by no means as great as they were described ;
and that if they wefe less prosperous and flourishing than
before the embargo, they were far — very far — from the
state of misery which his colleague had represented.

Sir, many of these observations have been made with
extreme reluctance ; they have been extorted under cir-
cumstances which must give pain to every American, but
which cannot fail to kindle in him the liveliest indignation.
No man can read without horror and disgust, in the papers
of the day, the most treasonable and flagitious libel that
ever disgraced our country — the anonymous publication
circulated in Newburyport.

Sir, it is remarkable that we have been so gradually
familiarized with British outrages, and have at length be-
come so completely reconciled to the most extravagant
excesses of them, that what two years ago you would have
been willing to go to war for, would now be considered a
matter of too trifling importance to merit your attention,
much less your resentment. Two years ago you were
willing to go to war to limit the right of search ; you would
have gone to war to prohibit the practice of impressment ;
you would have gone to war to overturn the lawless sys-
tem of blockade ; you would have gone to w.ar for the
colonial trade ; for the attack on the Chesapeake ; two
years ago you would have gone to war for the Orders in
Council ; and now that all these outrages, and more than
these, have accumulated on your head, until you are bowed
down to the earth, you are content to beg a little commerce
of England ! You tell England, if she will be pleased to grant
you a little trade, you will open your porfs to her, and shut
them against France ! This last, this humiliating overture,
she rejects with indignation. You have no choice left, as
your committee has reported, but between war and embargo.
We cannot go to war with one, without going to war with
the other ; because, the wrongs done by one are not less
than the wrongs done by the other — unless, indeed you
5

3£ LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. III.

consider the shedding of innocent blood the greatest of all
possible wrongs.

I know this measure of embargo has been condemned,
loudly condemned ; but only by men who propose to re-
seat themselves in power by an appeal to the feelings and
interests of the community. In one part of the country
this appeal has been made with effect. The avaricious
have been corrupted, the ignorant have been duped. In all
countries there are the avaricious and the ignorant ; and the
passion of the one and the credulity of the other have been
wielded with success by the anti-embargo men. Sir, the
people have been led to believe that a great com m «
could be carried on under the orders and decrees, when in
fact no commerce could be carried on without conn
mitting the honor of the nation. They have been led t..
believe that a commerce could be carried on without, haz-
arding the peace of the country, when in fact no commerce
could be carried on without involving the country in war :
and whilst the great object of the government was to pro-
tect commerce, the embargo was said to aim a deadly -blow
at commerce. It is by such misrepresentations that the
noisy enemies of the embargo out of doors have been
deluded and corrupted. And are these the people to whom
we are called on to turn a respectful and deferential ear ?
— the merest Shylocks — men who cry out, away with your
honor, your independence, your neutrality — they are all
stuff — give us gold ! — British merchants, British agi
and malcontent Americans — the depraved of the cities, and
the ignorant of the country — men who are ready to sacri-
fice the honor and independence of the nation for a little
trade in codfish and potash ! If we are thus degenerate —
if we are thus fallen in thirty short years, it is high time
to abandon your republican system of government. Sir,
will posterity believe that this very people, who thirty
years ago magnanimously offered up their lives and for-
tunes for the acquisition of independence, are now prepared
to sacrifice that very independence to their avarice ! Will
posterity believe that this same people, in one short year,

CHAP, in.] SPEECH ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 35

forgot the affair of the Chesapeake? That they were ready
to shake hands with the murderers and robbers of their
countrymen ? I will not, for myself, assent to such a base
barter of honor for gold. ISTo, sir ! If it has come to this
— if we cannot for a year or two years endure the priva-
tions incident to a measure of embargo, if we cannot exist
without the luxuries of life, notwithstanding the most im-
perious calls of honor and of duty, we are unworthy the
blessings we enjoy — we have lost our virtue, and are ripe
for the dynasty of the Bonapartes, or any other dynasty ;
and whether you are conquered by France into miserable
servitude to-morrow, or corrupted to sell your country to
England, is not worth a reflection. This accursed avarice
will ruin you.

Sir, it is not to such a people as those — and I trust in
God a majority of the people of New England are very
different — that I would appeal to test the correctness of the
measure of embargo. "Were I disposed to test its correct-
ness by its popularity, I would appeal to the people of
Virginia, too honorable to be corrupted, too enlightened to
be duped. I would ask them what they thought of the
embargo, and they would answer with an almost unani-
mous voice — they would go further — they would be ready
to support it with their lives and fortunes.

You have done everything for commerce — you have ne-
gotiated for commerce — you have jeoparded the peace of
the country for commerce — you have passed an embargo
to protect commerce — and commerce is the first to abandon
you. God forbid that I should speak thus of the whole
mercantile community. I have seen too many instances on
this floor of noble and magnanimous sacrifice of private
interest to the public weal ; they are not the Smiths, or the
Grays, or the Crowninshields of whom I speak.

If the embargo were raised to-morrow, none would trade
but men of desperate character and bankrupt fortune — the
real bonafide American merchant would not venture a ship
at sea ; and where would they trade ? Why, to be sure,
they might drive a trade in beef and pork and flour to the

36 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. III.

West Indies, and some of our cotton and rice and tobacco
would find their way to England, if the French privateers
did not catch them ; but the market would soon be overrun
—it would be no better than the home market; and where
would you trade to besides ? If you are determined to pay
the ninepence per pound tribute, for permission to re-
export your cotton to the continent, the French decrees
would take it; and, if they did not, the price of the article
would be so enhanced by the tribute, that the market of
the continent would be lost to you.

Permission to arm is tantamount to a declaration of war,
and the people of this country want peace, as long as they
can preserve it with honor. And do you think, sir, we are
ready to plunge headlong into a ruinous war, naked and
unarmed, to gratify a few bankrupt commercial specula-
tors? It is easy to declare war ; it is more difficult, under
present circumstances, to maintain peace, and it is most
difficult of all to wage a successful war. Sir, beware! It
is the object of the gentleman from MaaMchnaettl and his
friends, to lead you, step by step, into a war, and if he can,
into an unpopular war, which the moment you cease to
conduct with effect, you are ruined, and he and his friends
are exalted. To such an event, deplorable as it would
I could be reconciled if I believed the gentleman and his
friends would govern in the true spirit of the constitution ;
but liberty has been hunted down in the Old World — there
is scarce a remnant of it left, save in America — here it
is sustained by the ruling party ; and, sir, the moment this
party ceases to rule, Republicanism is gone, and with it the
hopes of all good men forever. On this account I depre-
cate such an event.

It would appear to me from the tenor of the gentleman's
remarks, (Mr. Quincy.) that he wants war with France
and alliance with England. If this be the fact, the gen-
tleman is not consistent. If he is really as much afraid of
the gigantic power of France as he affects to be, (and I
must confess, for my part, I am very much afraid of it,)
assuredly it is not policy to provoke France — it is our policy

CHAP. III.] SPEECH ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 37

to keep out of the way of both monsters as long as we can,
and to husband our resources. And what would avail an
alliance with England? You could only furnish men to be
slaughtered on the continent. I can tell the gentleman
from Massachusetts in what he would much better exem-
plify both his patriotism and consistency — in union, in
uniting to call into activity the resources of the nation for
its defence — in organizing and arming and disciplining ;
and, what is not less desirable, in adopting a system of
finance, which would not fail you in any exigency ; in short,
in pursuing the course in which you are, which the soundest
policy points to as the safest and the best, the course of
impartial neutrality, if, indeed, neutrality has anything to
do with it.

As to the embargo, so much has been said, both in and
out of doors, in its justification, that I will forbear to touch
it. It is only necessary to observe that it has been sup-
ported, and will be continued, as a measure of security and
of j ust retaliation. As a measure of security, it keeps the
property at home, which, but for it, would have enriched
your enemies ; as a measure of retaliation, it would have
had its effect, but for the anti-embargo men of Massachu-
setts. If the gentleman will co-operate to make it efficient,
he will soon find the great mercantile politicians of Eng-
land, from Anderson down to McCall Bedford, have not
been mistaken in the belief that this country can vitally
affect the colonial and manufacturing interests of that, by
an embargo system.

As to a declaration of war against France and Great
Britain, and the policy of making it immediately, no local
considerations should be permitted to enter into our view
of it ; but this much is to be said, that the Southern people
are much more interested in raising the embargo than
going to war ; by the first, they would find a vent for a
small proportion of their staples ; by the latter, they could
get nothing but taxes and fighting. The anti-embargo
men of Massachusetts would not make more by the first
than ourselves, and by the last they would make nothing

38 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. III.

more than their privateers would make for them ; but the
great object is to postpone the evil.

One word, before I sit down, as to what fell from the
gentleman from New York. He proposes to repeal the
embargo in relation to Spain and Portugal. Sir, is the
political condition of those States characterized by a per-
manency and stability which would warrant commercial
connection with them ? Trade with the Junta of Seville —
a mere political ephemeron — a being of a day ! Sir, I wish
the Spanish patriots success, with all my heart, but success
is impossible. Ten thousand to one, that whilst I am
speaking, this same Junta of Seville is imploring clemency
at the footstool of the great usurper. Indeed, sir, if wo are
bound to consider this people of any definite description,
we are to consider them rather as French subjects than
Spanish patriots, for the onhr official paper in relation to
them is the instrument of abdication and renunciation by
which this unhappy people have been transferred over, like
a flock of sheep, to the Emperor Napoleon, and by the
very men for whose rights of empire they are said to be
contending.

The question was taken, the next day, on the resolution
under consideration, and it was passed without a division ;
but it is evident that the debate did not turn upon the res< >1 u-
tion simply, and that the vote determined nothing in regard
to the relative strength of the two parties — one, the Repub-
lican, ready to support the administration in all just
measures to vindicate the honor of the country ; the other,
the Federal, bound by no sympathy for the party in power,
or its leader, Mr. Jefferson, and ready at any moment to
seize a favorable opportunity for bringing the administra-
tion and its friends into odium with the people.

^ The following letter, never before published, from Col.
Troup to Charles Harris, Esq., will show the views «>f the
former on our foreign relations, even before the meeting
of Congress in 1807 :

CHAP. III.] VIEWS ON OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. £9

WASHINGTON, 14th Oct., 180T.

•Dear Harris : This morning I paid a visit to the Presi-
dent. As we were alone, he was communicative. The
substance of what passed, so far as I am at liberty, I give
you.

Nothing decisive of the question of peace or war can
transpire previously to the return of the Revenge. She is
not expected short of a month, as even her arrival in Eng-
land is not known to the government. England flatters
our ministers, and they speak of her favorable disposition.
She disavows absolutely any authority to Berkeley, and
talks of atonement. But, my friend, the chances of war,
notwithstanding, are beyond all comparison greater than
those of peace. Our Spanish negotiation, which, during
the absence of the Emperor, was suspended, is actively re-
newed, and before the end of the session the government
has reason to look to a satisfactory issue. Heretofore,
Spain has made no advances. I may conjecture that
Bonaparte will speak for us in an audible and imperative
tone.*

I give you nothing, perhaps, that you have not antici-
pated ; but as it is stated on authority, it will afford you
more solid foundation for your political lucubrations. This
horrid scrawl is intended for Charlton, the BulloChs and
Morel, as well as yourself, when you get together over
some brandy and water. Have been sick, and can't write
you all.

Your friend sincerely,

Geo. M. Troup.

* The President has nothing to do with this last sentence
— remember !

To Gen. D. B. Mitchell, he wrote during the session, on
the same subject, as follows : .

WASHINGTON, 18th Feb'ry, 1808.
Dear Sir :

The House is this morning occupied in providing for the
raising of several regiments (9) on a war establishment.

4$ LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. III.

Mr. Kose's negotiation, it is understood, is brought to a
close, at least for the present, and the Congress will in
future be engaged as if war is inevitable. We have a
French decree declaring England blockaded by sea and
land. Whether it be genuine or forged is not certain.
Very respectfully, dear sir, your friend,

Geo. M. Troup.

WASHINGTON, 2Sth March, 1808.

Dear Sir : Your favor, of the 13th inst., came to hand
last night. The tenor of the King's speech, which reached
us at the moment of the rupture of Hose's negotiation,
gave rise to but one opinion among the friends of our
country — that war was inevitable. The only question
seemed to be how we should wage it. I make no doubt in
such event the defensive mode would be adopted in the
first instance — prohibiting intercourse, preparing ourselves
for attack, and organizing a force for the reduction of the
British Provinces on the first offensive act of the enemy.

Three days since, dispatches were received from Mr.
Pinkney, stating that the ministry had lowered their tone;
and indeed, my friend, I sincerely believe if we have cour-
age and perseverance, the bully will retreat from his high
gmund» and give us by honorable treaty what the law of
nations has decreed. And yet should such concessions set-
tle us down in a permanent peace with that country, it is
very questionable whether France would not take umbrage.
The conduct of the Emperor of late is calculated at least to
put us on our guard. It is knoicn he is spoiled by fortune,
that he is overbearing, and perhaps that he aims at universal
empire. Be it so or otherwise, it becomes this government
to act as an independent nation, uncontrolled by anything
but a sense of justice and moderation. Could you see the
whole ground, you would think the crisis as difficult as that
of '77. Indeed, to think so you will require little more
than the documents the publication of which is permitted.

The fate of the Bill authorizing a sale of arms to the
State, is at least doubtful, and it is to be feared that if

CHAP. III.] SPEECH ON THE ARMY BILL. 41

passed it will be under such modification as to render it of
little importance to Georgia. (We may get 5,000 stand.)
We were obliged in the House to go upon the beggarly
system, which I did not like, and which of course gave a
fine field to the Yazoo men and the rest. The Army bill is
passed to its third reading. Congress has been occupied a
week in reading the documents accompanying the Presi-
dent's communication. We may adjourn in three weeks.

Tour friend, respectfully, GEO. M. TROUP.

Gen. D. B. Mitchell, Savannah.

The Army bill, to which reference is above made, being
under consideration, 4th April, 1808,

Mr. Troup said, that after the very elocpent and patriotic
speech of his friend from Virginia, (Mr. Randolph,) he felt
it doubly incumbent on him to justify the vote he should
give, by a few observations. I really cannot, said he, for
my part, perceive, with the gentleman from Virginia, that
a bright prospect of peace has suddenly opened upon this
country. My views of things at this moment are very
different ; it really seems to me that the clouds are gather-
ing about us darker and thicker every day. It must be,
from the nature of things, extremely difficult to determine
whether we shall have peace or war, because that event, I
trust, depends on powers not to be controlled by us. But,
however difficult it be to determine it, what security have
we that we shall not be attacked ? Are we certain that an
act of hostility against this country will ever be preceded
by a solemn and formal declaration of war ( Xo, sir, all
experience is against it. The Spanish frigates were at-
tacked, and there was no declaration of war — nay, they
were attacked in the midst of negotiation for peace, or
rather in the midst of friendly negotiation ; Copenhagen
was attacked and in flames, and there was no declaration
of war.* Recollect, when your measure of embargo begins
to press hard upon the British colonies ; when from that

* The reader will understand these references to be to the capture of Spanish Treasure
Ships by the British, in 1804, and the bombardment and burning of Copenhagen, by the
same power, in 1807. — ED.

42 LIFK OF GEORGE M. TROUP. I CHAP. III.

salutary measure the colonies are reduced to the last ex-
treme of wretchedness and want, the tigress will attack
you for food for her young ; it is not unlikely that she may
steal upon you in the dead of night, and treat you as at
Paoli. And pray, sir, what security have you against that
Power which a gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. ]). 11.
Williams,) so appropriately called the tiger? What secu-
rity have you against France \ Do you expect to sleep in
profound tranquillity because Britain interposes between
you and France her thousand ships ( It would be idle
and irrational to expect it, You had an instance, tin-
other day, of the Rochefort squadron making its way in the
face of the whole British navy, and, it is said, with live
thousand troops on board, who might, for aught you could
have done, be drawn up on your frontier.

But what is to be done in the present rri.-is of affairs?
Is the nation to remain undefended merely because gentle-
men entertain prejudices against a particular sj>eci<
defence? On what physical force will you rely for de
fence? You can only rhoo-e between the militia and a
standing army ; and when, the other day, it was proposed,
by an honorable gentleman from Virginia, to class and
re-organize the militia, you refused to do so. And it i-
well known that the present defective system of militia, in
our quarter of the country at least, is good for nothing.
]STo man has more confidence in the militia than myself; I
consider them the great and cheap defence of the nation ;
but you must class, arm and equip them, and, when they are
so armed, classed and equipped, purge this country of that
refuse of humanity, a British faction and a French faction
— if, indeed, there be any such — and your militia will de-
fend you against the world.

The jealousy of standing armies is characteristic of our
people ; it results essentially from their habits and political
institutions; but this jealousy existing only in times of
peace, is, in a season of public danger, always succeeded
by that policy which reposes the safety of the nation in
discipline, in habits of obedience, and in concert of opera-

CHAP. III.] SPEECH ON THE ARMY BILL. 43

tion. !N"o man ever, complained of a standing army when
his country was invaded. Xo man complained of a stand-
ing army during the Revolution, though many complained,
and causelessly complained, of the militia. The truth is,
that the evil of standing armies is always effectually guarded
when the regular force bears a very small proportion to the
armed militia. By adopting such policy, by so proportion-
ing your regular force to your militia, you will have no-
thing to do but to command it to lay down its arms, and
it is done.

Circumstances render it necessary, at this moment, to
create a war establishment, not so much for the purpose of
defence against invasion, an event, perhaps, not so seriously
to be apprehended, as was well observed by my friend
from Virginia, but to preserve peace by preparing for war.
It is at this time, and under such circumstances as the pres-
ent, the maxim applies, to preserve peace or avert war, you
must prepare for war.

As to confidence in men, under whom the force is to be
wielded, and of which so much has been said, I will only
observe, that I either have very great confidence or no con-
fidence at all, and a sufficiency of it, on the present occasion,
to believe that it will be neither misdirected nor abused ;
and I repose this confidence the more readily, as I am aware
the army will be disbanded with the same facility it has
been created, when the occasion for it ceases.

Although somewhat out of its chronological order, we
have here inserted this speech entire, as it exhibits the
foresight of its author, and is a just compliment to his
sagacity and his patriotism. Three days afterwards, the
bill passed the House by a large majority ; and, having
passed the Senate with the House amendments, was signed
by the President on 12th April, ls(K

On the 9th of January, 1809, the Senate amendments to
the bill from the House for employing an additional num-
ber of seamen and marines, being before the House,

44 LIFE OF GEOKGE M. TROUP. [Cnu>. III.

Mr. Troup said he rose but for the purpose of stating
facts which struck him as being applicable to the subject
before the House. He referred chiefly to an extract of a
letter written to himself, and published in the paper of to-
day. [Mr. T. then read the extract which appeared in the
National Intelligencer on the 9th instant.] In addition to
these facts,* letters had been received, in the course of this
morning, containing further particulars, which he begged
leave to state to the House. After the officer (commander
of a British armed vessel.) had been forced on board his
vessel, and while lying in our waters and within our juris-
diction, he had fired several shots at pilot-boats passing
and repassing, had been very abusive, and threatened the
town with what he called vengeance ; and, in addition to
these facts, letters had reached Savannah from Liverpool,
giving satisfactory information ilia! treaeela "i' fifteen or
twenty guns had been fitted out l«.r the purpose of forcing
a cotton trade with South Carolina and Georgia. This in-
formation. Mr. T. said, came from unquestionable authority.
And it was because lie was unwilling that the people of this
country should longer submit to tlu- abuse of British naval
officers; because lie was unwilling that they should be ex-
posed to the insolence of every British commissioned puppy
who chose to insult us; because lie was unwilling that
armed vessels should force a cotton trade, when every man
knew that nine-tenths of the people of Georgia would treat
as traitors the violators of the embargo ; it was for this
reason that he was disposed to vote for the amendments from
the Senate. The great objection which had been taken to
them was the expense which they would produce. Econ-
omy, Mr. T. said, was a good thing in time of peace; but
if this contracted spirit of economy predominated in our
war councils, if we were forced into a war, so help him
God. he would rather at once tamely submit our honor and

* The affair of tho British war brig Sandwich i- h.'iv ivlerrod to. Having anchored
off Tybee, two of her officers came up to Savannah, and were immediatch
because of the violation of the proclamation of the President, intordirtiiiR our harbors and
waters to all British armed vessels. The vessel reluctantly pnttoMft; but. l,>-t..n- il,,;:
fired several shots at a pilot-boat in the harbor, and committed other ontraee*.— En.

CHAP. III.] THE TYBEE OUTRAGE— INCREASE OF NAVY. 4.5

independence than maintain them in this economical way.
If we went to war, we ought not to adopt little measures for
the purpose of executing them with little means ; neither
should we refuse to adopt great measures because they
could not be executed but with great means. It was very
true that, in war as well as in peace, calculation to a certain
extent was necessary ; but, if they once resolved on an
object, it hiust be executed at whatever expense. He was
no advocate for standing armies or navies, generally speak-
ing ; but, in discharging his duties here, he must be gov-
erned by the circumstances of every case which presented
itself for his decision, and then ask himself, Is it wise,
politic and prudent to do this or omit that? He said he
would never go back to yesterday to discover what he
had then said or done, in order to ascertain what he should
now do or say. Political conduct must depend on circum-
stances. What was right yesterday might be wrong today.
JSTay, what was right at the moment he rose to address the
House, might, ere this, be palpably wrong. Conduct de-
pended on events, which depended on the folly or caprice
of men ; and, as they changed, events would change. It
might have been a good doctrine long- ago that this country
ought to have a navy competent to cope with a detachment
of the British navy ; it might have been good doctrine then,
but was shocking doctrine now.

At that time England had to contend with the navies of
Russia, Denmark, France, Holland, Spain, &c. Now,
England was sole mistress of the ocean. To fight her, ship
to ship and man to man, (and it was impossible that gentle-
men could think of fighting her otherwise, if they fought her
at all,) we must build up a huge navy at an immense ex-
pense. We must determine to become less agricultural
and more commercial ; to incur a debt of five hundred or
a thousand millions of dollars, and all the loans and taxes
attendant on such a system, and all the corruption attend-
ant on them. He should as soon think of embarking an
hundred thousand men for the purpose of attacking France
at her threshold, as of building so many ships to oppose

46 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUPr [CHAP. III.

the British navy. It was out of the question ; no rational
man could think of it. But that was not now the question.
It was, whether we would call into actual service the little
navy we possessed. It was not even a question whether
we would have a navy at all or not. If that were the
question, he would not hesitate to say that even our present
political condition required a navy to a certain extent, to
protect our commerce against the Barbary Powers in peace,
and in time of war for convoys to our merchantmen. lie
only meant a few fast-sailing frigates, such a navy as we
have at present, for the purpose of harassing the commerce
of our enemies also. He therefore thought our present
naval force ought to be put in service. As far as the ap-
propriation ($400,000,) would go, it would be employed ;
but if Congress should hereafter see cause to countermand
or delay the preparation, they would have it in their power
to do so by refusing a further appropriation.

In perfect consonance with the fore^uinu. WL-IV his views
in regard to the Gunboat system, which had been recom-
mended by President Jefferson. The sunn? subject being
before the House, on llth January, 1809,

Mr. Troup said he regretted exceedingly that In-
under the necessity of again troubling the House, but he-
felt himself bound, in some measure, to state more particu-
larly his reasons for voting for the bill, and to rq.l-
some cogent objections made from it quarter of the House
which he much respected. He stated anew the reasons
which he had given why the United States should have ;i
small naval force. He thought it indispensable at this
time to man and equip our little navy, not for the <nu- or
the other general reason in its favor which lie before stated,
but to protect from violence and insult the territory of the
United States ; that territory which gentlemen in this
House were so fond of calling the territory of the good old
United States— he meant the marine league from the shore
—as sacred and inviolable as any spot of earth within our
limits. It was for the purpose of protecting this part of

CHAP. Ill] VIEWS ON THE GUNBOAT SYSTEM. 47

our territory, for removing; those cruisers wlncli are com-

«/ * o

petent to blockade the mouths of our rivers, that he wished
this navy to be equipped. Gentlemen said the gunboats
were competent to the protection of our harbors. Mr. T.
acknowledged it ; he said he did believe that the invention
of man never devised a more competent system than gun-
boats, co-operating with fortifications, for the protection of
our ports and harbors, but they were calculated to act only
on shoals and in smooth waters.* They were not fit for
any other species of service ; they could not stand the winds
and the waves, the billows and the tempests. And notwith-
standing our ports and harbors might well be defended by
these gunboats, they were not competent to the purpose
for which these frigates were to be manned, to prevent
blockades of our own waters. [The rest of this speech is
omitted for want of room.]

We cannot better conclude this chapter than by referring,
briefly, to the position which Col. Troup occupied as a
public man, even before he took his seat in the House of
Representatives, on 26th October, 1807. Twelve days be-
fore, as has been seen by his letter to Mr. Harris, he is
found in close, if not familiar, conversation with the Presi-
dent, Mr. Jefferson, on the subject of our foreign relations
— then the absorbing question of the day. He had then
just completed his twenty-seventh year, had not entered
upon his Congressional duties, and it was no small com-
pliment to have received, in advance, the confidence of
so sagacious a statesman as the then chief magistrate of
the Union.

The second session of the tenth Congress terminated,
and the Congress itself expired, on 3d March, 1809.

The next chapter will be devoted to Col. Troup's opposi-
tion to the schemes of the Yazoo speculators.

* For the reasons which urged Mr. Jefferson to recommend this species of defence,
see his special message of February 10th, 1807. Although much ridiculed by his oppo-
nents, at the time, experience has proved its efficiency, both in this country and Europe,
as a means of defence. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

CHAPTER IV.

,,/ out of it, /»•/".••• Con

IT is necessary to go back somewhat, in the order of
time, to consider the course of events flowing from an in-
famous fraud upon the people of Georgia, a brief statement
of which we have already given. It is pleasant to reflect
that although the escutcheon of the State was for a while
tarnished by the bribery and corruption which attempted
the alienation of an immense territory, for a consideration
almost nominal, yet the people, rising in their strength,
and with an honest indignation, rescued the character of
the State from the disgrace which cupidity and corrupt
speculation had essayed. Whilst the honest nwn would
desire to turn his face from the subject, with loathing, still
it is one so interwoven with the history of the country, and
especially of the State of Georgia, that no historian can
altogether pass it over, and no biographer of George M.
Troup ought to do it. In his detestation of the fraud, he-
stood second to none ; in effort and service against it, no
man did more than he, unless we except General James
Jackson. Like the record of the transaction which was
burned with " fire from heaven," * it could be wished that
the history of it had perished from the mind of man ;
but, like all monuments of human folly and human crime,
it stands alike the memorial of wickedness and the beacon
of warning against avarice.

About the time of the passage of the corrupt Act, the
speculators engaged in the fraud deposited in the treasury
the sum of five hundred thousand dollars, being the amount

* Until recently, tho writer never heard a doubt expressed, that, on the occasion of
the destruction of the record of tho Vazoo Act, fire was kindled by a hurnin:; gla«s. All
tradition confirms this idea; and whilst it may bo true that the onlii.ary nnMina of apply-
ing fire -were used, on that occasion; yet thero seems to be no reason to doubt that,
during the solemnities of tho occasion, and as expressive of public detestation of the Tazoo
fraud, the sun-glass was also used. — Ei>.

CHAP. IV.] YAZOO FRAUD. 49

of money consideration for wTiich the grants were to issue.
By a statement made to the Legislature, in 1813, by Gov.
Mitchell, it appears that " the Tazoo Deposit was origi-
nated by five hundred thousand dollars and paid into our
treasury by certain companies of men, in consideration of
grants which they received from the State for a large tract of
our western territory, since ceded by Georgia to the United
States. This transaction took place in the winter of 1794.
At the following session of the Legislature, in the winter of
1795. the grants issued to those companies were declared
null and void, and provision was made for the repayment
of the money to all those who should call at the treasury
and produce sufficient evidence of the amount paid by
them. Under these laws, many persons, as well original
grantees as those called sub-shareholders, claimed and re-
ceived from our treasury three hundred and ten thousand
six hundred and ninety-five dollars, 13 10-12 cents, part of
the original five hundred thousand, leaving a balance of
one hundred and eighty -four thousand seven hundred and
sixteen dollars, forty-seven and a half cents, which is the
amount now in our treasury, subject to some deduction for
guard expenses, &c."

In 1798 Georgia adopted a new constitution, by the
twenty-third section of the first article of which the boun-
daries of the State were declared and defined as stated in
the beginning of this work ; and the said section proceed,
ed to say :

" And this convention doth further declare and assert
that all the territory without the present temporary line
and within the limits aforesaid, is now of right the pro-
perty of the free citizens of this State, and held by them
in sovereignty, inalienable but by their consent. Provided
nevertheless, that nothing herein contained shall be construed
so as to prevent a sale to, or contract with, the United States,
by the Legislature of this State, of and for all or any part
of the western territory of this State, lying westward of
the river Chattahoochee, on such terms as may be benefi-
cial to both parties ; and may procure an extension of set-
tlement, and an extinguishment of Indian claims, in and to
the vacant territory of this State, to the east and north of
7

50 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. IV.

the said river Cbattalioochee, to which territory such power
of contract or sale, by the Legislature, shall not extend :
And provided also, the Legislature may give its consent to
the establishment of one or more governments westward
thereof; but monopolies of land by individuals being con-
trary to the spirit of our free government, no sale of terri-
tory of this State, or any part thereof, shall take place to
individuals, or private companies, unless a county or coun-
ties shall have been first laid off, including such territory,
and the Indian rights shall have been extinguished thereto."
The twenty-fourth section of the same article declared :
" The foregoing section of this article having declared
the common rights of the free citizens of this State in and
to all the territory without the present temporary boundary
line, and within the limits of this State, thereby defined,
by which the contemplated purchases of certain companies
of a considerable portion thereof are become constitution-
ally void, and justice and good faith require that the State
should not detain a consideration for a contract which has
failed; the Legislature at their next session shall make pro-
vision, by law, for returning to any person or persons who
has or have bonajidc deposited moneys for such purch:
in the treasury of this State: Provided, that the same
shall not have been drawn therefrom in terms of the act
passed the thirteenth of February, one thousand seven hun-
dred and ninety-six, commonly called the rescinding act,
or the appropriation laws of the years one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-six, and one thousand seven hundred
and ninety-seven ; nor shall the moneys, paid for such pur-
chases, ever be deemed a part of the funds of this State, or
be liable to appropriations as such ; but until such moi>.
be drawn from the treasury, they shall be considered alto-
gether at the risk of the persona who have deposited the
same," &c., &c.

It was evident, then, that the Yaxoo speculators were cut
off from all hope of profit from any act of the government
of Georgia ; but, to put the matter beyond all dispute, the
Legislature of 179S-!) not only passed an act to carrv into
effect the said twenty-fourth section of the third artic.
the constitution, for refunding the deposits in the treasury
nt, on the 10th day of June, 1802, an act was passed, « to
ratify and confirm certain articles of agreement and cession
entered into on the 24th day of April, 1802, between the

CHAP. IV.] YAZOO FRAUD. 5]

commissioners of the State of Georgia on the one part, and
the commissioners of the United States on the other part,"
by which the State of Georgia ceded to the United States
all her territory not included in the present limits of the
State, but including the fraudulent grants to the Yazoo
companies, and to which act of cession we shall have occa-
sion more particularly to refer when we come to speak of
the Creek difficulties. The consideration money to be paid
for this cession, was one million two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars ; besides which, it was stipulated in the
second condition of said articles of cession, " that all per-
sons who, 011 the 22d day of October, 1795, were actual
settlers within the territory thus ceded, shall be confirmed
in all the grants legally and fully executed prior to that
day, by the former British government of West Florida, or
by the government of Spain, and in the claims which may
be derived from any actual survey or settlement made
under the act of the State of Georgia, entitled ' An act
for laying out a district of land situate on the river Mis-
sissippi, and within the bounds of this State, into a county
to be called Bourbon,' passed the 7th day of February,
1785 ; " and in the third condition it was further provided,
" that the United States, for the period and until the end
of one year after the assent of Georgia to the boundary es-
tablished by this agreement, shall have been declared,
may, in such manner as not to interfere with the above
mentioned payment to the State of Georgia, nor with the
grants herein before recognized, dispose of or appropriate
a portion of the said lands not exceeding five millions of
acres, or the proceeds of the said five millions of acres, or
any part thereof, for the purpose of satisfying, quieting or
compensating for any claims other than those herein before
recognized, which may be made to the said lands or to any
part thereof. It being fully understood that if an act of
Congress making such disposition or appropriation, shall
not be passed into a law within the above mentioned period
of one year, the United States shall not be at liberty there-
after to cede any part of the said lands, on account of claims

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHIP. IV.

which may be laid to the same, other than those recognized
bv the preceding condition, nor to compensate for the
same ; and in case of any such cession or compensation, the
present cession of Georgia to the right of the soil thus
ceded or compensated for, shall be considered as null and
void, and the lands thus ceded or compensated for, shall
revert to the State of Georgia."

We have deemed it proper to premise so much, in order
that the course of Col. Troup in the U. S. House of Repre-
sentatives, in regard to the Yazoo speculation, might be
better understood. But it is necessary to make a further ex-
planation. Some of the speculators, or their assignees,
having, after said act of cession, carried the matter before
Congress, the Legislature, on the I'.'M day of November,
1807, passed the following preamble and resolutions :

" Whereas, in the year seventeen hundred and ninety-
five, as will be recollected with emotions of indignation by
every virtuous citizen of this State, a combination of in-
fluential and moneyed men, succeeded, by^/vT^r// and cor-
ruption, in obtaining the passage of an act, conveying the
right of this State in a well known portion of the western
country, called YAZOO, to several companies of purclia
and whereas the succeeding Legislature, duly convinced of
the flagitious agency which had procured the act aforesaid,
virtuously determined, by a rescinding law, to prohibit all
contracts, conveyances and grants originating in that fraud,
from being carried into effect, it solemnly becomes this
Legislature to support and preserve consistent the reputa-
tion cf this State, by denying the statement of a band of
speculators, combined from New Hampshire to the Missis-
sippi, to embezzle the funds, either of this State or the
United States, and to riot on the profits of an extensive tract
of country, in alleging, falscly, that the State of Georgia
contemplated in the articles of cession to the United States
of her western territory, in eighteen hundred and two, any
compromise of the Yazoo claims in any tray whatever. And
inasmuch as it is important to the decision of Congress on
this subject, and greatly so to the dignity and justice of
the State of Georgia, that the truth as it is in this matter
should be fully and unequivocally defined ; it is therefore
unanimously

RESOLVED, by the Senate and House of Representatives of

CHAP. IV.] YAZOO FRAUD. 53

the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, That they
have viewed and still view with abhorrence, the attempt
made by a set of unprincipled men, commonly known by
the appellation of Yazoo men, to corrupt a majority of the
Legislature of this State in the year 1795 ; which attempt
was rendered abortive by the virtue of the succeeding
Legislature.

Resolved, That it never was the intention of the Legis-
lature of this State, when they ratified certain articles of
agreement and cession entered into by commissioners ap-
pointed by the State of Georgia and the United States, to
evince any desire to compromise claims that originated
in fraud, and which were rendered invalid by State
sovereignty.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Senate and House of
Representatives of the State of Georgia be given to John
Randolph, member of Congress from the State of Virginia,
and the late majority of the ninth Congress, for their vir-
tuous and manly opposition to a compromise, which would
in their opinion equally compromit the dignity of the gov-
ernment of the United States, and the sovereignty of this
State.

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit
copies of the foregoing resolutions to Mr. Randolph, to the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the
Attorney General of the United States."

The claimants having therefore no hope of assistance
from the State, applied to the federal government for relief.
It is not necessary to trace in detail the rise or history of
these applications to Congress. It will appear in the course
of this history that the claims were pressed with pertinacity,
and resisted with energy at every step. The commission-
ers of the United States, who had negotiated with the
authorities of Georgia for the cession of the western terri-
tory, had, in their report to Congress as early as February,
1803, recommended an adjustment of the claims, and stated
that " various equitable considerations, which may be urged
in favor of most of the present claimants, render it expedi-
ent to enter into a compromise on reasonable terms." But
they were doomed to encounter violent opposition, and in
opposing these claims no one was more honest or zealous
than the subject of this biography.

54: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cair. IV.

The Legislature of Georgia having publicly thanked the
eccentric John Randolph for his " virtuous and manly op-
position to a compromise," it will not be considered irrele-
vant if we give here some extracts from one of his speeches,
especially as they serve to throw light upon what follows.

On the 29th March, 1806, the subject came before the
House, on a message from the Senate, stating that they had
passed a bill to carry into effect the provisions of the eighth
section of the "Act* regulating the grants of land, and
providing for the disposal of the lands of the United States
south of the State of Tennessee." A motion was immedi-
ately made by Mr. Nelson, of Maryland, that the bill be
rejected. Mr. Goldsborough, another member from Ma-
ryland, having made a fruitless motion to postpone, and
having then requested to be excused from voting. "Mr.
Randolph said :

I hope the bill will be rejected. I have a very grea1
spect fora full and fair discussion of every .pie-tion hroughl
before this assembly. But this is the third, and F do not
know that I should be wrong in saying it is the fourth, ses-
sion since this business has been pending lu-foiv Con-
I believe that the report of the commissioners has i
printed twice, if not three times, for the information of
members. This bill, we are told, has been lying twenty
days on our tables. But, had it come before the House but
twenty minutes ago, when we advert to the history of the
business, I am willing and anxious to give it a positive and
prompt rejection. My memory is unfortunately bad. 1
do not, therefore, recollect when this subject, so well de-
nominated the Yazoo subject, was first brought into this
House. I know, however, it was several sessions a^jo, and
I recollect that it was attended with some peculiar circum-
stances. I recollect that, important as the subject was, the
discussion was smothered at the outset ; and when I take
into consideration that suppression of the discussion, with
other facts in my own knowledge, there is the stroi
prima facie evidence that it was designedly smothered. f
But it may be said that the suppression of that discussion
ought to render it more proper to discuss the bill before you.

* For this Act, sco U. S. Statu: . 1. u, pp. 2J'J to -2'.',:,.— Kr>.

t Injustice to the Reporter, it , rit'4 thut lie explained fully tli

why the debate -was unavoidably omitted from the House proceedings. — ED.

CHAP. IT.] YAZOO FRAUD.— SPEECH OF MR. RANDOLPH. 55

On the contrary, the act of suppression, three or four years
ago, drew the attention of the public to the subject, and
caused the report of the commissioners to be republished, I
believe, in every newspaper in America.

Now, what will be the consequence of this business, after
having received the attention of oue branch of the Legisla-
ture, and after having been slurred over by the other ? I
believe it would require no prophet to pronounce on the
event. I have heard of a certain machine, which always
gains and never loses — a machine which plain wagoners
call a shuffling stick. Every step it gets up hill is sure,
although the horse be restive, or the wagon be loaded too
heavily, or the driver be incapable — still it cannot go back
again.

I am for the rejection of the bill for another reason. This
bill may be called the Omega, the last letter of the political
alphabet ; but, with me, it is the Alpha ; it is the head of
the divisions among the republican party ; it is the secret
and covert cause of the whole. This is the subject which
has been shoved off from day to day, merely that we might
get something from the other House, where its friends were
more numerous. Yes, a union has been formed between
Cape Ann and Marblehead, and the Rio del Norte, a union
of the East with the West, which makes gentlemen more
touchy and jealous of one acre of this territory than of all
the real land of the United States. This has been seen,
and the nation is sold. I say, quoad hos or illos, the nation
is sold. "We have heard of this thing two years ago, and it
has come to pass. No prophets so true as those who have
the means to bring things to pass. The Man of the
Mountain is the truest prophet that ever lived. He had
only to prophesy, to insure the perdition of any man.

What is the bill on which this House is called to act or
not to act ? If the gentleman will but use half the intelli-
gence he manifests on other occasions, instead of asking to
be excused from giving a vote, he will vote for an instan-
taneous rejection of this bill. The facts are simply these:
That in 1794 and 1795, a project was set on foot to debauch
and corrupt the Legislature of Georgia, and to obtain for
the projectors a tract of country more extensive than any
State in this Union, and more fertile than most of them ;
that this project succeeded ; that the Legislature of Georgia
was bribed ; that for a mess of pottage, to be eaten by them-
selves, they transferred the birth-right of their countrymen.
These facts are in proof to the House; and, instead of a
postponement, gentlemen who want information have only

56 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

to call for the reading of the records on your table. The
sum stipulated to be paid for the country in question, era-
bracing at the least forty millions of acres, was S500,000.
This law excited, as it ought to have excited, in the people
of Georgia, one general sentiment of indignation. But the
corruption had pervaded and flooded and overflowed every"
department of the government. Grants were made out,
and the grantees held the parchments in their hands. The
people of Georgia resolved to resort to first principles. It
will be recollected that the corrupt law was passed in 1 ?.'">.
In the subsequent spring, the grand juries of the several
counties made a unanimous protest against its passage ; tin-
succeeding Legislature repealed it, burnt the parchment, and
exposed its authors. And what are we now al><>nt to do '.
Will we, after following an illustrious patriot f to his grave,
sully the fairest page in his history by giving a sanction to
this measure? The people will say you are mere mum-
mers, actors that put on false garments for a particular
occasion, and the moment after return to your original
insignificance. The law was burnt — it was expunged from
the records of the State, and the rescinding act incorporated
in a subsequent constitution made by the people. But the
grantees under the first act — under the corrupt act — had
their post-horses and runners ready, who ilew to the Kast
and the West, the North and the South, and made sale of
their grants. To whom did they sell ? To persons apprised
of the original invalidity of the act. But if they did not,
does that change the question ? Who are the Legislature of
Georgia? The delegates of the people of Georgia. Who
were the sovereigns of the several States before the Revolu-
tion ? _ The representatives of the Crown. I will ask you,
then, if one of these men had proceeded to give away the
country, whether the Court of King's Bench would not
have set aside the grant? They would. Subsequently to
this, the United States received from the State of Georgia
a grant of the country in question, and of other country not
in question. In receiving this grant, they acknowledged
the validity of the rescinding act of Georgia. The United

IQ White's Statistics of Georgia, page 50, it is said, "no corruption was impi:
Governor (Mathews). It is just tu his memory— that of u M.l.li, r who h;id »,... :.
nisand laurels in the war of independence— to affirm that v judgment, not

rruption of heart, guided the pen which sanctioned the detested statute." There is a
ion, that his Secretary, to prevent the passage of the law, ilipp.-.l the (J,,v. mart pen
oil; and that, after repeated trials, finding the pen w.nild not write, the C.
seized another pen and signed the bill.— ED.

IWanfa Jame3 JaCk,S°n> * Senator from Georgia, who died in Washington City, on the

CHAP. IV.] YAZOO FRAUD.— SPEECH OF MR. RANDOLPH. 57

States, when they received the grant, were apprised of the
preceding transfers, and the acceptance of the country from
Georgia is unequivocal evidence of their opinion that the
original act of 1795 was null and void. But in a country
so extensive as this, in which some settlements had been
previously made under British, Spanish, and other grants,
from the State of Georgia, than those of 1795, it will be
readily believed there were many antagonizing claims for
lands. When, therefore, the United States received the
country from Georgia, they entered into a compact with
Georgia, or obtained permission from her, to give land not
exceeding five millions, to satisfy claims not provided for
in the original contract with her. Now the bill before you
proposes to give this land as far as it goes, and to pledge
the faith of the United States to that particular class of
claimants whose pretensions arise under the act of 1795.
These claims under the act of 1795, are the last class of
claims under the State of Georgia, which, in my opinion,
the United States are bound to satisfy. There is another
description of claims, called the claims of 1789. And I am
very glad the claims of 1789 are not included in this bill,
because the joint interest of the two classes might possibly
have an effect that in this House a single class would not.
Well, Congress took the grant of the country in question
from Georgia. They bound themselves to extinguish the In-
dian title to lands within the existing State of Georgia ; to
Georgia they stipulated to pay a certain sum of money, and
they reserved the right of appropriating a quantity of lands
not exceeding five millions of acres to satisfy claims not
specially recognized in the contract with Georgia. The
question now is, as I take it, whether these five millions
shall go to satisfy the claims under the act of 1795. But if
it should be the sense of the House that the bill includes
those likewise of 1789, it will not alter, in my opinion, the
question.

But I may be asked by men who "profess not to be in-
formed on this subject, what is this act of 1789, and who are
the claimants under it, and how can there be interfering
claims for the same land ? The case is simply this : In
1789 two companies were formed, under the names of the
South Carolina and the Virginia Yazoo Companies, who
contracted for a great, and the greater part of the country
afterwards purchased by the claimants under the act of
1795. But Georgia alleges that they did not comply with
their contract, and that it was therefore set aside, and the
same lands subsequently sold under the act of 1795. Be it

58 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV

remembered that the purchasers under the act of 1795
were men of understanding, of intelligence, of intrigue;
designing men ; speculators; not bullies, but swindlers;
men not to be imposed on, but with their eyes open. They
bought with a full knowledge of the equitable claims of
1789. When I say this, I do not mean to advocate the
claims of 1789. When put to the test, one description of
claims will be found as invalid as the other. But to whom
did the grantees under the act of 1705, sell ? After the pre-
sentments of the grand juries — after it had rung throughout
the continent — that the whole was an imposition of corrup-
tion and fraud, and after there was every reason to believe
they were acquainted with all the circumstances, deeds
were given, one of which bears contemporaneous date with
the rescinding act of Georgia. After this, what did they
do? They went back to Georgia: there the money they
had paid was still lying in the treasury of Georgia, with
which Georgia said she would have nothing to do ; after
having sold the lands for which they had paid this half
million, they drew this very money from the treasury of
Georgia. Is this the say-so of an individual '. The act ap-
pears in the report of your commis-i.. :!,•!•>. composed of the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Trea-urv, and the
late Attorney General, in a report now on your' table, and
which has been twice published under the authority of this
House.

The bill was rejected, the same day, by a vote of sixty-
two to fifty-four. Mr. Randolph then "moved that the
House adjourn. He said that a few days ago the House
had adjourned on account of the death of General Jackson.
He hoped they would now adjourn on account of his resur-
rection. For he had told him, that if he could give a
death-blow to the Yazoo business, he should die in peace.
Adjourned, yeas fifty-eight."

^ This occurred before the entrance of Colonel Tronp into
Congress. During the session of 1807-8, the same subject
came before the House, on a memorial signed by the Gov-
ernor of Massachusetts by order and at the unanimous re-
quest of the Legislature of that State, « praying the atten-
tion of the National Government to the claim and rights

sundry citizens of the said State of Massachusetts in and

CHAP. IV.] YAZOO FRAUD.— REMARKS OF COL. TROUP. 59

to certain lands purchased under grants of the State of
Georgia," &c. Mr. Bibb, of Georgia, immediately moved
the rejection of the memorial. In seconding the motion,
Col. Troup made a short speech, in which, amongst other
things, he said :

The memorial, on a subject on which the House had be-
fore decided, and that on the most mature deliberation, was
treating the House with disrespect; it was an attempt (it
could be considered in no other light) to tease the IJouse;
to torture it into a compliance with the prayer of the peti-
tion. The House was to be provoked into a surrender of
important rights to get rid of the memorialists. They were
bound to listen to a memorial couched in decent, proper
and respectful terms, but not to the language of insult —
and this was an insult upon this body, calling upon it to
sanction corruption so vile and infamous. With this im-
pression he should second the motion of his colleague.
During the same debate, Col. Troup said :
He was extremely sorry that on this subject he should
trouble the House — he felt at this time particularly dis-
qualified. Was this business never to be finally disposed
of? Did the claimants calculate their" chances of success
on the confidence, or rather on the audacity, with which
they urged their claims ? Was the justice of their claims to
be esiirnated by the indefatigable assiduity with which they
renewed their pretensions ? and pretensions, too, which
were audacious, unfounded and insolent — originating in
fraud and corruption — embellished with murder, perjury,
and every species of enormity ! He trusted there was
virtue sutficient in this Assembly to treat the claimants
with contempt. He flattered himself that the Legislature
would not degrade itself by a compromise with speculation
and corruption ; he presumed the Capitol was not the place
where speculators were to seek indemnity. If it were, they
had better appropriate five or six millions of acres to these
injured persons — to these miscalculators of profit and loss,
or rather to these men ruined by the unsuccessful exercise
of the arts of bribery and corruption. What did the me-
morialists demand ? That this House should indemnify
them for losses sustained by the act of Georgia. Would
they do it on the broad principle of relieving all speculators
in distress, or from the cession to the United States, by the
State of Georgia, of the land in question \ On the last
principle, they would not presume to attempt it; for they

60 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

knew that they had not the power. On this account, he wish-
ed the memorial to be rejected, lie was as much disposed as
any gentleman on the floor to treat the State of Massachu-
setts with respect, as an integral part of the Union ; but, lie
would ask, what right had the State of Massachusetts t«>
interfere with an individual claim ? None.

The subject again came before the House, on the \-2(\\ of
February, 1808, on the memorial of Joseph (afterwards
Judge) Story, as the agent of the New England Mississippi
Company, praying that lie might " be admitted to a hear-
ing at the bar of the House of Representatives in behalf of
said company, to state their rights and explain their claim-,"
and a resolution offered to hear said agent. The mover of
the resolution (Mr. Bacon, of Massachusetts,) said, "this
was not a question which required any abstruse reasoning
or deep research for facts. He had taken this resolution
from a precedent, which he found recorded, of a similar in-
dulgence granted to the South Carolina Company, who
were heard at the bar of the House in support of their
claim, by Mr. Moultrie, their agent, in a nearly similar
case/'

Mr. Troup hoped the resolution would not be adopted.
The precedent adduced was not in point ; that was in the
case of an application to be heard on the subject of the old
Virginia and South Carolina claims. It will 'be recollected
by the House that the case adduced in precedent was an
old, a dormant claim, which had slept long, and the prin-
ciples of which were almost forgotten by members of the
House, and, when application was made for hearing, they
determined to hear all that could be said, that they might
act understandingly on the subject. They did hear, and
were satisfied ; from that time to this the House had had no
further trouble with it. The claims of these persons, how-
ever, have been turned over from session to session, can-
vassed over and over again : and the House are as well
conversant with the merits of the claim as with its advo-
[ do not know whether it is customary to admit
within its bar the advocates of claims. For my part, I do
know if such persons were admitted within the bar.
nat 1 would keep my seat and listen. It is impossible that
House could be so lost to a sense of its own dignitv a-

CHAP. IV.] REMARKS OF COL. TROTJP. 61

to enter into a controversy on its own floor with speculators
or their agents. In discussion of this subject among our-
selves, our utmost coolness and care will be required to
keep us in temper with each other ; and the admission of a
stranger within this bar, for the purpose of irritating, and,
perhaps, insulting us — and I beg gentlemen to recollect
that the theme is extremely delicate — will not increase the
calmness which ought to be observed. What is the object
of the present motion? Is it proposed, by admitting. a
practicing attorney on this floor, to enlighten us on a sub-
ject of which we are profoundly ignorant ? 'No ; with the
principle of this claim we are all acquainted. Its object is
to give some strength to a claim which hasnotthe smallest
foundation in justice, and they know it. They have no
more claim on the United States than on you or me. Why,
then, do they call upon us ? Because the United States
has an overflowing treasury. If I had it, they would make
the same claim upon me. They are the cormorants which
perch upon the treasuries of all nations ; and as long as you
have gold and silver, and manifest a disposition to give,
they will stick to you. I thought, for my part, that one
discussion would have sufficed for them ; on the presenta-
tion of the original memorial, you listened to it, and sub-
mitted it to a Committee of the whole House. I was
anxious that all discussion on this subject should have been
waived : it might have been, and I had hoped it would. I
myself would have submitted my individual feelings to the
harmony of the nation, and am sorry that I am now com-
pelled to speak.

On the same day, Col. Troup delivered another animated
speech on the same subject. The question was taken on
the resolution, and it was rejected by yeas twenty-eight
to nays seventy-six.

In order to present here a general view of the further
progress of this subject, it is necessary to go forward some-
what out of the chronological order of this biography. It
is chiefly for the part which Col. Troup took, in opposition
to these claims, that we have introduced the subject at all.

On the 17th December, 1810, he offered the following
resolution in the House :

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed
to lay before this House any information he may have

62 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

touching any settlement, contrary to law, on the public
lands in the Mississippi Territory; by whom, at what pe-
riods and extent, and what measures had been taken to
remove such intruders on the public lands.

In explaining the resolution, he said his object was to
obtain information as to certain lands in the Mississippi
Territory ; the title to which the United States had, on the
one hand, declared to be vested in them, and the Supremo
Court, on the other hand, had declared not to be in the
United States, but in those persons claiming under the
Yazoo speculation. This decision must either be acquiesced
in or resisted by the United States. If acquiesced in, it
must be in one of two ways. The United States must
either permit the Supreme Court to execute its judgment
in the ordinary course, or must permit quiet p,>-.-(— ion to
be taken by the claimants. Whether they acquiesce in one
way or the other, two distinct great rights were ati'erted :
first, the great interest of the whole people of the United
States, claiming equal and common proprietorship of the
soil; and, second, the great interest of the people of
Georgia, to whom the United States had agreed to pay
$1,250,000, out of the proceeds of the sales of those lands.
If the decision of the Supreme Court of the United St,
was acquiesced in, the State of Georgia would be thus de-
frauded both of her land and money. But if the govern-
ment of the United States would not submit to this decision,
but resist it to the last extremity, what course could be taken
but to employ the whole military force of the United States
to eject all persons not claiming under the authority of the
United States ? If that description of persons claiming the
territory, in whose behalf a decision was lately made, taking
forcible possession, should obtain such a footing as to be able
to oppose to the authority of the United States a considerable
force, there would perhaps be no alternative but for the Uni-
ted States to remove them by an exertion of its military
power, or tamely to acquiesce in the lawless aggression. It
was from these considerations that he was desirous to have
information on the subject of the late settlements there.

The resolution was adopted. The decision of the' Su-
preme Court, to which reference was above made, is that
in the case of Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Crancu's Rep., 87 to 14S, at
February term, 1810 ; a case originating in the U. S. Cir-
cuit Court for the District of Massachusetts, and which was
brought to try the title to 15,000 acres of laud situate on

CHAP. IV.] CASE IN THE SUPREME COURT. 63

the Mississippi and Tombigby rivers, under and by virtue
of sundry mesne conveyances founded on a grant from the
State of Georgia under the act of 7th January, 1Y95.
Those who are curious in such matters are referred to the
decision itself for information on all the points adjudicated
by the Court ; but the following extracts we believe suffi-
cient to show the general grounds on which, the judgment
in that case was rendered :

This (say the Court) is not a bill brought by the State of
Georgia to annul the contract ; nor does it appear to the
court, by this count, that the State of Georgia is dissatisfied
with the sale that has been made. The case, as made out
in the pleadings, is simply this. One individual, who holds
lands in the State of Georgia under a deed covenanting that
the title of Georgia was in the grantor, brings an action of
covenant upon this deed, and assigns, as a breach, that some
of the members of the Legislature were induced to vote in
favor of the law which constituted the contract, by being
promised an interest in it, and that therefore the act is a
mere nullity. This solemn question cannot be brought thus
collaterally and incidentally before the court. It would be
indecent, in the extreme, upon a private contract between
two individuals, to enter into an inquiry respecting the
corruption of the sovereign power of a State. If the title
be plainly deduced from a legislative act, which the Legis-
lature might constitutionally pass, if the act be clothed with
all the requisite forms of a law, a court, sitting as a court
of law, cannot sustain a suit brought by one individual
against another, founded on the allegation that the act is
a nullity in consequence of the impure motives which in-
fluenced certain members of the Legislature which passed
the law. * If a suit be brought to set aside a

conveyance obtained by fraud, and the fraud be clearly
proved, the conveyance will be set aside, as between the
parties ; but the rights of third persons, who are purchasers
without notice for a valuable consideration, cannot be dis-
regarded. Titles which, according to every legal test, are
perfect, are acquired with that confidence which is inspired

64: LIFE OF GEOEGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

by the opinion that the purchaser is safe. If there be any
concealed defect, arising from the conduct of those who
had held the property long before he acquired it, of which
he had no notice, that concealed defect cannot be set up
against him. He has paid his money for a title good at
law, he is innocent, whatever may be the guilt of others :
and equity will not subject him to the penalties attached to
that guilt. All titles would be insecure, and the intercourse
between man and man would be very seriously obstructed,
if this principle be overturned.

It is not proposed to combat the rulings of the court as
the case actually stood before it upon the pleadings. The
points decided by the Court, in the above extracts, appi.-:ir
to be these : First, Georgia not being a complaining party,
the question could not be collaterally and incidentally de-
cided. Secondly, For aught that appeared, the act was
constitutionally passed. Thirdly, There was nothing on the
face of the pleadings to show that the defendant was not a
purchaser in good faith for a valuable consideration. The
case was one of inference and presumption from the plead-
ings. How these inferences were met by the opponents of
the act, amongst whom Col. Troup was one of the ablest,
will now appear.

On the 19th of January, 1813, a bill passed the United
States Senate, to carry into effect the report of James
Madison, Secretary of State, Albert Gallatin, Secretary
of the Treasury, and Levi Lincoln, Attorney General of
the United States, Commissioners, &c., in the year 1803,
recommending an equitable compromise with the Yazoo
claimants. It passed a third reading in the Senate, against
the votes of William II. Crawford and Charles Tait, Sen-
ators from Georgia. On the 20th of January, the bill was
read a first time in the House, and on a motion to read it
the second time and commit it, Col. Troup, having asked if
a motion to reject the bill would not supersede a motion to
commit, and being answered in the affirmative, said :

CHAP. IV.] FURTHER REMARKS OF COL. TROUP 65

It is on no ordinary occasion, sir, I would permit myself
to move the rejection of a bill on the first reading, coming
from another branch of the Legislature, but the measure
growing out of an hideous corruption, I owe it to you to
move, because I think you owe it to your own dignity to
reject the bill, not upon any dubious evidence of the fraud
and corruption of the Georgia Legislature, but upon evi-
dence satisfactory to you and to all mankind, spread upon
your own records by commissioners of your own appoint-
ment, and which the clerk can be called on to read. The
nature, the extent, the detail of corruption by which the
Legislature of Georgia were induced to sell the public pro-
perty, are there portrayed by your own commissioners. It
is stated that more than two-thirds of the Legislature were
bribed and corrupted, were interested in and parties to the
purchase. They show you that A received 112,000 acres
of land for his vote ; that B received 75,000 acres for his
vote; that C received 56,000 acres for his vote, and that
none received less than 56,000 acres. It is upon this record
evidence, then, that I move you to reject the bill. You
rejected the bill from the Senate, on the first reading, for
the suspension of the habeas corpus act. Why ? Because
the bill contained a principle violative of civil liberty. I
move you to reject this bill! Why? Because it contains
a principle destructive of republican government. The
purity and incorruptibility of the representative character
is the basis of our republican institutions — if there be one
principle of our government more fundamental than an-
other, it is that no benefit or profit or advantage shall re-
sult either immediately or remotely to any human being
from the corruption of the representatives of the people.
The bill proposes to give five millions of dollars to those
claiming under the corrupters of representatives of the
people. The corrupters only gave five hundred thousand
dollars — the United States only gave twelve hundred and
fifty thousand dollars to Georgia for her territory. The
bill proposes to give five millions of dollars to the claim-
ants— five millions of dollars to extinguish their claim.
You are required to reward the claimants who bought of
those who corrupted the Legislature of Georgia. We say,
no ! Let ruin overtake the corrupters of the representatives
of the people and all claiming under them. The corrupters
have made their fortunes, now you are called upon to make
the fortunes of the claimants ; this is to be precedent, this
is to be example.

The claimants have hitherto urged their claim with in-
9

g6 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

defatigable perseverance, they have teased and wearied
you ; you have constantly repelled them : they ^ have seen
their discomfiture in the justness and simplicity of your
reasoning. You say to them, in substance, the Yazoo act
having been fraudulently and corruptly obtained, was null
and void, db initlo. All contracts founded in fraud are
void. It could pass no right ; if it could pass no right to
the original purchasers, it is impossible that the original
purchasers could pass any right to the claimants ; and if
no right passed to the claimants, it is impossible they can
have a claim or shadow of claim against you. They
constantly found themselves foiled by this honesty and sim-
plicity of reasoning. Seeing you firm and inflexible, they
turned about and addressed themselves to the Judiciary.
They found in the law-books of England a maxim which
suited them ; two of the speculators combined and made up
a fictitious case, a feigned issue for the decision of the Su-
preme Court.* They presented precisely those points for
the decision of the court which they wished the court to
decide ; and the court did actually decide them as the
speculators themselves would have decided them if they
had been in the place of the Supreme Court. The first
point was, whether the Legislature of Georgia had the
power to sell the territory ? Yes, said the Judges, they had.
Second, whether by the Yazoo act an estate did vest in the
original grantees ? Yes, said the Judges, it did. Third,
whether it was competent to any subsequent Legislature
to set aside the acton the ground of fraud and corruption ?
No, said the Judges, it was not ; an estate did vest in the
grantees by the Yazoo act, which could not be divested by
the act of any subsequent Legislature. No matter, say the
Judges, what the nature or extent of the corruption, be it
ever so wicked, be it ever so nefarious, it could not be set
aside. The speculators had hunted up a maxim of the com-
mon law or equity courts of England, and the Judges
wielded it for their benefit and to the ruin of the country—
the maxim that third purchasers without notice shall not
be affected by the fraud of the original parties. Thus, sir,

In delivering his separate opinion in the case of Fletcher v. Peck, Mr Jtutioc

'I have been very unwilling to proceed to the decision of this i
: appears to me to bear strong evident* ,„ . ing a

CHAP. IV.] FURTHER REMARKS OF COL. TROUP. 67

by a maxim of English law, are the rights and liberties ot
the people of this country to be corruptly bartered by their
representatives. It is this decision of the Judges which
has been made the basis of the bill on your table — a deci-
sion shocking to every free government, sapping the foun-
dation of all your constitutions, and annihilating at a breath
the best hope of man. Yes, sir, it is proclaimed by the
Judges, and is now to be sanctioned by the Legislature,
that the representatives of the people may corruptly
betray the people, may corruptly barter their rights and
those of their posterity, and the people are wholly without
any kind of remedy whatsoever. It is this monstrous and
abhorrent doctrine which must startle every man in the
nation, that you ought promptly to discountenance and
condemn. It is this doctrine, the basis and essential prin-
ciple of the bill, that we call upon you to reject. Suppose,
sir, the Legislature of Georgia, instead of selling the public
territory, had corruptly sold the good people of Georgia
and all their posterity into slavery, the consequences would
have been the same, the judges would have decreed that an
estate did vest in the original grantee, notwithstanding the
corruption, which could not be divested by any subsequent
Legislature. But, sir, let me state to you a case, exposing
at once the flagrant enormity of the principle : it is a case
as perfectly parallel as the human mind can conceive.
Suppose, sir, that the twelfth Congress should corruptly
sell the good people of the United States to England, and
England should instantly sell to France — France would
come upon the thirteenth Congress and demand possession ;
the virtuous thirteenth Congress would say, No ! we will
not give you possession ; the twelfth Congress was bribed
and corrupted to sell the good people of the United States ;
fraud vitiates every grant, and therefore you can have no
right to demand possession. Ah ! but, says France, I am
an innocent purchaser, I purchased without knowledge of
the fraud ; and it is a maxim of the common law of Eng-
land that third purchasers are not to be affected by the
fraud of the original parties. Thus, sir, according to the
Judges, would the good people of the United States be sold
like a flock of sheep by the corruption of their representa-
tives, leaving them, the people, without any kind of remedy
whatsoever.

If, Mr. Speaker, the arch fiend had, in the bitterness of
his hatred to mankind, resolved the destruction of republi-
can government on earth, he would have issued a decree
like that of the judges; he would have said, in the spirit

gg LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

and language of this bill, let the claimants under the cor-
rupters of the representatives of the people be rewarded.
In a nation of enlightened men, whose governments have
their origin in and exist only by the will of the people, that
will is contemned and held for nothing. Why, it may be
asked, do the judges who passed this decision live and live
unpunished ; The answer is found in the mildness and
moderation of our government. I thank God it is so. If,
under a despotism, the throne of the monarch had been
thus assailed, the judges would have perished. Here the
foundations of the Republic are shaken, and the judges
sleep in tranquillity at home. Take my word for it, Mr.
Speaker — I beseech you to remember what I say — no party
in this country, however deeply seated in power, can long
survive the adoption of this measure. I remember a gen-
tleman, once a member of this House ; he had his seat on
the opposite side of it ; he was a man of the most vigorous
intellect I ever knew; he had deeply studied human nature ;
to be sure his conduct was not always regulated by his
knowledge of it ; lie was often imprudent and not imfre-
quently extravagant. Whenever this question was turned
up, however, he used to address his political friends, " Gen-
tlemen, I beseech you to withhold your countenance from
this measure. It is founded in corruption, the people know
it; they are not yet ripe for the supply of men who will
support such measures. If you want to mount into power,
if you wish to conciliate the affection of this people, you
must assume a virtue if you have it not."

Mr. Troup.said he wished it understood that in moving
the rejection of the bill, it was not his design to enter at
all into the merits of the Yazoo claim. The few observa-
tions he had submitted, were directed to the principle con-
tained m the bill. If, however, the House should in its
discretion determine to sustain that principle, and to enter
into the merits of the question at large, he should, notwith-
standing it had been so often discussed and was so well
understood by every man in the nation, have no objection
to meet it. He would then undertake to show to the House,
1st, That the Legislature of Georgia had no constitutional
power to sell the public domain. 2d, That if it had, it
could not sell fraudulently and corruptly. :5d, That these
claimants had notice of the fraud, and, having notice, are,
according to the maxim of the judges themselves, without
claim or shadow of claim.

The bill was not rejected, but was referred to the Coin-

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 69

mittee on Public Lands, which afterwards made a report
recommending a modification of the terms of the bill, and
proposing amendments accordingly. On the 8th of March,
1814, the Senate bill again coming up before the House,
Col. Troup said :

He rose with great reluctance to move to reject the bill.
There were only two considerations which could induce
him to depart from the respect due to another branch of
the Legislature ; either that a measure emanating from it
was unconstitutional or corrupt. It was because this meas-
ure had its origin in corruption he moved to reject the bill.
When I say, sir, that this measure has its origin in corrup-
tion, I do not mean to be understood as charging corruption
on the Senate — all I mean to be understood as saying, is,
that this measure flows from corruption, as a stream flows
from its source ; it flows from the corrupt act of the Legis-
lature of Georgia of 1795. The bill proposes to give nve
millions of dollars to the Yazoo claimants. The Yazoo
Legislature sold for five hundred thousand dollars — Georgia
sold to the United States for one million two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars only, and you now propose to give
five millions to the claimants to compromise their claim.
How will we be able to account for this ? How will pos-
terity be able to account for it ? Posterity will say that
these claimants, like the gods of Milton, carried the moun-
tains in their hands, and wielding the fifty millions of acres
under the decision of the Supreme Court, have carried
everything before them.

You know the history of this transaction, sir. On the
7th of January, 1795, the Legislature of Georgia sold to
certain individuals, called the original grantees, fifty mil-
lions of acres of land for five hundred thousand dollars.
Every member who voted for the law, except one, whose
name does not appear, was bribed and corrupted, that is to
say, was interested in, and the party to the purchase. On
the 13th of February, 1796, the subsequent Legislature de-
clared the corrupt act null and void ; ordered the record to
be burnt, and authorized the grantees to withdraw the pur-
chase money. The convention of the whole people soon
after confirmed the rescinding act. On the same day, that
is to say, on the 13th of February, 1796, the Yazoo claim-
ants purchased from the original grantees. The claimants
say that they are innocent purchasers, without notice of the
corruption — that an estate vested notwithstanding the cor-

70 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

ruption, and that they have a good title against you. It
may be well to observe here that the claimants have con-
stantly shifted their ground. At first they insisted that the
Yazoo act of 1795 was a fair and honest act of legislation.
As soon, however, as the report of your Commissioners,
which exhibited the fraud in its nakedness, drove them
from this ground, they insisted on the innocency of their
purchase. Driven from this ground, they throw themselves
on your mercy. Do not believe, sir, that the corruption in
which this transaction was engendered, was a corruption of
any ordinary character ; it was a corruption without ex-
ample in history ; may it never find a parallel ! Not
merely were the corrupted corrupted by the corrupters —
the corrupters cheated the corrupted — the corrupters cheat-
ed one another, and the corrupters, as they say, cheated
these claimants. The members of the Legislature were
bribed with land and money ; in some instances the mem-
ber gave his vote, and the corrupter withheld the bribe ;
the member went home — he had lost his character — he had
lost his brib.e, and he died broken-hearted in the bosom of
his family. "When the rescinding Legislature, in a spirit of
liberality which became them, decreed that the original
grantees might withdraw the purchase money, on produ-
cing certain evidence of their having made the deposite —
such a scene of fraud, iniquity and depravity was exhibited.
that the Governor, familiar as he had been with such scenes-
but a short time before, blushed and shut the doors of the
treasury against them. Men concerned in this transaction,
but who had not deposited one dollar, by perjury, forgery,
or some other crime, drew thousands from the treasury ;
those of the speculators who had actually paid the money,
were then defrauded by their brethren. On the other hand,
some of the original grantees allege that they were cheated
by these claimants— that the claimants gave them paper
for their land, which paper turned out good for nothing.
Thus, sir, you see this Yazoo transaction is a circle of fraud.
It no doubt had a beginning, but it is certainly without end,
unless you consummate it by this measure.

As good fortune will have it, Mr. Speaker, this is one of
the plainest cases that can be presented to the understand-
ing. The claimants either have a claim, or they have not.
If they have a claim, you may compromise a claim ; if
they have no claim, you cannot compromise no claim. If
they have a claim, it is a claim to fifty millions of acres of
land, and you ought to give it to them, and say no more
about it. Could you entertain a thought for one moment

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 71

to avail yourself of your power to do wrong and injustice
to these impotent individuals? Surely no man will have
the hardihood to say that the magnitude of the claim ought
to weigh one tittle in the scale of justice. The claimants
either have a title to fifty millions of acres, or they have not
a title to a square foot. How do they derive the title ?
From the original grantees. How do the original grantees
derive title ? From the Yazoo Legislature of '95. Their
title, therefore, must depend on the validity or invalidity
of the Yazoo act of the Legislature of Georgia — it can
depend on nothing else. If the Yazoo act was a good and
valid act, an estate vested in the original grantees ; the
grantees passed the estate to these claimants, and the
claimants have a good title against you. If the Yazoo act
was a null and void act, no estate vested in the original
grantees ; if no estate vested in the original grantees, they
could pass none to these claimants, and if no estate passed
to these claimants, on what pretense can they set up the
title against you ? Are the Congress of the United States
prepared to say that the Yazoo act, notwithstanding the
corruption of the representatives of the people, was a good
and valid act ? That it divested the public property out of
the people and vested it in the grantees ? Are the Congress
of the United States prepared to say, that the representa-
tives of a free and virtuous people may fraudulently and
corruptly betray that people, and barter their rights, and
that the people are without remedy? That an estate did
vest by the Yazoo act, which could not be divested by any
subsequent act! Sir, it is impossible. This doctrine is too
monstrous to be entertained by a moral people, who love
liberty — it strikes at all virtue, at all morality — it overturns
Republican governments. You can not, you dare not,
sanctify this doctrine. If you dare, one of two things must
happen ; the people are ready to approve it, or they are
not — if they are, they have lost their virtue, and we must
seek shelter under despotism ; if they are not, you will go
out and other men will come in. Not t]je gentlemen on the
other side of the House — they never can come in — men
will come in who will discountenance corruption, cherish
virtue, and preserve the principles of the government pure
and uncorrupted. I address myself to the Republican
party : let them remember how they came into power.
Ihe Federalists had been charged with monarchical attach-
ments ; with cherishing corrupt principles of government.
The people believed it. They said the government was not
safe in such hands — they turned them out. You succeeded.

72 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

The people said to you— take this sacred trust, do your
duty faithfully ; preserve the principles ot this happy gov-
ernment pure and uncorrupted, and be ready to hand it
over to vour successors whenever you shall be required,
more pure and uncorrupted than when yon received it.
Will you do so when you have decreed that the representa-
tives of the people may corruptly divest the estate of the
people, and that they are without remedy '. let, sir, this
you must do the moment you decide to compromise this
claim. But you have no reason, no motive, no apology,
for thus deciding. I will take away from every unpreju-
diced man in the country every pretext, every apology for
compromising this claim. I insist that the Yazoo Legisla-
ture had no constitutional power to sell the land.

1st. I contend that the Legislature had no constitutional
power to sell.

2nd. That if they had constitutional power to sell, they
could not sell fraudulently and corruptly.

3rd. That if, notwithstanding the fraud and corruption.
an estate djd vest in the original grantees, according to the
decision of the Supreme Court, these claimants naving
notice of the fraud, are parties to it, and without title in
law or equity.

There is no power given in the Constitution of Georgia,
and without an express grant of power the Legislature can-
not possess it. This is the doctrine distinctly, clearly, and
unanimously maintained by the writers on public law. The
reasons on which it is founded are as distinctly given. The
people are seized, collectively and individually, of the pub-
lic territory — it cannot be taken from them without their
consent — it cannot be taken from them without their ex-
press consent — consent shall not be implied. 1st, because
the power to sell the public domain is not a power inciden-
tal or necessary to the power of legislation, -ndly, because
it is too important a power to be derived by implication or
construction. Xot only is this the universal doctrine of the
publicists, of Grotius, Puffendorf, Vattel, Burlamaqui, and
others, but it is the^ioctrine to which all our political insti-
tutions have conformed. In the constitution of the United
States, as well as the constitutions of the States, you see the
doctrine clearly recognized. In the constitution of the
United States it is said, " Congress shall have power to dis-
pose^ of, and make all needful rules and regulations con-
cerning the public property." "Why was this power
expressly granted ? Because the Convention knew that if
not expressly granted it could not be derived by implica-

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 73

tion or construction. So, in the State constitutions, the
doctrine is recognized : " the power to dispose of the public
domain being in the people, cannot be taken from them
without their consent." I know it may be said that there
is a difference between the United States and State con-
stitutions, in the character of their powers — that in the
United States constitution all powers not delegated are re-
served— that in the State constitutions all powers are del-
egated but those which are reserved. This is true, but by
all powers is meant only all ordinary powers, all powers
that are essential and necessary or incidental to the general
power of legislation ; extraordinary powers, powers not es-
sential to the general power of legislation, are, even in the
States, retained by the people, and cannot be divested out
of them without their express consent. This power to dis-
pose of the public domain is an extraordinary power ; for,
say the publicists, one and all, this power is so essentially in
the people, that even under the violent governments of
Europe, the despot has no power to dispose of the public
domain without the express consent of the people. I know,
too, it will be said that the State Legislatures have in some
instances disposed of the public property without an ex-
press grant of power to warrant it. I answer that in every
such instance the Legislature was guilty of usurpation, and
the people not bound — that if the people pleased to yield a
tacit acquiescence, well and good — they did so because
their attention had not been called to the usurpation by a
flagrant and palpable corruption — but will you believe that
if in any such instance the usurpation had been coupled
with a notorious corruption of their representatives, they
would not have resisted — that they would not have risen
in mass, as did the people of Georgia, to put down the cor-
ruption and the corrupted? A people who would not,
must have lost their virtue and been ready for a tyrant.
I say, therefore, the Yazoo Legislature of Georgia had no
power to sell the public property.

But if the Legislature had constitutional power to sell, it
could not sell fraudulently and corruptly. Do you ask
proof of this? — fraud and corruption vitiate every act,
render it null and void db initio ; no contract, no obliga-
tion, can grow out of it. The powers granted by the people
to their Legislatures, are granted in confidence that they
will be fairly and honestly exercised. What would you
think of the declaration of a constitution, "the poweis
herein granted shall be honestly exercised " ? Would you
10

~4 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. IV.

not consider such a declaration ridiculous, and ridiculous
because superfluous ? Is not the implication as strong
any expression could be, that every fraudulent act of legis-
lation is merely void? Suppose it were written in any
constitution, " the Legislature shall have no power fraud-
ulently and corruptly to betray the people." would you
not, too, consider this ridiculous, and ridiculous because
superfluous? Suppose it were written in any constitution,
" the Legislature shall have power fraudulently^ and cor-
ruptly to sell the public property,'' would not such a grant
of power be merely void, though proceeding from the
highest human authority, the people thems* And

why void? Because repugnant to the laws of God and
nature. Nay, sir, I go further : .1 say the great God of
Heaven himself could confer no such power — if the great
God of Heaven were to decree, "the Legislature shall have
power fraudulently and corruptly to sell the public pro-
perty," the decree would be merely void, e incon-
sistent with His holy attributes. And yet. sir, the Senate
require of us to do that which the God of Heaven himself
cannot do — legalize fraud and corruption — they require us
to declare that, notwithstanding the fraud and corruption
of the Georgia Legislature,. an estate did vest in the origi-
nal grantees, which it wa- competent to the grantd
transfer to the claimants ; that the claimants have a title
against you, and that to relinquish that title we must £
them five millions of dollars. This is making war upon
the people with a vengeance. To talk of the rights of the
people after this, is insult and mockery. I In; why
that the corrupt act of the Representative is not binding on
the people! For this plain reason, the corruption of the
Representative must precede the corrupt act ; the iroment
he has betrayed his constituents, all ties and connection
between them are dissolved, and lie is no more capable of
binding them than the merest stranger. Any other doctrine
makes Republican government a farce — makes morality
and religion idle^sound. If corruption can divest the estate
of the people, it can do any other act — it can legalize
murder, robbery, treason — it can give universal license to
crime. I say, therefore, that if the Legislature of Georgia
had constitutional power to sell, it could not sell fraudu-
lently and corruptly. The Yazoo act was merely void, and
the rescinding act which declared it so, was only form; the
people were in possession, continued in possession, and
were not divested by it.

Srdly. If, notwithstanding the fraud and corruption, an

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 75

estate did vest in the grantees, yet, the claimants having
notice of the fraud, are, according to the decision of the
Supreme Court itself, guilty purchasers, without claim or
shadow of claim. I say, sir, the claimants had notice.
Let it be remembered, Mr. Speaker, that our government
differs from all other governments in this singular but
valuable characteristic — it is limited by written constitu-
tions. In other countries it is said the acts or the grants of
the government speak for themselves — nothing shall be
admitted to contradict them. Not so in our country ; every
act or grant of the government must be consistent with the
written constitution. Every man is presumed to carry the
constitution in his head or in his pocket, that he may at
all times be ready to compare the acts of government with
the constitution. If the claimants had done this, if they
had compared the Yazoo act with the constitution of
Georgia, they would have found no power in the constitu-
tion authorizing the Legislature to sell, and this circum-
stance alone would have put them upon their guard — at
least, this would have been the effect on all rational and
prudent men.

But there was cause of suspicion on the very face of the
act itself. The Legislature sold fifty millions of acres of as
fine a country as any on the globe, for five hundred thou-
sand dollars. Would not prudent men, looking at this
single fact, have inquired how comes this ? Would not-
prudent men, about to embark in a speculation so enormous,
have thought it worth their Avhile to send an agent from
Boston to Georgia, to scrutinize and investigate the merits
of this transaction ? But, sir, these are circumstances to
excite suspicion only. The people of Georgia themselves
gave to the claimants the most prompt, direct and unex-
ceptionable notice. Remember that more than a year
elapsed between the passage of the Yazoo act and the
purchase by the claimants. The events which followed
the passage of the Yazoo act portended a revolution in
Georgia, as terrible and as bloody as the revolution of
Paris or of La Vendee. If the claimants had lived in the
farther India, if they had lived in the islands of the Pacific
Ocean, they Avould have received notice long before they
purchased. Scarce had the Yazoo act passed the Legisla-
ture, when the whole country was in a ferment. The great
body of the people, who, unlike their Representatives, re-
mained uncorrupted and faithful to themselves, were
everywhere in motion to counteract the projects of the
traitors. Their grand juries and committees everywhere

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

denounced the act a usurpation, called upon the country
to assert its rights, and to put down the corruption and the
corrupted. General Jackson — sir, I cannot think of Gen.
Jackson without speaking of him as a man of rare patriot-
ism and integrity — a man who, if he had lived in the days
of Rome's greatness, or, rather, of Rome's virtue, would
have had his bust in the Capitol — I speak of him thus, be-
cause his memory is intimately connected with this trans-
action; he was the only man! ever did know who was at
all times ready to lay down his life, to sacrifice his wife and
children and his fortune, to his country. General Jackson
was at that time a Senator in Congress at Philadelphia; he
was called by the people of Georgia, publicly called, from
his seat in Congress to aid in rescinding the usurped act —
he obeyed. The address of the people and his answer were
published in all of the newspapers of the day. A man by
the name of Thomas, one of the corrupted Senators, was
murdered in his own house, that he, together with his testi-
mony, (for he bore witness to the corruption and threatened
to confess,) might be consigned to oblivion. By some it
was said the speculators had murdered him, by others that
his indignant constituents had done the deed. The truth
is that the greatest efforts were necessary to restrain the
people from acts of violence. Now, sir, all these things
were done, not in secret to deceive the innocent purchasers
of New England ; they were done publicly and in the face
of day ; they were published in all the newspapers of the
time, from Boston to Savannah ; and yet these things were
to the innocent purchasers of New England as if they had
never been. Yes, sir, if you believe the claimants, they
were as ignorant of them as the people of Crim Tartary.
They tell you they never read newspapers. The mail
running weekly between Boston and Savannah — the coast-
ing trade open — and yet the claimants are innocent pur-
chasers ; for one whole year they heard not a word of what
was passing in Georgia. If the mails had been stopped,
if the coasting trade had been interrupted, if all commu-
nication had been cut off, this plea of ignorance might
have been set up. In the then state of intercourse of the
civilized world, if the claimants had lived in Batavia, they
would have had notice long before they purchased.

But there is other evidence of notice still more conclu-
sive. On the 17th of February, 1795, that is to say six
weeks after the passage of the Yazoo act, General Wash-
ington sent to Congress a public message to the following
effect :

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 77

" I have received 'copies of two Acts of the Legislature
' of Georgia, one passed on the 28th of December, the other
' on the 7th January last, for appropriating and selling the
' Indian lands within the territorial limits claimed by that
' State. These copies, though not officially certified, have
* been transmitted to me in such a manner as to leave no room
' to doubt their authenticity. These Acts embrace an object
' of such magnitude, and in their consequences may so
' deeply affect the peace and welfare of the United States,
' that I have thought it necessary now to lay them before
' Congress."'

Here then was notice to all the world, notice at least
that something was wrong. General Washington, from the
elevation of his high office, standing as it were on the top
of Mount Sinai, with an angel voice, reaching the extremi-
ties of the earth, proclaimed, beware ! A more distinct,
audible, universal notice could not have been given to all
mankind. The claimants heeded no more the warning of
General Washington than they did the barking of a foist.
Congress referred the message to a committee. The com-
mittee reported a resolution and bill authorizing the
Executive to extinguish the title of Georgia to the country
in question. With the Yazoo act before them, the com-
mittee did not deign to speak of the sale to the claimants,
but, treating the Yazoo act as null and void, proceeded to
treat with Georgia for the extinguishment of her title.
The claimants say they never heard of the proclamation of
General Washington. They never read newspapers.

But this is not all. The claimants stand convicted under
their own hands and seals ; they are guilty purchasers on
the face of their own title deed. Not only did their title
deed not contain a general warranty in their favor, it con-
tained an express stipulation that in no event would they,
the claimants, go back upon the grantees from whom they
purchased, for even the consideration money, on account
of any defect in their title. Under their own hands and
seals did the claimants covenant and agree that the
grantees of whom they bought should not be liable to re-
tund the purchase money, if their title turned out to be
defective. Sir, this is a fact so extraordinary and incredi-
ble, that if it were not recorded on the title deed itself, I
would hesitate to declare it. It is without example in
transactions between man and man. Do you not see, but
for this, the claimants would have resorted to the original
grantees for their purchase money, with interest and dam-
ages ; that is to say, they would have resorted to the same

78 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

remedy as .all other men do under dike circumstances in
every country ; they would have recovered their purchase
money paid for a consideration which had failed, for a title
which had proved defective, with interest and damages—
they would, in fact, have had all the remedy to which in-
nocent purchasers, without notice, are entitled by the laws
of any country ? But they precluded themselves by their
own act and deed ; and, because they have done so, are we
bound to indemnify them '. They have as much right to
apply for indemnity to the Emperor of China. But there
is another fact : the rescinding Legislature met in the be-
ginning of January, '96 — the claimants purchased on the
13th of February, ':»<; — on the opening of the Legislature,
the preparatory motion was made to rescind the usurped
act; the claimants, therefore, had six weeks l<> inform
themselves of what was doing and what was about to be
done in the Georgia Legislature, before they purchased.
But there is another fact, which ought to be conclusive on
this point — a gentleman from Massachusetts, many years a
member of this House, resident in the neighborhood of
Boston, uniformly declared they had notice ; that gentle-
man, respectable for his good sense and integrity, inti-
mately acquainted with the parties, constantly passing in
and from Boston, perfectly familiar with the ciroum.-tances
of the purchase, constantly affirmed that he was himself
knowing to the corruption of the Georgia Legislature at
the date of the purchase, and that the claimants weiv
knowing to it as himself. Here, then, is the testimony of
a disinterested man. You oppose to it the declarations of
the interested claimants. The truth is, the claimants had
knowledge of the fraud. Like other speculators, they
bought to sell again ; all they wanted was the wax and the
parchment. They cared not a straw for anything else, for
fraud and corruption, or defect of title ; if it answered the
purpose of the grantees, it would answer the purpose of
the claimants ; the claimants took the title deed for better,
for worse, and if they had not known that Congress might
be teased and worried out of anything, they never would
have had the effrontery to set up a claim against you.

But, it is said the commissioners reported in favor <>f u
compromise. What does this amount to ? Xo more than
a report^of a committee of the House, which you respect
only as its merits entitle it to respect. The commissioners
investigated the claims; laid before you in all its naked-
ness the fraud and corruption, from beginning to end, and
came to the conclusion which no man of common sense

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 79

could avoid, that the ' claimants had no title whatsoever.
Here, sir, the commissioners ought to have stopped ; but,
strange to say, they suggested to Congress the expediency
of a compromise. What ! you ask, is it possible that such
men as Mr. Madison, Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Lincoln, should
have followed up such a conclusion by such a suggestion ?
'No title, and yet recommend the compromise of a title !
Never were two propositions more inconsistent. You will
say there must have been some reason for this. I will tell
you the reason : it was the same reason that operated on the
10th Congress to surrender the embargo — the clamor of a
formidable party. The commissioners were surrounded by
a host of claimants, as we are now ; they found them a
troublesome set, growing every day stronger and stronger.
They yielded — they said, though they have no title, yet
you had better give them money and send them about their
business. This is all that can be said now.

But, it has been alleged that the United States have en-
gaged to compromise. Not so. The United States are as
free to compromise, or not to compromise, as if nothing
had been said or done on the subject. It is said that the
United States are bound to compromise, because five mil-
lions were set apart by the articles of agreement and
cession, for the indemnification of these and other claims.
True ! But on condition only, that Congress should, upon
an investigation of the claims, believe that in right and
justice they ought to be compensated. The history of this
part of the business is simply this : When the commission-
ers of the United States and of Georgia were negotiating
the terms of purchase of the Mississippi Territory, the
claimants got about them and harrassed them with inces-
sant importunity. The commissioners of the United States
said to the commissioners on the part of Georgia, You see
how we are embarrassed by these claimants ; will it not
be better to quiet them, by making a reservation in their
favor? Never! indignantly answered the Georgia com-
missioners ; we will never consent to compromise the
infamous corruption. But, said the commissioners of the
United States, will you not agree to make a conditional
reservation, leaving it to the United States to make them
compensation, or not, upon an investigation of the merits
of their claim ? To this the commissioners of Georgia
could have no objection; it was a matter for the United
States. They did object, however, to give any pledge
whatsoever to compromise the claim. Nay, more ; they
insisted that if Congress did not within a year set apart the

gO fLIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CHAP. IV.

five 'millions of acres, it should never be in the power of
Congress to compensate them at all, under any circum-
stances. The commissioners on the part of Georgia said to
the commissioners of the United States : If the United
States choose, at any time, to compromise this corruption,
we cannot help it ; but we will never give our sanction or
countenance to it, because we believe the claim unfounded in
right, justice or morality ; if you, upon investigation, think
otherwise, here are the five millions^of acres set apart, out
of which you may compensate ; if you can, even in foro
conscientice, consent to compromise this corruption, be the
shame and scandal of it upon you. The United States did,
accordingly, within one year set apart the five millions of
acres to compensate this and other claims, but upon the
same conditions and in the same words as the articles of
agreement and cession ; that is to say, upon condition that
the United States, upon an investigation of the merits of
the claims, should determine they were founded in right
and justice. The question is now, as it has always been,
are the claims founded in right and justice?

But to remove every impression that the United States
are pledged in the remotest degree, I refer you to Mr.
Gallatin himself, and to the report of a committee of the
House, at the last session. Mr. Gallatin, in his letter ad-
dressed to Mr. Dana, the chairman of the Yazoo Committee,
dated 9th January, 1805, says, (speaking of the object of
the reservation of the five millions,) " to leave it in their
' power to compromise with that description of claimants,
' by allowing so much of the surplus of live millions of
' acres as they might think proper, without, at the same
' time, pledging Government to enter into a compromise,
' if, upon a lull view of all the circumstances of the case, a
' different course was thought more eligible." Thus you
see, according to Mr. Gallatin, the United States are at
perfect liberty to compromise, or not, at their discretion, as
if no articles of agreement and cession had ever been en-
tered into ; as if no law had ever been passed setting apart
the five millions of acres. Your committee appointed on
this subject at the last session of the last Congress, say the
same thing. Their language is, " Congress "is not bound
' to compromise, if, upon an investigation of the merits of
' the claims, they shall be found unsupported by right and
\ justice." The assertion, "[therefore, that the Government
is pledged, is a mere pretext, as is every other reason as-
signed for the compromise.

But it is contended that the Supreme Court have decided

CHAP. IV.] ANOTHER SPEECH ON THE YAZOO FRAUD. 81

in favor of the claimants and against the United States ;
that it is better to give up a part than to lose the whole.
Sir, there is no danger of our losing the whole or a part, if
we will do our duty to ourselves and to the country. The
Supreme Court cannot decide the rights of the United
States in a case to which the United States not only were
not a party, but to which they cannot, by any constitution-
al possibility, be a party without their consent. The case
of Fletcher and Peck was a decision of a feigned issue,
made up between two speculators, to decide certain points,
in the decision of which they were interested. Will any
man, in his senses, say that the right of the United States
to the public property could be aifected by such decision ?
This doctrine is almost as shocking as the other doctrine set
up in support of the compromise — the representatives of
the people may betray the people, and the people are with-
out remedy. I trust, sir, that neither the one nor the other
will be countenanced by you ; but that you will, without
hesitation, reject the bill. Whenever it is conceded that it
is competent to the Supreme Court, in a case between A
and B, to take from the United States fifty millions of acres
of land, it will be time for the Government to make a vol-
untary surrender of the public property to whosoever will
have it. The public property would be nothing but an
expense, an incumbrance, which it would be profitable to
shake off with as little delay as possible. No, sir; the
Government is the guardian, the trustee, of the public pro-
perty. Like all governments, they must of necessity
determine their own rights of property ; and if they remain
faithful to those rights, all the decisions of all the judicial
tribunals under Heaven cannot deprive you of a square
acre of the public land. But, sir, I am tired and disgusted
with this subject. I hope the bill will be rejected.

The bill was not rejected. It had previously passed the
Senate, by a vote of twenty-four to eight — the two Senators
from Georgia, Messrs. Bibb and Tait, having voted against
it — and on the 26th March, 1814, after several slight amend-
ments, it passed the House, by a vote of eighty-four to
seventy-six — the Representatives from Georgia, Messrs.
William Barnett, Alfred Cuthbert, John Forsyth, Boiling
Hall, Thomas Telfair and George M. Troup, voting against
it. The act was approved by the President on the 31st of
the same month.
11

v-> LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IV.

These votes show the unanimity of the people of Georgia
against a compromise of these claims. They, as well as
their Representatives, believed that the honor of the coun-
try required that the claims should not be acknowledged
or compromised. The case was a novel one ; but it is be-
lieved that if ever a great public exigency demanded a
refusal of any sort of claims, or pretended claims, this was
it. The evidence contained in the previous portion of this
chapter, appears conclusive on this point. Nevertheless,
in addition to the report of the United States Commission-
ers, Messrs. Madison, Gallatin and Lincoln, stating their
belief " that the interest of the United States, the tran-
quillity of those who may hereafter inhabit the (Mississippi)
Territory, and various equitable considerations which may
be urged in favor of the present claimants, render it expe-
dient to enter into a compromise on reasonable terms " ;
two several committees of the House had reported to the
same eifect, from the last of which (15th March, 1-S14,) we
make the following extract :

^ committee have had the subject of the said (Senate)
bill under their consideration, and are of opinion that it is
expedient for the government of the Tinted States to enter
into a compromise with the persons claiming lands in the
Mississippi Territory, under and by virtue of the act of the
Legislature of Georgia, of the 7th January, 17!C>. Tin-
reasons far this opinion do not rest on tJie strict legality
of the title of these claimants t<> the lands in question —
though the committee cannot forbear remarking that that
title appears to have all the sanction which can\>c derived
from a solemn decision of the highest judicial tribunal
known to our laws — they are grounded on considerations
connected with the permanent interests of the United
States, as they relate to the Mississippi Territory ; with the
quiet and speedy settlement of that Territory ; with the
more easy extinguishment of the Indian title to the lands
contained in it ; with the security against all future Indian
wars in that quarter, which the settlement of the Territory
must afford ; with the extensive navigation connecting
parts of the Western States with the Ocean, which must
be opened when the population of the Territory shall be
adequate to such an object, and with the strength and

CHAP. IV.] REPORT OP COMMITTEE OP CONGRESS. 83

safety which such a population must confer on the Louisi-
ana portion. It may, in addition, be remarked that there
are equitable considerations connected with the present
claims, which, in the opinion of the committee, strongly
recommend them to the favor of Congress. Although the
original act of the State of Georgia might have been pro-
cured by fraudulent and corrupt means, it satisfactorily
appears to the committee, as far as their inquiries have
been extended, that the present claimants, or those under
whom they hold, were bona fide purchasers of the imme-
diate grantees of Georgia, without notice of any fraud or
corruption in the original grant.

The part of the above extract which we have italicized,
shows that the adjustment was recommended more on
the idea of a compromise, than on any view of the strict
rights of the claimants. It was, perhaps, well for the peace
of the country that the controversy had been transferred
from Georgia to "Washington City, and that the United
States, in a moment of generosity, could not, and pretended
not to, exhibit that generosity at the expense of Georgia
more than of any other of the States. A people that had
destroyed the record evidence of their betrayal, would
hardly have made provision for claimants, the l)0iia fides of
whose titles was, at least, questionable, and the assertion
of which title caused patriotic Georgians to recoil with
horror at the name of a transaction which threatened to
undermine representative government. Georgia had not
been heard before any judicial tribunal ; she could never
have been made a party there without a sacrifice of her
dignity ; but there was no time when she could not, with
safety to her honor, trust her cause in the hands of her
faithful Representatives, foremost among whom was
George M. Troup.

The bill,-" as it finally passed, provided for settling the
claims, under the provisions and restrictions therein men-
tioned, in the following proportions :

* The reader is referred, for further information on the subject of this bill and the
acts amendatory thereof, to the United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 3, pp. 116, 117, 118,
119, 120, 192, 193, 235, 236, 294, 295.— El>.

84: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. IV.

To the persons claiming in the name or under the Upper

Mississippi Company, $ 350,000

Tennessee Company, 600,000

Georgia Mississippi Company, 1,o.">0,000

Georgia Company, 0,000

Citizens' Rights, 250,000

Making an aggregate of - $5,000,000

CHAP V.] RE-ELECTION TO CONGRESS. 85

CHAPTER V.

Re-Election to Congress. — State of our Foreign Relations. —
Preparations for War. — Colonel Troup's Course. — Bank of
the United /States, &c.

IN October, 1808, Colonel Troup was re-elected to Con-
gress, and on the 22d day of May, 1809, took his seat in the
House of Representatives as a member of the eleventh
Congress. His colleagues, as in the previous Congress,
were "William W. Bibb, Dennis Smelt and Howell Cobb.

Mr. Madison had been inaugurated President of the
United States. In his opening message at the special ses-
sion then begun, the President said: " On this first occasion
of meeting you, it affords me much satisfaction to be able
to communicate the commencement of a favorable change
in our foreign relations, the critical state of which induced
a session of Congress at this early period."

On the first of March, 1809, the retiring President, Mr.
Jefferson, had approved an Act "to interdict the commer-
cial intercourse between the United States and Great
Britain and France, and their dependencies, and for other
purposes," by which commerce with those nations was
closed, and the entrance of the harbors and waters of the
United States interdicted to all public vessels belonging to
those nations, or private vessels sailing under the flag of
either, except vessels forced in by distress or charged with
dispatches from the government to which they belonged,
&c. ; but with authority to the President, " in case either
France or Great Britain shall so revoke or modify her
edicts as that they shall cease to violate the neutral
commerce of the United States, to declare the same by
proclamation ; after which, the trade of the United States,
suspended by this act, and by the act laying an embargo on
all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United
States, and the several acts supplementary thereto, may be

86 LIFE OP GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. V.

renewed with the nation so doing " ; and, by the last section
of which, it was provided that said non-intercourse act
should continue in force until the end of the then next ses-
sion of Congress, when the embargo acts were, by the same
section, to expire.

The message continued to say : uln consequence of the
provisions of the act interdicting commercial intercourse
with Great Britain and France, our ministers at London
and Paris were without delay instructed to let it be under-
stood by the French and British governments, that the
authority vested in the executive to renew commercial in-
tercourse with their respective nations, would be exercised
in the case specified by that act. Soon after these instruc-
tions were dispatched, it was found that the British govern-
ment, anticipating, from early proceedings of Congress at
the last session, the state of our laws, which has had the
effect of placing the two belligerent powers on a footing
of equal restrictions, and relying on the conciliatory <li-;]>o-
sition of the United States, had transmitted to their legation
here, provisional instructions, not only to oiler satisfaction
for the attack on the frigate Chesapeake, and to make
known the determination of his Britannic majesty to send
an envoy extraordinary with powers to conclude a treaty on
all the points between the two countries, but, moreover, to
signify his willingness, in the meantime, to withdraw his
orders in council, in the persuasion that the intercourse
with Great Britain would be renewed on the part of the
United States. These steps of the British government led
to the correspondence and die proclamation now laid before
you, by virtue of which the commerce between the two
countries will be renewed after the 10th day of June next."
The sequel shows that these anticipations were not to bo
realized.

During this session, Colonel Troup, although not a fre-
quent, was an occasional, speaker; but there is nothing in
the reports of his speeches which makes it important to
transcribe what he said.

[1809.] On the second day of the session he was placed
upon the committee on Elections ; and, on the 2Gth May,
upon the committee on Foreign Relations. Congress ad-
journed on the 28th day of June, the most important act
of the session being " An Act to amend and continue in

CHAP. V.] STATE OF OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. 87

force certain parts of the Act, entitled ' An Act to inter-
dict the commercial intercourse between the United States
and Great Britain and France, and their dependencies, and
for other purposes ' ; " of which it is only necessary to say
that it modified the non-intercourse act of 1st March, in
conformity with what seemed to be a returning sense of
justice on the part of Great Britain, and with what was
hoped from that country and France in regard to their
previous policy towards the United States.

The act was approved by the President on 28th June.
On the passage of the act, Colonel Troup was not present,
and therefore gave no vote.

[1809.] Congress assembled again on 27th November.

Colonel Troup was re-appointed on the committee on
Elections, and was also placed upon the committee on Post
Offices and Post Roads.

On the 29th of November, the President sent in his an-
nual message to the two Houses, from which the following
extracts are made, showing the change which had come
over the aspect of our foreign relations :

" At the period of our last meeting, I had the satisfaction
of communicating an adjustment with one of the principal
belligerent nations, highly important in itself, and still
more so as presaging a more extended accommodation.
It is with deep concern I am now to inform you that the
favorable prospect has been overclouded by a refusal of the
British Government to abide by the act of its Minister
Plenipotentiary, and by its ensuing policy towards the
United States, as seen through the communications of the
Minister sent to replace him. "Whatever pleas may be
urged for a disavowal of engagements formed by diplo-
matic functionaries in cases where by the terms of the
engagements a mutual ratification is reserved, or where
notice at the time may have been given of a departure from
instructions, or in extraordinary cases essentially violating
the principles of equity, a disavowal could not have been
apprehended in a case where no such notice or violation
existed, where no such ratification was reserved, and more
especially where, as is now in proof, an engagement, to be
executed without any such ratification, was contemplated

gg LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. V.

by the instructions given, and where it had, with good
faith, been carried into immediate execution on the part of
the United States. These considerations not having re-
strained the British government from disavowing the en-
ga^ement by virtue of which its orders in council were to
be°revoked, and the event authorizing the renewal of com-
mercial intercourse having thus not taken place, it neces-
sarily became a question of equal urgency and importance,
whether the act prohibiting that intercourse was not to be
considered as remaining in legal force. This question
being, after due deliberation, determined in the affirma-
tive, a proclamation to that eifect was issued. It could not
but happen, however, that a return to this state of things,
from that which had followed an execution of the arrange-
ment by the United States, would involve difficulties.
With a view to diminish these as much as possible, the in-
structions from the Secretary of the Treasury, now laid
before you, were transmitted to the collectors of the several
ports. If, in permitting British vessels to depart without
giving bonds not to proceed to their own ports, it should
appear that the tenor of legal authority has not been
strictly pursued, it is to be ascribed to the anxious desire
which was felt that no individuals should be injured by so
unforeseen an occurrence ; and I rely on the regard of
Congress for the equitable interests of our own citizens, to
adopt whatever further provisions may be found requisite
for a general remission of penalties involuntarily incurred.
The recall of the disavowed minister * having been follow-
ed by the appointment of a successor f, hopes were in-
dulged that the new mission would contribute to alleviate
the disappointment which had been produced, and to
remove the causes which had so long embarrassed the
good understanding of the two nations. It could not be
doubted that it would at least be charged with conciliatory
explanations of the steps which had been taken, and with
proposals to be substituted for the rejected arrangement.
.Reasonable and universal as this expectation was, it also
has not been fulfilled. From the first official disclosures of
the new minister, it was found that he had received no
authority to enter into explanations relative to either branch
of the arrangement disavowed, nor any authority to sub-
stitute proposals as to that branch which concerned the
British orders in council; and, finally, that his proposals
with respect to the other branch, the attack on the frigate

* Mr. Erskine.— ED. f j£r. Jackson.— ED.

CHAP. V.] STATE OF OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. 89

Chesapeake, were founded on a presumption repeatedly
declared to be inadmissible by the United States, that the
first step towards adjustment was due from them; the pro-
posals at the same time omitting even a reference to the
officer * answerable for the murderous aggression, and as-
serting a claim not less contrary to the British laws and
British practice, than to the principles and obligations of
the United States. The correspondence between the de-
partment of State and this minister, will show how essen-
tially the features presented in its commencement have
been varied in its progress. It will show also, that, forget-
ting the respect due to all governments, he did not refrain
from imputations on this, which required that no further
communications should be received from him. The neces-
sity of this step will be made known to his Britannic
majesty through the minister plenipotentiary of the United
States at London. And it would indicate a want of the
confidence due to a government which so well understands
and exacts what becomes foreign ministers near it, not to
infer that the misconduct of its own representative will be
viewed in the same light in which it has been regarded
here. The British government will learn, at the same time,
that a ready attention will be given to communications
through any channel which may be substituted. It will be
happy if the change in this respect should be accompanied
by a favorable revision of the unfriendly policy which has
been so long pursued towards the United States."

We have thus made copious extracts from the message,
in order to show generally the true state of the relations
between the two countries. To go into details would re-
quire an examination into the diplomatic history of the
times, and the foreign policy of the government. Enough
has been said to shed light on the subjects of a national
character in the discussion of which Colonel Troup took
part, and on which we shall soon permit him to speak for
himself. "We have seen that as early as October, 1807, he
believed the chances of war, beyond all comparison, greater
than those of peace. But things had now reached a point
where even the cautious policy of Mr. Madison failed to
avert the inevitable consequence of British denial of '•'•free

* Admiral Berkeley. — ED.

90 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [C;up. V.

trade and sailors' rights." Preparation— actual prepara-
tion— for war, was now necessary, and for this the Repub-
lican party set about in earnest.

Early in the session,

Mr. Troup begged leave to submit to the consideration
of the House, several resolutions, which had for their object
the vindication of the commercial rights of the United
States, against the belligerent nations ot Europe. He sub-
mitted them at this time, with less reluctance, because the
introduction of them was in no wise inconsistent with the
most friendly negotiations which might be pending with
foreign governments. It is high time, said Mr. T., in my
opinion, that these commercial rights were either vindicated
or abandoned. The remnant of commerce which the joint
operation of the belligerent decrees has left to us, is scarce-
ly worth carrying on. To designate what this little is,
would be no difficult matter, but it would be superfluous ;
every one that hears me understands it.

But, it would be well to inquire on what principle the
belligerents pretend to justify these commercial restric-
tions £ The avowed principle is retaliation, but is it the
true principle ? Unquestionably not. And why (
cause it is equally asserted by both belligerents. Both
cannot be retaliators ; one must be the aggressor, the other
the retaliator. If this principle, then, be equally urged
by both, who is to judge between them? If the alleged
principle of retaliation be not the true one, what is? As
respects France, the true principle of her decrees is to be
sought in the policy of embarrassing England by excluding
from the continent British merchandise ; and as to Great
Britain, the principle of her Orders in Council may be
found in the consideration of her interest and her power.
She avowedly contends that it is her interest to engross the
commerce of the world ; that she has the power to engross
it, and, therefore, she will engross it.

But, what are the principles more specifically asserted
by Great Britain 2 First, the right of blockade by procla-
mation ; second, the* right to turn your vessels into her
ports to pay duty and take out a license. This right of
blockading by proclamation is not a right growing out of a
state of war ; it is no belligerent right; it is a pretension,
as applicable to a state of peace as to a state of war, and if
we submit to it in a state of war, we must submit to it in u
state of peace. The only principle of blockade which we
recognize, is that which gives to belligerents a right to turn

CHAP. V.] MR. TROUP'S SPEECH. 91

from ports so closely invested as to make the entry of them
dangerous ; and, after due warning, vessels bound to them.
But the right asserted by .Great Britain to blockade by a
piece of parchment or paper, issued from her council
chamber, a port or ports, a kingdom or kingdoms, a conti-
nent or continents, is a right no more relative to a state of
war than to a state of peace ; and, if we submit to the pre-
tension in a state of war, we must equally submit to it in a
state of peace. It is founded on the most arbitrary tyran-
ny, it goes to the annihilation of your commerce. As to
the other right, of forcing our vessels into her ports, to pay
duty and take out license, this is equally applicable to a
state of peace as to a state of war. We acknowledge the
right of Great Britain, or any other nation, to shut her ports
against us, provided there be no treaty stipulation to the
contrary. But the right of Great Britain or of France to
shut the ports of any other nation against us, is a right no
more appertaining to a belligerent than to a neutral. If
we submit to it in war, we must equally submit in peace ;
and this right, like the other, is founded in the most arbi-
trary tyranny. What right has Britain to tyrannize on the
ocean, and prescribe limits to our trade ? She will not
permit to us a trade which she cannot herself enjoy. She
prohibits to us a trade which our government permits, be-
cause it is her interest to -monopolize it. It is equally our
interest to monopolize, and, therefore, if you please, sir, we
will prohibit the trade which her government permits, and
which it is our interest to monopolize.

If Great Britain can rightly prohibit our trade, because
it is her interest to prohibit it, have we not the right to
prohibit her trade for the same reason ? If she, with right
and justice, can stop and seize and confiscate our vessels be-
cause they attempt a trade which she forbids, and only
because she forbids it, cannot our government do the same
in relation to her trade ? If she can turn our vessels into
her ports to pay duty and take out license, what prohibits
us from doing the same as to her vessels ? England is a
nation, so are we. England is independent, so are we.
What prohibits us from doing to England what England
does to us ? Unquestionably nothing. To say that we
have no right to do to England what England does to us,
is to acknowledge our inferiority ; it is to acknowledge that
she may demand without hesitation, and that we are under
obligation to submit without hesitation.

I am aware that it may be objected to the resolutions
that the adoption of them would lead to hostility ; but the

92 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. Y.

same objection is equally applicable to any resolution
which would go to the vindication of our commercial
rights. They ought not to lead to hostility; they are
merely retaliatory. They follow* the spirit of the British
Orders in Council and French Decrees, and therefore can-
not be complained of by either power. There is a great
and profitable commerce, and rapidly increasing, passing
not indeed before our doors, but near enough to make the
capture of vessels engaged in it convenient to us, which
the resolutions have chiefly in view. I allude to the Brazil
and Spanish Main trade.

Is it not matter of surprise, that a commerce so profitable,
so extensive, and so convenient, should have been permit-
ted to a Government which permits no commerce to us but
what her convenience and her interest suggest ? Is it not
strange that we should have suH'ered that Government to
participate in a commerce which both our interest and our
convenience stimulate us to engross? But, above all, is
it not inexplicable that we should passively have suffered
the monopoly of it by her, when \ve ourselves wore willing
and able to engross it ? The House will perceive, on the
face of the resolutions, that, as they regard France, they
are not equivalent to a war measure — neither by a war
measure, nor by that which I have the honor to submit,
can we come in contact with France ; she has no commerce
on the ocean. In relation to England, it is short, infinitely
short of war ; because by war her continental colonies
would fall ; her "West India Islands would be distressed,
and our privateers would cut up her commerce ; but the
resolutions propose merely to retort the evils of her own
injustice, to do to her what, and no more than what, she
has done to us. Reserving, for another occasion, an}r further
remarks, I beg leave to read the resolutions to the House.

Mr. T. then read the following resolutions :
Resolved, That it is expedient to authorize the President,
by law, to instruct the commanders of the armed vessels of
the United States to stop and bring into the ports of the
same, all ships or vessels, with their cargoes, the property of
the subjects of the King of Great Britain and of the Empe-
ror of France, bound to ports other than those within the
dominions or colonies of either.

Resolved, That it is expedient further to authorize by law
the detention of all ships or vessels, with their cargoes, the
property of the subjects of the King of Great Britain, until
the duties to be regulated and ascertained by law shall be

CHAP. V.] HIS RESOLUTIONS. 93

first levied and collected upon the goods and merchandise
whereof the said ships or vessels shall be laden, and until
the said ships or vessels shall have received due license to
depart.

Resolved, That it is expedient further to authorize by law
the detention of all ships or vessels, with their cargoes, the
property of the subjects of the Emperor of France, brought
within the ports of the United States, there to abide the
final decision or order of Government in relation to the
same.

fiesolved, That an ad valorem duty of • be levied

and collected on all the goods, wares or merchandise, of
British product or manufacture.

JResolved, That it is expedient further to authorize the
President, on payment of the duties authorized to be levied
and collected on the goods laden on board vessels the
property of the subjects of the King of Great Britain,
forthwith to grant a license to such vessels to depart and
to proceed to the port of original destination, without further
hinderance or molestation.

The House having agreed to consider these resolutions,

On motion of Mr. Troup, they were ordered to lie on the
table, as he stated, to give every member the same time to
consider them as he had himself taken.

It does not appear that the mover of these resolutions
ever afterwards called them up. The country was not
prepared for them. And yet, on a survey of the then ex-
isting state of things, it is difficult to perceive why the
measures indicated by them would not have been the best
for the country. On principle, they would have given as
good pretext for a declaration of war by France, as by
England, against the United States. In our defensive mode
of conducting the war which did ensue, the former power
could, without a navy, have inflicted but little injury on
us, and there seems to have been no reason why we should
not have been as well prepared for war with Great Britain
in 1809 as in 1812. We had submitted to insult after in-
sult, from that power ; our foreign commerce was almost
annihilated by her ; and what little remained became well*
nigh unavailable, because of the retaliatory measures
to which our own government felt compelled to resort,

94 LITE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. V.

whilst it was hesitating between an open declaration of
war and a system of commercial restrictions ; or, rather,
whilst, by a resort to the latter, it was weakening its own
resources and creating discontents at home by measures
more injurious to our own people than detrimental to our
enemies. Indeed, one serious ground of objection to the
war, when at last it was declared, was that it came too late
to avenge the wrongs of the country, and at a time when
a large portion of the people indulged still the vain hope
that negotiation would do for us what we had not as yet
tried by open hostilities.

First and last, Colonel Troup was the open advocate of
his country's rights ; and although he foresaw the impolicy
or futility of mere commercial restrictions so long adhered
to, yet, when the conflict came, it found him the same un-
daunted supporter of a vigorous war, that he had been of a
line of policy that would have hastened the crisis or have
altogether averted it. His speeches and votes show that
whilst he often differed from his political friends, in matters
of detail, he never deserted the Administration of his
choice, which was honestly endeavoring t<> promote the
best good of the country. On 17th February, 1809, he had
" condemned the proposed non-intercourse system as sub-
mission, without even money in return for it," and on the
27th of the same month he voted, against the bill. His
opinion was, as we have seen, that, short of more decided
measures, the embargo, properly enforced, and followed up
by a pertinent system of defence, was " the best for our
situation which could have been devised."

Having already referred to the general provisions of the
non-intercourse act of 1st March, 1809, (which was amended
and, as to certain parts of it, continued in force " until the
end of the [then] next session of Congress," by the act of
June 28, 1809,) we cannot do better than make the following
extracts from a letter of Col. Troup to Gov. Mitchell, dated

WASHINGTON, March 17, 1810.

My Dear Sir : I offer you my sincere congratulation on
your elevation to the chief magistracy, but especially on

CHAP. V.] LETTER TO GOV, MITCHELL. 95

the prospect which is every day opening before you of
uniting more various and stronger interests in your support
than several of your immediate predecessors. The people
of Georgia, if I understand them rightly, will only require
the firmness and moderation and dignity with which you
set out, to yield that support as liberally and as heartily
as ever they accorded it to our old and excellent friend
Jackson. * The Southern

States require all the qualities which command respect, to
oppose a successful resistance to the Eastern and mercan-
tile interests in Congress. The rights of the former are
every day shamefully sacrificed to the undue weight of the
latter. By superior intelligence, by cunning, by stratagem,
individuals are detached from the Southern and Western
interests, and made to unite in measures which have for
their object the prosperity merely of New England naviga-
tion and fisheries. The rest call in vain for union and
concert in behalf of the interests of Southern agriculture.
The Yankees, with these stragglers, carry the day, and
laugh in their sleeves at the zeal with which Georgia and
South Carolina support all the measures of the general
government. It is thus we have been saddled so long with
non-intercourse, and it is thus that non-intercourse is pro-
posed to be followed by another frivolous system of com-
mercial restriction.' I have long witnessed these projects
with indignation, and seeing that in all of them nothing
was consulted but the local interests of the day, I too have
looked to local interests. It is therefore that I have been
for war or free commerce. The non-intercourse co-operates
with the Orders of Council, 1st, to carry on a round-about
trade with Great Britain in her own vessels ; 2dly, to pro-
hibit all trade with France or Holland or Italy. The effect
on us is to give to the British the monopoly of our cotton
at eleven cents, and a monopoly of the supply of broad-
cloths at fourteen dollars the yard. Whilst the Yankees
can freight their vessels to smuggle British property into
the continent, they care not two straws about the rest.
The wheat-grower and the tobacco-planter have been doing
well under the non-intercourse, and they too are content.
This is the cause of our stupid perseverance in non-inter-
course. Now it will be repealed, or suffered to expire on
the close of the session. The Senate and House are at
variance on Mr. Macon's Bill. In the conference, 'the man-
agers of the Senate propose to incorporate the convoy
principle ; the managers on our part dissent, but the report
has not been acted on by either. The result is problemat-

96 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. V.

ical. As we hourly expect to hear from our ministers at
Paris and London, there is no desire to hurry the Bill-
perhaps it is well.

With best wishes for you and yours, I am, my dear sir,
Eespectfully, your friend,

GEO. M. TROUF.

The bill, to which reference is made in this letter, had
been reported by Mr. Macon, from the committee on For-
eign Relations, as early as December 19th. The following
was the substance of it :

[1809.] The first section prohibited all public vessels of
Great Britain or France from entering the harbors of the
United States, subject to certain exceptions. The second
section prescribed the punishment for violation of that
provision. The third section prohibited all vessels sailing
under the flag of Great Britain or France, or owned in
whole or in part by any citizen of either, from entering the
harbors of the United States. The fourth section prohib-
ited the importation into the United States of goods from
Great Britain or Ireland, and France, and their colonies, or
of goods from any foreign port, the growth, .product or
manufacture of Great Britain or France, unless in vessels
owned wholly by citizens of the United States. The above
provisions to take immediate effect. The fifth section pro-
hibited, after the 15th of April, the importation of goods
from Great Britain and France, and their colonies, unless
imported directly therefrom. The next three sections af-
fixed penalties for infraction of these provisions. The ninth
section authorized the President, in case either Great
Britain or France so revoked or modified her edicts as to
cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States,
to declare the same by proclamation ; after which, the pro-
hibitions of the bill, on the commerce of the nation so
doing, should cease. The next section repealed the act of
28th June, 1809, to amend and continue in force certain
parts of the non-intercourse act of 1st March, 1809. The
last section limited the operation of the act to the end of
the then next session of Congress.

CHAP. V.] SPEECH ON NON-INTERCOURSE. 97

In consequence of disagreement between the two Houses,
the bill was finally lost. After sundry amendments, it had
passed the House — all the Repre|entatives from Georgia
voting for it, except Colonel Troup. In the debate on the
disagreement of the two Houses,

Mr. Troup remarked that gentlemen, in speaking of the
bill as it went from this House, seemed to have forgotten
the contents of that bill. It was spoken of as a bill full of
resistance. If any such principle was contained in the bill,
he had no recollection of it. If he recollected right, the
part struck out proposed a direct commerce to the ports of
the belligerents in our owri vessels. Was this the principle
of resistance ? He had thought that, last winter, non-
intercourse was resistance. But it seemed that what was
resistance then was submission now. If the Senate was
disposed to resist in reality with cannon and ball, and there-
fore would not take the milk-and-water resistance of this
bill, he did not feel disposed to blame them.

[1810.] On the question of insisting on the disagreement
to the amendments of the Senate, Colonel Troup again
voted in the negative — the rest of the Georgia delegation
voting in the affirmative. The following speech, delivered
on the 27th of March, will explain the reasons for his votes,
and throw light on the subject under consideration. The
question recurring on adhering to the disagreement to the
Senate's amendments,

Mr. Troup said, if it was the object of gentlemen to get
rid of all commercial restrictions, they could only do so by
concurring with the Senate. If they adhered, their object
would indeed be defeated. The non-intercourse would be
saddled on the country so long as the law continued in op-
eration. Look at the sections of the bill as it went from
this House, said Mr. T. It is true that one of these sections
repeals the non-intercourse, but it is also true that another
section substitutes a measure, which, if retaliated, must
revive the non-intercourse in fact. Not only are these pro-
visions inconsistent, but another section of the bill recog-
nizes that inconsistency, and provides a remedy, by
authorizing the President to execute the law within four
leagues of the coast, by employing the public armed vessels
of the United States to detect smugglers. Now, I say, sir,
that the amendment of the Senate, which goes to the de-
13

98 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. V.

struction of these sections, has for its object the destruction
of the non-intercourse law. Sir, no man can contemplate
the non-intercourse law in a light more serious as an evil
to the people of this country, than myself. There never
was a measure adopted more deleterious in its operation on
the morals and interests of the people. The single effect
of it has been to depreciate the staple commodity of the
country at the rate of one hundred per cent., and exalt the
British manufactures in the same ratio ; to make cotton sell
at eleven cents a pound, and to make the growers of it pay
fourteen dollars a yard for broadcloth. Look at the prac-
tical operation of it. A cargo of cotton from a southern
port is landed at Amelia Island ." If British goods are
there, ready for exchange, they are taken in exchange for
the cotton, and smuggled into the country. If there be no
goods there, they bring back no return, except the freight
for the short navigation to Amelia Island. The cargo is
landed, a duty of eight per cent, paid on it, besides <•< mi-
missions, &c., and a duty of eight or ten per cent, more on
re-exportation, and what freight the British ship-holders
choose to demand. This is not only the effect of the non-
intercourse. It must be the effect of every system of
commercial restriction short of the measure of embargo ;
because all the penalties and sanctions which you can possi-
bly devise for carrying that system into operation, must
operate on a class without the reach of those penal i
people who are without your jurisdiction; people, too, wh<>
tell you, in the plainest language, they have no country,
that they are governed by no sentiment of honor or princi-
ple of patriotism, that commercial gain is the sole object
of their consideration, and that every other object will be
sacrificed to it. Does not every day's experience apprise
you that this is the truth ( Look at the common practice
and habits of those called ship-owners. Are they not
every day lending their vessels to the British merchants for
the purpose of violating the continental policy, to the
French, the Dutch or any other merchants, for the purpose
of violating the British Orders in Council, or to British and
French merchants, for violating the laws of their own coun-
try ( And is it possible, sir, that you expect to execute,
with any degree of success, a system which is to operate
on the belligerents, when the penalties for a violation of
the system are to operate on this class i It is impossible ;
such a system must be futile and inefficient. Because,
then, I am disposed to get rid of the non-intercourse and

* Then a dependency of Spain. — ED.

CHAP. V.] SPEECH ON NON-INTERCOURSE. 99

every sort of commercial restriction, considering it injuri-
ous only to ourselves, can it be said that I am disposed to
submit to the orders and decrees of the belligerents \ No,
sir ; those gentlemen have surrendered the rights and inter-
ests of the country, who did originally submit to an aban-
donment of the embargo. It is true now, and it was true
then, that there was nothing between you and the British
Orders in Council, but either embargo or war."" You re-
pealed the embargo, and refused to go to war, and now, as
then, there is no remedy short of war or embargo. Pro-
pose what other remedy you please, and it is only calculated
to excite ridicule abroad. If you propose to convoy —
what ! it is asked, will you convoy a trade to every quarter
of the globe with six, eight, or ten frigates ? If you propose
to arm the merchantmen — what ! it is asked, will you arm
your merchantmen against the British navy ? If we are to
have neither embargo nor war, I, for one, am willing to get
rid of the non-intercourse, and not substitute anything for
it. To obtain this object, there is no mode left but to con-
cur with the Senate in their amendments, and strike out
those clauses which can have no other effect than to per-
petuate the system of non-intercourse.

In all this, Colonel Troup was consistent. We have seen
that he opposed and voted against the repeal of the em-
bargo. That he differed from a majority of both Houses
and the President, is no evidence that he was wrong. In
his conduct on this, as on all other subjects, we have the
highest evidence of an independent and self-relying spirit.
Beyond its principles, party had no trammels for him. In
the House, Dr. Bibb voted with Col. Troup, Dr. Smelt voted
the other way — Mr. Cobb was absent. In the Senate, Gov.
Milledge voted for the bill, and Mr. Crawford against it.

During the session of 1809-'10, the question of the re-
charter of the Bank of the United States came before
Congress. In the first section of the bill, there was a provi-
sion that the President and Directors should " pay into the
Treasury of the United States one million two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars, as the price and equivalent for the
renewal and continuance of their charter as aforesaid"
On this subject,

* Did not subsequent events fully justify this prediction ? — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciup. V.

[1810.] Mr. Troup said gentlemen might pass the bill,
but for the Constitutional question. If they did pass it, he
hoped they would not permit themselves to become the
retailing hucksters of the community for the sake of bank
charters. In the name of common honesty, said he, I be-
seech you, what power have you to sell a charter * There
is power in the Constitution' to sell the public property ;
but there is certainly no power to sell privileges of any
kind. I therefore move you to strike out the bribe, the
douceur, the bonus, as gentlemen call it, of £1,250,000.

. On the same day, (April 21,) he spoke as follows :

Mr. Troup said he forbore at present going into the
question of constitutionality. He had no idea thjit he
could, with any efficiency whatever, stand up on this floor,
with such a weapon as an argument, to contend with a
moneyed institution of ten millions. IT 1 am not disposed
to go into the general question of constitutionality, said he,
I am as certainly indisposed to derive this power from the
power to pass all laws necessary and proper. I am the
more reluctant to do so, because it is a dangerous power,
and ought not to be derived by implication. I say that the
power is dangerous, for if it be conceded that the Congress
of the United States have a right to erect a moneyed insti-
tution with a capital of ten or twenty millions, it is compe-
tent to erect one with a capital of one hundred milions. It
may be competent, therefore, to the United States to raise
a corporation more powerful than itself — a moneyed insti-
tution wnich may absorb all the powers of the State. And
this principle as a precedent will be more dangerous in this
case, because the temptation is so much greater in propor-
tion to the amount of capital. I do contend that if the
Constitution did intend to grant the power of chartering
moneyed institutions, it did not intend to grant it for the
purposes of speculation, and of speculation merely. Sell
privileges! Sell, for $1,250,000, the exclusive privilege of
taking usurious interest on money ! I thought, sir, that
the power of selling privileges and indulgences was exclu-
sively the right and power of the Pope. I ask gentlemen
on what authority they act ? On none of morality, certain-
ly—but on what authority I On that of- the corrupt gov-
ernment of England. Servile imitators^of England,' we
must have a national bank ! And why not an East India
Company ? We could sell a charter, tomorrow, for millions.
We could sell chartered privileges for almost as much as
we should choose to ask. If we become the retailers of

CHAP. V.] SPEECH ON THE U. S. BANK. 101

privileges, we shall go on to sell them till we overdo the
business ; and when this great national source of revenue,
after becoming our chief and only resource, had failed, to
what resources for revenue should we be driven ? Is it not
a very rational inference, that it will be to the sale of all
privileges we can derive from the Constitution a power to
dispose of? If, sir, on any occasion you would set up, in
the market, privileges for sale to the highest bidder, even
do so with respect to privileges of every description. You
would no more hesitate to set up, for sale, privileges of no^
bility than this privilege — but (I thank God !) the Constitu-
tion has prohibited you. But for that, we would sell theih
now as we do bank privileges ; we should go on to make it
our chief resource, till, by the cheapness of the title, we
should destroy the value of the trade. If we can draw
money into the Treasury, by bargain and sale of privileges,
let it be understood that we shall continue to foster it as
our chief national resource. Having done with internal
and direct taxes of all descriptions, because we consider
them oppressive, this sale of privileges will be made the
chief national resource.

I will add but one thing. The moment you accept this
$1,250,000, you are bribed in the same manner as the
British Parliament have suffered themselves to be corrupted.
Like them, we not only shamefully partake of the crime, but
on our statute book acknowledge the fact.

In continuation of the debate, the same day, and in reply
to Mr. Key, of Maryland,

Mr. Troup observed that the gentleman had said that
the power to incorporate a bank was derived from the
power to lay and collect revenue ; and that the power
ought to be exercised, because banks give a facility to the
collection of the revenue. If the power be exercised, it
must be necessary and proper. If it be necessary to the
collection of the revenue, the revenue cannot be collected
without it. The gentleman from Maryland might say a
bank institution was useful. He might say it would give
facility to the collection of the revenue ; but facility and
necessity are wholly different, and the Constitution says
that a power, to be incidental, must be necessary and
proper. If facility be a ground of action, we are greatly
wide of the true policy. We ought to adopt that measure
which shall give the greatest facility. The ingenious gen-
tleman himself could sit down and in fifteen minutes devise
half a dozen modes whicli would give infinitely more

102 LI*1E OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. V.

facility than a bank to the collection of the revenue. He
might farm out the revenue ; establish farming districts ;
put a farmer-general at the head of them, with a corps of
Janizaries. The Secretary of the Treasury would have
nothing to do but draw on him for a sum of money, and
require it or his head. This, sir, is a plan which would
give the greatest possible facility. You could command
money of the farmer-general, or you could require his head.
Himself and his Janizaries could always send the money ;
or, if lie did not, the people and the Janizaries could send
his head.

Such is a synopsis of the argument against a Ban!
the United States. Col. Troup was always opposed to the
measure. It was enough for him to know that the question
of Constitutional power was a doubtful one. His argument
always was, in reference to a doubtful power, forbear to
exercise it, BECAUSE it is doubtful. Let those who pretend
to believe that his doctrines, in their practical enforcement,
lead to anarchy, remember that whilst he honestly believed
the tendency of our federative system was towards con-
solidation, he steadily maintained, practically and in theory,
that the proper and only way to keep up the Constitutional
equipoise, was in adhering strictly to the letter of the
compact, without encroachment by the States or usurpation
by the Federal Government. If he ever maintained any
other doctrine, the fact is unknown to those who most
closely watched his political career, and have since most
honestly studied his recorded opinions. Such a system of
government is that which the framers of the Constitution
intended ; and he is the enemy of that instrument who
would degrade the States to a blind and passive submission
to any encroachment upon their rights which a corrupt or
interested majority in Congress should choose to enact.

Yielding to the pressure of the times, many honest men
of the Eepublican party were led to support a National
Bank— amongst others, the late President, Mr. Madison ;
but Col. Troup was not in Congress when the act of incor-
poration was passed in April, 1816 ; and his last recorded

CHAP. V.] SPEECH ON THE U. S. BANK. 103

vote on that subject, in the House,""" was on the ITth day of
February, 1815, when he voted, with the majority, to
postpone indefinitely a bill to incorporate a Bank of the
United States.

[1810.] The second session of the Eleventh Congress
closed on the 1st day of May.

At the third session, which began on 3d December, Col.
Troup was re-appointed on the committee on Elections, and
was also placed on the standing committee on the Post
Office and Post Roads.

The President's Message showed that no improvement
had occurred in the aspect of our relations with Great
Britain and France.

The most important act of the session was one entitled
" An Act supplementary to the Act, entitled ' An Act con-
cerning the commercial intercourse between the United
States and Great Britain and France, and their dependen-
cies, and for other purposes,' " the second section of which
was as follows :

" That, in case Great Britain shall so revoke or modify
her edicts, as that they shall cease to violate the neutral
commerce of the United States, the President shall declare
the fact by proclamation ; and such proclamation shall be
admitted as evidence, and no other evidence shall be ad-
mitted of such revocation or modification in any suit or
prosecution which may be instituted under the fourth sec-
tion of the act to which this act is a supplement. And the
restrictions imposed, or which may be imposed, by virtue
of the said act, shall, from the date of such proclamation,
cease and be discontinued."

[1811.] For this bill Col. Troup voted. He took, how-
ever, little part in debate. The most important subject on
which he spoke was the motion made on 21st January, to
postpone indefinitely the consideration of the bill for re-
chartering the Bank of the United States.

* On the llth day of June, 1832, Gov. Troup voted in the Senate against the re-charter
of the United States Bank; but the bill, having passed both Houses, was vetoed by President
Jackson, on the 10th of July ; and, on the 13th of the same month, the question coming up
whether the bill should become a law, notwithstanding the President's objection, it was de-
cided in the negative — Gov. Troup voting to sustain the President. — ED.

104 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. V .

Mr. Troup conceived the motion now made to be per-
fectly proper. He felt, however, under no obligation to
accommodate the bank. The act granting an act of incor-
poration was entirely a voluntary act, and the duration of
it limited in the act itself to a term of twenty years. If the
bank had acted the part of an ordinary or discreet merchant,
it would have taken care, before the expiration of its char-
ter, to have wound up its business and be prepared to meet
the event ; because the Legislature was not bound to renew
it, not having, either by the original charter, or by any
subsequent act, given any pledge that it would do so. The
bank not having received any pledge of renewal, ought f<>
have been prepared for its dissolution. If the institution
had done what it ought to have done, the Government, so
tar as it is concerned, would have prepared itself against
the event, as he was told it was now about to do, by sub-
stituting arrangements with the State banks for arrange-
ments with the Bank of the United States or its 1 .ranches.
Mr. T. could therefore Bee no difficulty in assenting to this
proposition, whether as respected the Government or a-
respected the individuals concerned in the Bank.

On the 24th of January, the question was decided in the
affirmative — yeas sixty-five, nays sixty-four — Col. Troup
voting with the majority.

The third and last session of the Eleventh Congress ter-
minated 3d March, 1811.

CHAP. VI.] RE-ELECTION TO CONGRESS. 105

CHAPTEE VI.

Col. Troup' s Re-Election to Congress in 1810. — Stateofthe Country.
Declaration of War. — Course in Congress.

IN October, 1810, the people of Georgia elected, as their
Representatives in the Federal Legislature, William "W.
Bibb, Howell Cobb,* Boiling Hall and George M. Troup.
Col. Troup was at this time residing in Montgomery
County.

The first session of the Twelfth Congress began on the
fourth day of November, 1811, pursuant to proclamation
of the President ; and on that day the above named Repre-
sentatives from Georgia took their seats in the House.
The aspect of our foreign relations had not improved.
In his opening Message, (Nov. 5,) the President said :

" In calling you together sooner than a separation from
your homes would otherwise have been required, I yielded
to considerations drawn from the posture of our foreign
affairs ; and in fixing the present for the time of your meet-
ing, regard was had to the probability of further develop-
ments of the policy of the belligerent powers towards this
country, which might the more unite the national councils
in the measures to be pursued. At the close of the last
session of Congress, it was hoped that the successive con-
firmations of the extinction of the French decrees, so far
as they violated our neutral commerce, would have in-
duced the government of Great Britain to repeal its orders
in council, and thereby authorize a removal of the exist-
ing obstructions to her commerce with the United States.
Instead of this reasonable step toward satisfaction and friend-
ship between the two nations, the orders were, at a mo-
ment when least to have been expected, put into more rig-
orous execution ; and it was communicated through the
British envoy just arrived, that while the revocation of
the edicts of France, as officially made known to the Brit-
ish government, was denied to have taken place, it was an

* On 27th November, 1812, William Barnett took his scat in the House of Representatives, as
a member of the Twelfth Congress, in place of Howell Cobb, resigned, — ED.

10(} LIKE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. [Ciur. VI.

indispensable condition of the repeal of the British orders
that commerce should be restored to a footing that -woiild
admit the productions and manufactures of Great Britain,
when owned by neutrals, into markets shut against them
by her enemy ; the United States being given to under-
stand that, in the mean time, a continuance of their non-
importation act would lead to measures of retaliation."

After further enumeration, the message proceeded :

" I must now add, that the period is arrived which claims
from the legislative guardians of the national rights, a
tern of more ample provisions for maintaining them. Not-
withstanding the scrupulous justice, the protracted moder-
ation, and the multiplied efforts on the part of the United
States, to substitute, for the accumulating dangers to the
peace of the two countries, all the mutual advantages of
re-established friendship and confidence, we have seen that
the British cabinet perseveres not only in withholding a
remedy for other wrongs, so long and so loudly calling for
it, but, in the execution, brought home to the threshold of
our territory, of measures which, under existing circum-
stances, have the character as well as the effect of war on
our lawful commerce. With this evidence of hostile in-
flexibility in trampling on rights which no independent
nation can relinquish, Congress will feel the duty of put-
ting the United States into an armor and an attitude de-
manded by the crisis, and corresponding with the national
spirit and expectations."

The Message then recommended, more in detail, such
measures of preparation as the exigency of the times
seemed to demand.

Thus we see that the anticipations of Colonel Troup, in
regard to the futility of the non-intercourse measures, eith-
er in securing our rights or preventing a war, were about
to be realized. But preparation for war required the rais-
ing of means to carry on the war ; and this, except by the
temporary expedient of a loan, could be done only by tax-
ation.

In answer to a letter of inquiry from the House committee
of Ways and Means, the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr.
Gallatin, submitted on 10th January, 1812, an estimate of
the amount, and the mode of raising a revenue, sufficient
for the wants of the country.

CHAP. VI.] ANOTHER LETTER TO GOV. MITCHELL. 107

And here it is proper to introduce a letter from Colonel
Troup to Governor Mitchell, altogether characteristic of
the writer, and which shows his position and views in re-
ference to the then state of public affairs :

WASHINGTON, 12th February, 1812.

Dear Sir : — I had the pleasure to receive your favor yes-
terday. Your sentiments on our national affairs are always
welcome. They are particularly so at this time. The pub-
lic mind had proceeded, with slow step, from doubt to re-
solution ; and when, at last, it settled in conviction, it was
not to be supposed that anything short of the attainment of
its object would have satisfied it. This may be true yet ;
but it does not seem as palpably true now as a few weeks
ago. To say that the retrograde step is commenced, or will
be commenced, would be saying too much ; but that the
war mercury has sunk a little, nobody here can doubt.
The letter of the Secretary of the Treasury has done this.

What — you will ask — men ready to go to war who are
not ready to vote taxes ? Yes ; the very name is more ter-
rible than 50,000 British bayonets. But not so much the
taxes : there is the excise, and the stamp, and the salt duty.
We can get along without them ; loans are better ; Treas-
ury notes are better than loans, &c., &c. Can a system
grow out of this discordance ?

There are only two alternatives : the expenses being al-
ready authorized by law,""' we must repeal the law or raise
the money. To repeal the laws, will be to abandon, in the
most deliberate manner, the contest ; and money to a limited
amount only can be raised by loans. A majority, therefore,
will be found at last to unite in a system of taxation, di-
rect and indirect. The subjects of the former will be, prob-
ably, spirits, carriages, refined sugars, licenses to retailers,
stamps on Bank paper.

Is it surprising, then, that in the midst of this perplexity
we should require your countenance and encouragement ?
For myself, 1 denounce all further temporizing or inde-
cision; and, our Foreign relations continuing the same,
nothing but a declaration of war or an open abandonment
of the contest will satisfy me. Nothing short of this can
satisfy the just expectations of the Southern people, who
have been bearing the brunt of the restrictive system from
the beginning.

* Referring to " An Act to raise an additional Military force," approved llth January, 1812,
and " An Act authorizing the President of the United States to accept and organize certain
Volunteer and Military corps." — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M TROUT. [CHAP. VI.

"We have much to hope from the diplomatic skill of "Mr.
Barlow : but should he fail in relieving our cotton from
the prohibitory duty, there will be little scruple among
Southern men in " recurring to measures not literally war-
ranted by the 'bargain."

The Officers of the 25,oin> Imve been apportioned among
the respective States, and to our share has fallen the ap-
pointment of one Lieutenant-Colonel, one Major, seven
Captains, and a proportionate number of subalterns. The
first has been given to General Jack, the second to Moss-
man Houstoun.

Some doubts are entertained of the practicability of
raising men on enlistment for five years. This may give
rise to a bill for raising a certain number on short enlist-
ment.

On the subject of the ensuing Congressional election:
my interest, you know, imperiously demands my attention

barrassment or trouble to our friends.
With best wishes for you and yo

T am, dear Governor, very Sincerely,

. M. TUOUP.

On the 29th November, 1811, the committee on Foreign
Relations made a report to the House, in which they briefly
but forcibly reviewed the causes and state of our differ-
ences with Great Britain, and which they concluded by
recommending,

"1st. That the Military Establishment, as authorized by
the existing laws, ought to be immediately completed by
filling up the ranks, and prolonging the enlistment of the
troops ; and that, to encourage enlistment, a bounty in lands
ought to be given in addition to the pay and bounty now
allowed by law.

" 2d. That an additional force of ten thousand regular
troops ought to be immediately raided to serve for three
years ; and that a bounty in land ought to be given to en-
courage enlistments.

. " 3d. That it is expedient to authorize the President, under
proper regulations, to accept the service of any number of

CHAP. VI.] REMARKS ON ENLISTMENT. 109

volunteers, not exceeding fifty thousand; to be organized,
trained, and held in readiness to act on such service as the
exigencies of the Government may require.

" 4th. That the President be authorized to order out, from
time to time, detachments of the militia, as in his opinion
the public service may require.

" 5th. That all the vessels not now in service, belonging to
the Navy, and worthy of repair, be immediately fitted up
and put in commission.

" 6th. That it is expedient to permit our merchant vessels,
owned exclusively by resident citizens,, and commanded
and navigated solely by citizens, to arm, under proper reg-
ulations, to be prescribed by law, in self-defence, against
all unlawful proceedings towards them on the high seas."

The report led to an animated debate, (December 12th,)
during which, the question being on agreeing to the second
resolution,

Mr. Troup rose to make an effort to put an end to the
debate ; a debate in. which the great mass of the House
were enlisted on one side, against the solitary gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Eandolph) on the other. I trust, sir,
the period has arrived when the House will feel itself
bound, by the imperious calls of the country, to act, and to
act promptly. I am ready to go heart and hand with the
advocates of the resolution ; all I ask is, that they will lead
with prudence and discretion ; deliberate when deliberation
is useful, act when action is necessary. But, if the spirit of
debate, as in former times, has seized upon us ; if idle ver-
biage and empty vociferation are to take the place of
manly and energetic conduct, I enter, at this early stage of
the proceeding, my solemn protest. I cannot, I will not,
share the responsibility of this ruinous course. Indeed, sir,
so conscious do I feel of the evil — nay, of the danger to the
country, from the course which has been adopted, I shall
be constrained to call for the previous question, unless my
friends shall interpose the more pleasant corrective, their
own good sense, to stop it. I know, sir, they have been
impelled by the most honorable sentiments, the most gen-
erous passions, patriotism, honor, zeal for their country,
rage against her oppressors. They are good reasoners, they
are eloquent — but of what avail is argument, of what avail
is eloquence, to convince, to persuade,3whorn ? Ourselves,

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTTP. [Crur. VI.

the people ? Sir, if the people arc to bo reasoned into a
war now, it is too soon, much too soon, to begin it. If their
Eepresentatives here are to be led to it by the ^ flowers of
rhetoric, it is too soon, much too soon, to begin it.

When the honorable Chairman of the Committee of
Foreign Relations (Mr. Porter,) reported the resolutions, I
had hoped he would have made a motion to go into con-
clave, or, -if that had not been deemed advisable, that at
least the resolutions, when taken up with open doors, would
have been treated as a system of defensive measures called
for by the exigency of the times, and affording no just
ground of complaint to any Power which might please to
consider itself the object of them. Such a course would
have been not less consistent witli the report of the com-
mittee itself, than with the letter and spirit of the Presi-
dent's Message. The President himself would have been
fortified by it. When the British Minister called, as he
undoubtedly will, upon the President, to demand the causes
of these warlike preparations, he might have been answer-
ed : Sir, they are no other than what they purport on the
face of them to be, a system of defence on the part of the
American Government, called for by the state of the world ;
or, if he pleased, he might have said, called for by the
attitude which his Britannic Majesty had assumed, the
propriety of which no nation had a right to question.
But, instead of this, what had been doMi Why, at the
very outset, we have been told the measures were intend-
ed as measures of offensive hostility : that the army was
to be raised to attack Canada; nothing short of it ; all
the advocates of the resolution declared it. Now, sir,
could a more public or formal declaration of war have
been made? Contrary to the practice of all nations,
we declare first and make preparation afterward. More
magnanimous than wise, we tell the enemy when we
will strike, where we will strike, and how we will
strike! Do we mean a mere bravado ? Impossible. No
man who knows the advocates of the resolutions would sus-
pect it ; but we hope the enemy will recede ; he may ; but
if he should not, let gentlemen look to the consequences ;
let them look well to the character of that enemy : is he
feeble, spiritless, destitute of resources, without coura-'t-,
without honor ? No, sir ; with two hundred and iifty
thousand regulars and all the munitions of war in store, his
fleets and transports manned, equipped and provisioned ;
their sails bent to every wind, they ask but one hundred
and twenty days to reinforce Quebec, to fortify Montreal,

CHAP. VI.] REMARKS ON ENLISTMENT.

to gain the passes into Canada, to march the supernumera-
ries to Boston. Here we sit in idle debate. Sir, I do
contend, most seriously, that ten thousand regulars can
inarch to Boston in defiance of the militia of Massachusetts,
well armed and organized as I know them to be. ISTow,
sir, suppose this should happen, and more wonderful things
have happened, what will be said ? What will my friend
from Virginia say to the first victims of the war? Why,
he will say, " This is no war of mine ; I exerted all my
strength to turn these people from their mad and desperate
career ! " The gentleman from Virginia exonerates him-
self from all responsibility by the very act of opposition ;
but, what can be said of us, the advocates of the resolution,
to whom all responsibility attaches? That "we had not
finished our war speeches ! " — that " we could not begin
to raise men until we had finished them ! " Sir, believe
me, the people of this country want no such speeches ; they
will go for war, because they believe war is necessary to
the preservation of their honor and substantial interest;
they want men and arms to defend them — not words. If
gentlemen persevere in the debate, I will call the previous
question. The safety of the state, after what has been said
and done, demand it, and all considerations must yield to
that.

The resolutions were all afterwards carried, (the first
having been previously adopted,) and a bill or bills ordered
to be brought in, pursuant to the sixth resolution. On the
2d of January, 1812, a bill from the Senate, " to raise an
additional military force," being before the House, and
an amendment having been offered,

Mr. Troup observed that, if it were found, some time
hence, that 25,000 men were unnecessary, Congress could
at once say that only a certain part should be raised. It
had, in his opinion, been correctly said that if we do not
want 25,000 men, we do not want one man. Can the gen-
tleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smilie, the mover of the
amendment,) doubt that 5,000 men will be wanted for the
defence of New Orleans ? And is it not stated by the Sec-
retary of War, that 12,000 men will be wanted for the
fortifications on our seaboard, exclusive of the aid to be
derived from the militia, which takes 17,000 out of the
25,000 men ? And is there a man, who has a knowledge
of military affairs, who would be willing to sit down before

LIFE OF GEOKGE M. TROUP. [Ciup, VI.

the Gibraltar of America, Quebec, with less than '20,000
men ? In his mind, however, the capture of Halifax would
be more important than Quebec, as from thence may be
expected the chief attacks upon our commerce ; but Hali-
fax could not be taken until Quebec was first secured. He
could see no reason for adopting the amendment.

On the 9th of the same month, a question being before
the House on receding from some amendments (in regard
to appointment of officers,) to which the Senate would not
agree,

Mr. Troup was in favor of receding, because, in doing so,
he believed the raising of the troops would be expedited ;
for, if two hundred officers could raise ten thousand men in
a given time, four hundred officers could raise twenty
thousand in the same time. He could not help replying to
a remark of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Smilie)
that gentlemen were all for economy. Mr. T. was not for
a war of economy, but a war of vigor. All wars are ne-
cessarily expensive. The more feeble and protracted they
are, the greater will be the expense ; and the expense is
less, in proportion, as they are short and vigorous. If we
are not to have an energetic war, let us have no war. He
believed the resources of the country are adequate to any
war. Compare the situation of the country with what it
was in 1775. Our population now consists of seven mil-
lions of active, enterprising individuals, carrying on a com-
merce second only to one nation in the world ; then, our
population was only three millions, with a feeble colonial
commerce, and the people miserably poor in everything
but a spirit of liberty. What did they do1 ( If gentlemen
will recur to the Journals of that day, they will discover
that, when Congress had a formidable army ready to inarch,
they had not a uollar of revenue, and the people were too
indigent to raise money. Congress had to issue bills of
credit to the amount of two millions of dollars. If it be
thought we cannot raise the necessary supplies, we had
better do at once, what, perhaps, we shall find it necessary
to do, if we refuse to recede from these amendments —

[1812.] The bill to authorize the President to accept and
organize certain volunteer corps, being before the House on
the llth of January, a question arose as to the power of the
President to employ this force out of the limits of the
United States. Col. Troup spoke as follows :

CHAP. VI.] REMARKS ON TEE MILITIA.

Mr. Troup said, it was evidently an object with the Con-
vention who formed the Constitution, to repress, as much
as possible, in the new government, the power of making
conquests. History had informed them that conquests had
always been injurious to every country which had engaged
in making them ; they, therefore, by their provisions, en-
deavored to repress this spirit. They say, in so many
words, " If you will indulge in this spirit of conquest,
which has been the bane of every nation which has indulged
in it, you shall carry it on by an army, and an army
only." And why ? Because an army could only be raised
by putting the country to great expense, and this was the
limitation which the Convention thought proper to put to
the spirit of conquest. A large army, maintained for this
purpose, would be viewed with jealousy by the people of
the United States ; and of this the members of the Conven-
tion were well aware. There was, on the face of the Con-
stitution, Mr. T. said, an obvious distinction made between
the Army and the militia. Power is given to Congress to
raise armies. For what purposes ? For all military pur-
poses. Congress shall have power to call out the militia.
For what purposes ? To suppress insurrections, execute the
laws, and repel invasions. If it had been the design of
the Convention to have given Congress the same power
over the militia as over the Army, would they not have
said so in express terms ? But there was -another good
reason for withholding this power from Congress. The
States relied upon the militia for their protection against
any attempt at usurpation by the General Government.
If gentlemen will turn to one of the amendments of the
Constitution, they will find it declared, " that a well regu-
lated militia is necessary to the security of a free State."

But there is another wide distinction between the Army
and militia, from the different characters of the persons
who compose the two bodies. What are the militia ? They
are yeomanry ; citizens of the country, called from their
homes and their families, in cases of emergency, for the
defence of their country. Would it be reasonable to vest
the power in Congress to carry these men from their homes
and their families, for foreign invasion or foreign conquest ?
It could not have been the intention of the Convention that
these men might be shipped off against Jamaica or Yera
Cruz — for if, by any construction of the Constitution, the
militia can be sent one foot beyond the limits of the
United States, they might be sent to Chili or Paraguay.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CflAr. VI.

If, then, the militia cannot be sent out of the country,
and these volunteers are militia, neither can they be so
disposed of. But are they militia ? He did not know how
they could be distinguished from them. They now form a
part of the militia, under the officers of the respective
States, and they are so to remain. They are, therefore,
volunteer militia, and nothing else.

But gentlemen say, these volunteers can be marched out
of the country by their own consent. "Will consent make
any difference ? "Will it make an act of government const i-
tutional, which, without it, would be unconstitutional (
The government of the United States and these volunteers
are not the only parties concerned. The people of the
United States were the makers of the Constitution, and not
these individuals and the General Government ; and the
respective States cannot surrender their militia, which they
have a right to hold for their own security.

But the gentleman from the State of Maryland, (Mr.
"Wright,) says, that the militia may be called out by the
General Government to execute the laws ; that the Presi-
dent may be authorized to take possession of Canada by
law, and that the militia may be called upon to execute
this law. This, he considered as an unfounded construction
of the Constitutional provision. It was surely never meant
that the militia should be called upon to execute the laws
without the Union, but within it. The law alluded to by
the gentleman would be a declaration of war, and not a
law of the Union, for the execution of which the President
has power given to him to call out the militia.

If the militia can be called out to repel invasion, they
can be called out to the seaboard or garrisons, for the pur-
pose of repelling invasion, whenever well-founded appre-
hensions are entertained of such an event ; and it they go
beyond the territory, it would be no less an act of repelling
invasion than was the first onset.

If, said Mr. T., these volunteers are to be organized as
regular troops, not for five years, like the other regulars.
but for one year, then whatever men enter the service of
the country, will go into this corps ; and the arm}- provided
by law to be raised, would not be enlisted.

Mr. T. was willing to authorize the President to accept
of the service of fifty thousand volunteers for the defence
of the country, under the bill as it now stands, which would
leave the government at liberty to send the regular troops
abroad, if they found it necessary to do so.

CHAP. VI.] DECLARATION OF WAR.

Imperfectly reported as these speeches probably were,
they serve to show the consistency, foresight and patriotism
of their author. From the first, he had looked to the con-
tingency of war as not only probable, but highly so ; he had
been opposed to a temporizing policy ; he had denounced
the non-intercourse system as futile, and calculated to bring
the country into contempt with her enemies ; and now
that war -was inevitable, he was in favor of an immediate
preparation for and vigorous prosecution of it. When the
shock came, and the roar of the battle drowned the clamor
of foes and hushed the feeble voices of the timid advocates
of the nation's honor, his voice and his example served, in
the din of the conflict, to give confidence to the brave, and
to animate the drooping courage of his countrymen.

[1812.] In addition to other speeches which he made
during this session, Col. Troup spoke at length, on 30th
April, in favor of a bill to appoint Assistant Secretaries
of War. In concluding his speech, he said : "no man
in the country is equal to one half the duties which de-
volve on the present Secretary.'' The bill passed the
House, but was afterwards indefinitely postponed in the
Senate.

President Madison sent in to Congress, his " War Mes-
sage," on the 1st day of June. After reciting the wrongs
under which the United States had suffered, the message
proceeded: "Whether the United States shall continue
passive under these progressive usurpations and these ac-
cumulating wrongs, or, opposing force to force in defence
of their national rights, shall commit a just cause into the
hands of the Almighty disposer of events, avoiding all
connections which might entangle it in the contests or views
of other powers, and preserving a constant readiness to
concur in an honorable re-establishment of peace and
friendship, is a solemn question which the Constitution
wisely confides to the legislative department of the Govern-
ment," &c., &c.

On the 4th day of June, the House, by a vote of 79 to
49, passed a bill declaring war between Great Britain and

LIFE OF GEOEGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VI.

the United States. It passed the Senate, with amendments, on
the 17th; the amendments were concurred in by the House
on the 18th, and on the same day the bill became a law by
the signature of the President to it.

On the 6th of July, the first session of the Twelfth Con-
gress terminated by the adjournment of both Houses.

We here present to the reader a letter written by Col.
Troup to Gov. Mitchell, dated

WASHINGTON, Gth Sept., 1812.

Dear Sir : I arrived here yesterday. The President is
on a visit of a week to his country seat.

Col. Monroe, with whom I conversed, yesterday, on our
Georgia affairs, assures me you shall be supported. The
negotiation for Florida, at which I hinted when I saw
you, is not relinquished, and hope is still indulged from it.
Take no notice of the order of the Secretary to Col. Smith.
Though acknowledged to be irregular, Col. Monroe insists
it was inadvertent.*

Mathews and have not yet arrived.

Hull, with a superior force well armed and provisioned, sur-
rendered in a most dastardly manner.at a time when he had
the power to make himself master of Upper Canada. He
might have taken Maiden at any day between his departure
from and return to Detroit. The "British would have sur-
rendered after a show of resistance. Harrison and Win-
chester will speedily recover the lost ground.

With high consideration and sincere friendship,

G. M. TKOUI-.

His Excellency Gov. Mitchell,
Milledgeville, Georgia.

[1812.] The second session of the Twelfth Congress be-
gan on the 20th day of November. On the Gth of that
month, Col. Troup was appointed second on the House

* lliia portion of the above letter refer*, probably, to the part which Gov. Mitchell took, at
the instance of the President of the United Stu; , -ure from the niitii

of East Florida — then in a state of supposed revolution, growing out of the " ]>:itric,t'! diffi-
culties—the annexation of that proving • <

appointed for that purpose, had been superseded, on the ground of an alleged excess
powers confided to him, and Gov. Mitchell was put in ! at once pro-

Mary's for the purpose of negotiation. In his messi^e <,| ' "On

my arrival at that place, I found the progress of the revolution stopped before St. An-ii-tin.'.
the patriots being unable alone to attack thnt formidable post, and the American troops n •>(
permitted to act on the offensive. In a short time I > \ufli

the instructions I had received, and a correspondence between the person then :i. ,
ernor, and myself, commenced, which, however, soon terminated, in const .-i.au-

CHAP. VL] REMARKS ON ENLISTING MINORS.

committee to which so much of the President's message as
related to the militia, volunteers and the Army of the
United States, &c., was referred.

On the 19th, Mr. Williams, of South Carolina, chairman
of the committee, reported " a bill concerning the pay of
the non-commissioned officers, musicians, privates and oth-
ers of the Army of the United States, and for other pur-
poses." The third section of the bill was as follows:
" That, during the said war, every person above the age of
eighteen years, who shall be enlisted by an officer, shall be
held in the Army of the United States during the period of
such enlistment ; anything in any act to the contrary not-
withstanding." On the 20th, the House being in com-
mittee of the whole, a motion was made to strike out the
third section — the principal grounds of objection to it be-
ing that the enlistment of minors tended to violate the pub-
lic morals — that it interfered with public economy — and
violated the spirit of the Constitution. In reply to these
arguments,

Mr. Troup said, the objections to this provision were lame
in their nature ; he only wished they were half as sound
as they were novel. It was the result of the experience
of men older than themselves in military concerns, that
this very description of population, between eighteen and
twenty-one, constituted the strength and vigor of every
war. What was the fact as respected France ? So just
was this principle in the contemplation of France, that her
whole army is made up of these young men ; and yet an
attempt is made to deter us from using them, by a flimsy
pretext, that to employ them would be violating the obliga-
tions of a contract and the principles of morality. If our
feelings and sympathies be suffered to influence us in favor
of the individual who voluntarily enlists, the reasons are
much stronger in favor of discharging one half of those
already in your ranks, than the description just spoken of.

iard preferring the application of force to remove tho American troops, which he actually
tried on the 16th May, to the more tedious operation of having it done by negotiation in a
peaceful manner. The experiment, however, did not succeed, and the troops kept their
ground."

Col. Smith was tho commander of the American forces, and these forces were not with-
drawn for some tune after. It would appear, from Col. Troup's letter, that Gov. Mathews
was alive at its date, although it is stated in Gov. Gilmer's work, " Georgians,1' that he died at
Augusta, March, 1812, '•' whilst on his way to Washington city to thrash tho President. — ED-

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. {CHAP. VI.

There is scarcely any man over the age of twenty-one years,
between whom and other individuals there is not some
strong obligatory moral tie, which we ought not to sever
if we could conveniently avoid it. Look at the case of a
husband deserting his wife and children, or of a man,
above twenty-one, deserting his aged parent, dependent on
him for subsistence. Are not these cases equally strong ?
The doctrine of the gentleman, whether on the score of
morality or expediency, will apply to cases above as well
as below the age of twenty-one. As respects the young
men of our country, there is no fact better established than
that, at the age of eighteen, they are, as respects physical
power, as well qualified for the fatigues of the camp, as in
other countries at twenty-one. Their services are more
valuable than those of any other class, and lie was not
willing to dispense with them when we had the greatest
occasion for them.

On the 21st, he spoke as follows :

Mr. TROUP. — If a stranger in the gallery had listened t«>
the member from Massachusetts, (Mr. Quincy,) he would
have supposed that the provision of the bill against
which the gentleman's anathemas were most vehemently
leveled, authorized the recruiting sergeant to enter the
house of the citizen, drag from it the young man, and trans-
port him, loaded with chains, (as is said to be the practice
of one nation of Europe,) to the armies. Who would
have supposed that the provision merely authorized
the recruiting sergeant to accept the voluntary service of
the young man, between eighteen and twenty-one ? The
service due to the country, prior in point of time, para-
mount in obligation, must yield, says the gentleman, to the
service due to the master, the parent, ro the guardian. If,
sir, in the days of Rome's greatness, if in the proud days
of Grecian glory, the man could have been found ha<e
and hardy enough to withhold the young men from the
public service, to turn them from the path of honor, or to re-
strain them from the field of fame, he would have been
hurled from the Tarpeian Eock or consigned to the Cave
of Trophonius. The young man is preferred here, not be-
caiise he is preferred in France, but because his physical
constitution and his moral temperament peculiarly
qualify him for the arduous duties of the field and camp';
bodily vigor and activity, ardor, enterprise, impetuosity;
without family, and therefore without the cares which
family involve : No wife, no helpless children. Without

CHAP. VI-1 ENLISTMENT OP MINORS. 119

- care, but for his country ; without fear, but for her dishon-
or ; he is most eminently qualified for the duties of the
camp and the field ; all experience has proved it.

But the gentleman is not content with opposing himself
to the patriotism of the young men ; he is not less opposed
to the increase of pay. Mr. T. thought, from the conduct of
the House the other day, that the provision had been uni-
versally approved. He was the more surprised at the op-
position of the gentleman, because it was this provision of
the bill which meant to eradicate that vice and immorality
of the Army, which the gentleman affected so much to de-
plore. The increase of pay had two objects, the filling the
ranks, and the general respectability of the Army. The
recruiting service had suddenly stopped; it stopped
only because all the men which were to be had for sixteen
dollars bounty, and five dollars and one hundred and sixty
acres of land, were already picked up ; to get more, noth-
ing could be done but to increase the pay ; the quantum of
increase was the only question. The difficulty of enlisting
men was not peculiar to us ; it was felt by every nation.
Military wages bore no equitable proportion to the ordinary
wages of the country. In the stronger and more despotic
governments of Europe^ force was resorted to ; in the more
mild and moderate, stratagem and fraud and trick. Who
had not heard of the tricks of recruiting sergeants ? Un-
der our own government, enlistments, to be lawful, must be
fair and free and voluntary ; hence, the only remedy left us
was increase of pay. But the filling of the ranks was by
no means the most important object. The increase of the
general respectability of the Army was of infinitely more
importance. The regular service had been brought into
universal disrepute in the country. The cause is obvious ;
it was the five dollars per month, and nothing else. There
was nothing ignominious or disgraceful in the nature of the
employment ; on the contrary, it is honorable, it inspires
honorable sentiments. Ask the farmer why he does not
encourage his son to enlist in the service of his country ?
He answers at once, that he can make ten dollars a month
on the farm ; that if he has honesty and industry, anybody
will hire him for ten dollars. Can there be any doubt that,
by increasing the pay, you will increase the numbers of
the Army ? Not only so ; in the exact proportion as you in-
crease the pay, will you increase the respectability. It is
self-evident. Suppose, instead of sixty dollars, or ninety
dollars a year, you would agree to give them five thousand
dollars, there is no doubt your ranks would soon be filled.

120 L*FE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VI.

You would have the silk-stocking gentry, (I do not know that
the Army would be much better for that,) you would chance
to have a few members of Congress, perhaps a Secretary
of State, perhaps an ex-President ; you would at least enlist
honesty and industry. I say, sir, the increase of the re-
spectability of the Army at this moment is of infinite- im-
portance. With every disposition to rely on the militia for
defence and offence, we are not permitted to do so ; the
militia are withheld by s&me of the States. The gentle-
man and his friends have withheld the militia of Massa-
chusetts; he would now withhold the regulars. Give
character and respectability to the Army, and when, in a
spirit of jealousy or disaffection, or treason, the militia
should be withheld, you are still independent ; you are still
a government for all the objects of government. If Mas-
sachusetts and Connecticut — but I forbear.

On the 30th of December, the House being in commit-
tee of the whole on the bill to raise an additional military
force, and a proposition being made to postpone the fur-
ther consideration of it,

Mr. Troup said, he would have no objection to grant the
postponement asked by the gentlemen, (Messrs. Gold and
Quincy,) if their object was consistent with that of the
committee. The object of the committee was to combine
a union of council and energy of action in favor of the
war. The next campaign must be opened with vigor, and
prosecuted to success. With this view, the committee had
presented a system ; gentlemen might, if they pleased, call
it a system of the Executive. They submitted it to the
House, not as the very best which it was possible for hu-
man ability to devise, but the best which, under all circum-
stances, they^were able to present : they asked gentlemen
on the opposite side, to take it, not word for word, as it was
submitted, but to take it for as much as it was worth; to
amend it if defective; to substitute one in lieu of it if
radically wrong. Their argument would be listened to
with pleasure— their amendment or substitute respectfully
considered. But the motion to postpone was inadmissible,
because the motive was incorrect ; procrastination in the
present state of the country was death. Gentlemen would
neither amend the system with a view to make it better,
nor would they substitute one in lieu of it. They were
opposed to the war ; they disavowed any responsibility for,
its origin, progress or consequences— it was a war of wicked-

CHAP. VI.] SPEECH ON THE ARMY BILL. 121

ness against innocence. Gentlemen had expressly said so ;
they would not give you a dollar or a man to carry it on.
Yet are we asked to postpone the bill — to hear the argu-
ment— to risk the loss of another campaign. If there be
anything which can endanger the system, it is delay. A
week or a day is of great importance. It is a Parliamen-
tary rule, that he who is radically opposed to a bill shall
not amend it. It is a good rule that he who is opposed to
the war shall not plan the campaign. A gentleman on the
other side of the House, (Mr. Potter,) had said, in a spirit of
frankness and candor which did him honor, that, having
opposed the war, he was opposed to the ways and means
of conducting it, and therefore to any object of expenditure
connected with it — to a navy, an army and everything
else. He was happy to find, however, that there were
some gentlemen on the same side of the House who would
not act with him ; who would not sacrifice the country to
the passions of party. Mr. T. only asked that the majority,
to whom the responsibility attached, should be permitted
to proceed in furnishing the Executive with the means of
conducting the war.

But the most considerable, and perhaps the ablest speech
which Col. Troup delivered during and in defence of the
war, was on the 6th of January, 1813, pending the discus-
sion of the bill just noticed, to raise an additional military
force of 20,000 men for one year.

He spoke as follows :

Mr. Troup said, that observations had fallen from certain

fentlemen, which merited reply and deserved correction,
'he two gentlemen who had just sat down, (Messrs. Grundy
and Archer,) had noticed some of those observations in a
handsome manner, and had given the appropriate answer.
There yet remained some points which it would be proper
to notice ; it was the comparative decorum with which they
were made that entitled them to res'pect. The gentleman
from Connecticut, (Mr. Pit-kin,) had declared that this gov-
ernment had insisted in past time, and did still continue to
insist, that the American flag should cover all descriptions
of persons sailing under it, and that this perseverance in
an erroneous principle had been 'the cause of the war, and
of all the calamities the nation had suffered. Mr. T. said,
he was the more surprised to hear a round, unqualified
declaration of this kind from the gentleman, because he
had given repeated proofs to the House of the attention
16

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. • [CnAP. VI.

which he bestowed on the public documents, and the assi-
duity with which he had studied them ; there were two of
them, especially, which the gentleman must have read,
and, reading, could not fail to have remembered ; one of
no very remote date, the other very recent, and very inter-
esting; it would be doing injustice to the gentleman to be-
lieve they were not strongly imprinted on his memory,
did both those documents more plainly and directly con-
tradict the allegation of 'the gentleman. Long before the
period, however, to which I refer, Mr. King, our Minister
at London, had written to the Secretary of State, "that, on
this subject, (viz., impressment.) we had again and again
offered to concur in a convention, which we thought prac-
ticable to be formed, and which would settle these questions
in a manner that would be safe for England and satisfactory
to us." (Letter 15th March, 1799.) The first document
after this is a letter of instruction from the Secretary of
State to Mr. Monroe, Minister at the Court of St. James
dated May 29th, 1807, soon after the failure of the treaty
concluded by himself and Mr. Pinkney, and is to the fol-
lowing purport :

" It is agreed that after the term of months,

computed from the exchange of ratifications, and during
a war in which either of the contracting parties may be
engaged, neither of them will permit any seaman, not be-
ing its own citizen or subject, and being a citizen or sub-
ject of the other party, who shall not have been for two
years at least, prior to that date, constantly and voluntarily
in the service or within the jurisdiction of the parties re-
spectively, to enter or be employed ' on board any of its
vessels navigating the high seas ; and proper regulations,
enforced by adequate penalties, shall bo mutually estab-
lished for distinguishing the seamen of the parties, respec-
tively, and for giving fall effect to this stipulation."

Here, then, is documentary evidence that, so far back as
the year 1807, the American government had tendered to
the British cabinet a proposition, the effect of which was
to exempt from the protection of the American flag, or,
what is the same thing, to exclude from the American ser-
vice, every description of persons, saving American native-
born and naturalized citizens. Does the gentleman insist
that the naturalized citizen should not be protected ? If
he does not, will he authorize the British to search and im-
press, though the American government should prohibit,
by all the penalties of law, foreigners of any description
from entering into the service of her merchant vessels 4 Does

GHAF.VI.] REMARKS ON IMPRESSMENT. 123

he mean that we shall be exposed to the vexatious practice
of search and impressment, notwithstanding the govern-
ment shall do everything in its power to prevent British
subjects from entering into its service ? But, Mr. Speak-
er, if the proposition of Mr. Monroe did not go far enough
for the gentleman, the proposition of Mr. Russell unques-
tionably did. Here it is :

" I finally offered, in order to answer at once all the ob-
servations and inquiries of Lord Castlereagh, that the pro-
posed understanding should be expressed in the most gen-
eral terms ; that the laws to take effect on the discontinu-
ance of the practice of impressment, should prohibit the
employment of the native subjects or citizens of the one
State, excepting such only as had already been naturalized,
on board the private or public ships of the other ; thus
removing any objection that might have been raised with
regard to the future effect of naturalization, or the formal
renunciation of any pretended right."

The effect of this proposition of Mr. Russell, sir, is not
only the exclusion of British subjects from American em-
ploy, but the exclusion of British subjects who may in
future be naturalized in the United States. Hence, our
flag would have covered none but native Americans, and
such British subjects as had been before naturalized. Hav-
ing employed the power of the country; having resorted
to all the pains and penalties which the law can provide to
prohibit this description of persons from serving on board
American vessels ; will the gentleman, notwithstanding, in-
sist that British commanders shall enter our vessels to make
search for seamen ? If, notwithstanding the prohibition, it
were permited to British officers to make search for sea-
men, the prohibition had better not be made ; the practice
might as well go on in all the latitude of tyranny and op-
pression which has distinguished it.

The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pearson) has
been pleased, in the course of his observations on this sub-
ject, to offer to the House a project for a peace. He would
have the Legislature to pass laws prohibiting the employ of
British seamen in our service, leaving the President to
make a tender of those laws, through fit and proper charac-
ters, to the British government, ^as the basis of an adjust-
ment. The gentleman is to accomplish two objects by his
project — a union of parties, and a peace with the enemy ;
both objects, sir, are not less interesting to me than to the
gentleman ; but, I very much doubt, Mr. Speaker, wheth-
er either of them be attainable. The gentleman not only

124 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VI.

requires a specific form to be given to the proposition it-
self, but it is an essential condition on which he is to enter
into the union, that the proposition be tendered to the
British government by such characters as he will approve ;
bv men, as he says, without office and without expectation
of office. Now, sir, although it ma^ not be very difficult
to find men who do not hold office, it would seem to me to
be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find men with-
out expectation of office; and yet the gentleman would be
under no obligation to unite with us, unless his project were
tendered to the British government by such men. Mr.
Pinkney had passed for a Federalist, both in this country
and England ; he had tendered a very important proposi-
tion to the British government ; but, as the gentlemen on
the other side had always doubted the sincerity of the gov-
ernment in making that overture, it is to be presumed that
whatever confidence they might have had in Mr. Pinkney
as a politician, they had ceased to respect him as a fit per-
son to make propositions to the British government. Sir, I
fear it is as difficult to unite parties as to conciliate the Brit-
ish government. Both the gentlemen from Connecticut
and North Carolina have mistaken the character of that
government ; she is not to be conciliated. If they sincerely
want peace, they must employ the resources and energies
of the country to coerce it. This is susceptible of proof;
repeated overtures have been made in the most amicable
spirit, and have been Uniformly rejected, and under circum-
stances which left no doubt of the lurking hostility which
dictated the rejection.

The proposition of Mr. Monroe, of 1807, had failed ; the
proposition of Mr. Pinkney, of 1810 and 1811, had failed;
the recent proposition of Mr. Russell had failed. Of the
first, I have already spoken. Give me leave to say some-
thing of the second. The failure of the second proposition,
viz.: to continue the non-intercourse against France, repeal-
ing it as to England, provided England would rescind her
Orders in Council, is one of the most extraordinary and
unaccountable occurrences in political history. Be" it re-
membered, sir, that this proposition was substantially a
proposition to go to war on the side of England against
France, provided England would rescind her orders —
France continuing her decrees. I say this was the propo-
sition, substantially, because this was the inevitable effect
of it, to place the United States in the same relation to
England as they are now placed in relation to France — not
with a view, Mr. Speaker, to an alliance with either : far

CHAP. VI.] FURTHER REMARKS OF COL. TROUP, 125

from it; but to the ultimate vindication of their own just
rights against the aggressions of either of them — warring
for themselves, and for themselves making peace. But,
most strange to say, Mr. Speaker, this voluntary tender of
our friendship was disdainfully rejected ; at a period, too,
when England, pressed by a formidable war, was standing
as it were on her last legs — all Europe united against her
— and when, according to her own declaration, her very
existence was at stake ; when, too, the single condition of
this friendly proposition was, that England should recall a
measure, which, but a short time after, she was forced to
abandon to the clamors and distresses of her own people.
No, said England, we want not your friendship ; it is of no
value to us ; you have not courage and fortitude to defend,
manfully, your own just rights, and how can I expect that
you will render important service to me ? It is altogether
impossible, sir, to account for the conduct of England,
without supposing her to have entertained such sentiments.
And will the gentleman from North Carolina flatter him-
self with the belief, that, after the failure of such a propo-
sition, England is to be conciliated by his project — a pro-
ject substantially the same as that of Mr. Monroe, of 1807,
and identically the proposition of Mr. Russell in 1812 ?
But the gentleman derives hope from the ground on which
Mr. Russell's proposal was rejected. Mr. .Russell, says the
gentleman, was not regularly commissioned, nor was he
formally instructed to make the proposition in the latitude
in which he tendered it. But, sir, was not the letter of the
Secretary of State a sufficient commission for him ? And,
suppose Mr. Russell, consulting the spirit rather than the
letter of his instructions, had given to the proposition a
somewhat more liberal character, it was not on this ground
the proposition was rejected; it was rejected, as Lord
Castlereagh expressly said, because England would never
consent to entertain any proposal which went to abridge
her right of impressment; that any arrangement for the
limitation of this right was impracticable, and had always
been so ; that it was true, on this subject, their friends in
Congress — meaning the Federalists — had believed in the
practicability of an arrangement, but they were mistaken ;
Mr. King was as far from accomplishing it as Mr.
Monroe : that, in fact, it was in vain to negotiate about
it ; popular feeling would not permit them to make any
concession upon the subject. This is the language of Lord
Castlereagh. But suppose it had not been : If the British
cabinet were sincerely disposed to listen to the proposal,

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [Ciur. VI.

they would have said so, notwithstanding any objection
which could have been taken to the authority or. power of
Mr. Kussell. Lord Castlereagh would have said, for in-
stance, that the proposition was a fair one ; that, if offered
by an agent with full powers, it would be entertained ; if
inconvenient to make it the basis of negotiation at Lon-
don, it might be made the basis of negotiation at Wash-
ington. But this, sir, never entered into the head of Lord
Castlereagh. The answer to Mr. Ensscll was, that the
thing was wholly impracticable, and had always been so.
But, the gentleman desires us to repeat the same proposi-
tion, that we may receive the same answer.

I trust, sir, by this time, I have been able to satisfy the
gentleman that England is not to be conciliated. Will the
gentleman and his friends unite with me in a project of co-
ercion— a project in which I have no less confidence than
the gentleman from North Carolina in his own ( Yes, sir, so
much confidence that I would almost be tempted to make a
bargain with the gentleman to take any of their pro]
however fanciful, it', within a reasonable time, the enemy
did not yield to united councils and an active war. My
project is, embargo — an immediate, entire and rigidly
executed embargo, embracing as well the coastim:
foreign trade, and, if you please, sir, a provision by law lor
naturalizing British seamen, voluntarily entering into the
service of the United States, dnrimj the 'tvar — the converse
of the proposition of the gentleman. An embargo may !»«•
resorted to at this moment with comparatively little sacri-
fice ; the foreign trade is inconsiderable, the coasting trade
is almost entirely interrupted. The etfect of an embargo
would be ;

1. To keep our own commerce safe at home, leaving the
commerce of the enemy exposed to the assaults of our pri-
vateers and public vessels ;

2. To distress the enemy at home, in his colonies, and on
the Peninsula ;

3. To give ten-fold vigor to the war, by making a diver-
sion of men and of capital in favor of our privateers, and
of men in favor of our public vessels ;

_ 4. To facilitate the reduction of Canada, by creating par-
tial scarcity, at least — perhaps absolute distress.

Xow is the moment, Mr. Speaker, for this embargo. The
British papers announce that the price of bread has risen
on the heel of the harvest, though the harvest has been de-
scribed as abundant. The proclamations of the Prince
Regent prohibit the conversion of grain into starch, and the

CHAP. VI.] FURTHER REMARKS OF COL. TROUP. 127

use of grain in the breweries. Can we have stronger evi-
dence of apprehended scarcity? Sir, of the force and
effect with which this measure may be wielded against the
enemy, we do not want more decisive proof than that which
the enemy himself has furnished — proof which is a source
of triumph and exultation to every American. Two facts
were unfolded. First, by the examination before the Bri-
tish House of Commons, it had been shown that, if the
British people were not at all times and under all cir-
cumstances absolutely dependent on us for a market for
their manufactures, they were at this time and in the pres-
ent state of the world absolutely dependent; second, that
if not always, and in every state of things, absolutely de-
pendent on us for supplies of provisions, they were in the
present state of Europe absolutely dependent. I beseech
the gentlemen, therefore, to take the embargo as a sure
measure of attaining what they profess so much to desire —
peace. But, sir, the other measure which I tender to the
gentlemen, though not so powerful and efficient against the
enemy, is not less interesting : the protection of seamen of
every description, during the war, who shall be found fight-
ing under the American flag — to naturalize the seaman
voluntarily enlisting on board the armed vessels of the
United States, and, having naturalized, to protect him with
the power of the country. "Whatever, Mr. Speaker, have
been our misfortunes or reverses on the land, we may enjoy
the consolation that the gallantry and skill of our seamen
will make the war, if not a short, yet certainly an honora-
ble, one for the country ; the war was undertaken chiefly
for them ; they will be chiefly instrumental in waging it,
and I have no doubt they will make it a glorious one for
themselves and for all of us ; but they ought to be protect-
ed. Whatever be the description or character of the sea-
man fighting under the American flag, that seaman ought
to be protected. Not a hair of his head should be touched
by the enemy with impunity. In considering, Mr. Speak-
er, the right, propriety and justice, of adopting this regu-
lation, we are naturally led to advert to the British doctrine
and practice on this subject; and here I beg leave to re-
mark that.it is scarcely possible for the imagination to
conceive any thing more inconsistent and contradictory than
the British doctrine and practice. She sets up a principle
of public law — be it arbitrary or be it sound, no matter —
she requires the observance of it from all other nations as
a settled principle of public law. So long as it suits her
to respect, she respects it; whenever it suits her to violate,

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VI.

she violates it ; her principle is, that allegiance is natural?
perpetual and inalienable ; that it is born with the subject,
and descends with him into the grave; that once a British
subject, always a British subject. She enforces this doctrine
when she impresses from American vessels naturalized citi-
zens; she enforces it when she threatens with death, as the
Prince Regent has recently done in his proclamation, the
British seaman of any description who may be found fighting
under the American flag. She violates the doctrine, she
tramples it under foot, when she declares, by statute, that
the American seaman entering voluntarily into her service,
and continuing two years, is ipso facto naturalized. She
violates the doctrine, she tramples it under foot, when she
declares, by statute, that the American seaman contracting
marriage with a British subject, is ipso facto naturalized.
Thus, while in practice she contemns her own doctrine, she
holds out every lure and temptation to the American sea-
man to desert the service of his country. It is not of much
importance to us, Mr. Speaker, what doctrine the British
government may set up ; all we ask i*, that, whatever the
doctrine be, she will herself respect it. While her Govern-
ment is in the habitual practice of naturalizing American
seamen, she insists that our Government shall not natural-
ize her subjects. Assuredly, Mr. Speaker, it cannot be
unlawful for us to do in relation to her what she does in
relation to us. If she violates the public law in relation to us,
that very public law authorizes us to violate it in relation to
her. This is the law of retaliation. If she can naturalize
our seamen serving two years on board her vessels, or con-
tracting marriage with her subjects, we may naturalize her
seamen entering voluntarily into our service ; the period of
two years, prescribed by the British statute?, makes no dif-
ference ; it affects not the principle ; it is entirely arbitrary ;
she might as well have prescribed two months, or two days,
or two hours.

You will observe, Mr. Speaker, that the British Govern-
ment, in executing this regulation, has no regard to the
character of the American seaman. It is unimportant to
her whether the seaman be a deserter or not from the
American service; it is immaterial whether he deserted
before or after the war. Indeed, no questions are asked ;
it is sufficient for the purpose that he is an American citizen,
Avilling to enter into her service, contracting marriage with
a British subject, or serving two years on board her public
ships. We demand nothing but reciprocity ; there is no
justice or equity where there is no reciprocity; and be-

CHAP. VI.] FURTHER REMARKS OF COL. • TROUP. 129

tween nations there must be reciprocity, because there is
perfect equality. Hence, Mr. Speaker, the justice, the
lawfulness, the propriety of the regulation which I propose
to you. Let us for a moment consider its expediency. En-
gaged in a war with a formidable Power, we find ourselves
in one important respect occupying a vantage ground.
Shall we avail ourselves of it to the injury of the enemy,
or shall we voluntarily abandon it? The advantage results
from the nature of things. The temptation to British sea-
men to enter the American service is stronger than the
temptation to American seamen to enter the British service ;
and the fact is that more British seamen enter the American
service than American seamen the British service. Shall
we, I repeat, avail ourselves of this advantage during the
war or not ? Not, Mr. Speaker, that we want her seamen ;
not that they are essentially useful, much less necessary to
our service ; but that, by taking them from the enemy, we
wound, and wound her where she is most vulnerable ; the
loss to her is much more important than the gain to us.
She sets the example, too ; and when we offer, as a condi-
tion of peace, to prevent her seamen from entering into our
service, we are instructed by her conduct that she chooses
rather to enforce her practice of impressment, by arms, than
to rely on any pledge which we can give for the exclusion
of her seamen from our employ.

I entreat gentlemen, therefore, to take my project of
coercion instead of their project gf propitiation. I have
endeavored to show that the enemy is not to be conciliated ;

First, Because the conciliatory overture of 1807, substan-
tially the same with the proposition of the gentleman from
North Carolina, was rejected ;

Second, Because the overture of Mr. Russell, of 1812,
identically the proposition of the gentleman, was rejected;

And, third,, above all, that the overture repeatedly press-
ed by Mr. Pinkney, in 1810 and 1811, the inevitable
effect of which would have been to throw us into the war
on the side of England against France, was rejected.

Sir, it will be asked, with wonder and astonishment, how
an overture of this character, so favorable to the obvious
policy and interest of England, could have been thrown
back upon us with disdain ; incredible as the fact is, it is
true. The cause, I repeat it, is only to be sought in the
ineffable contempt in which she has held us ; looking at our
party divisions, and calculating on the weakness and fluctu-
ation of our councils, she indulges a confident belief that

OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CuAP. VI.

the fatal and vibratory policy which yielded the old em-
bargo to the clamors" of a petty faction, would forever
distinguish our cause. Yes, sir, it is to the forced repeal of
the old embargo that we must look for the causes of our
protracted quarrel with England. "We had given no in-
contestable evidence before of the influence of faction upon
our councils ; from that moment, however, she ceased to
respect us ; from that moment, she never dreamed that it
was possible for us to go to war. "When the war came, she
let go the Orders in Council, to be sure, but she still con-
tinued to believe, and yet continues to believe, that the
same spirit of faction, which forced the repeal of the old
embargo, would drive you out of the war. She has been
looking with hope and with confidence to the issue of the
late elections. JSfow that she is disappointed in the result,
there is no saying what she will do. Our safest and wisest
course is, however, to combine the resources of the country
to give force and vigor to the war.

The objections to this bill, sir, are so various and contra-
dictory, that one is at a loss in what manner to consider
them. By some, it is said the force is too great ; by others,
it is too small ; by some, the term of enlistment is too short ;
by others, the innocent Canadians are to be overrun with
it directly; and others, again, are opposed to it, because
standing armies are dangerous to republics, and because
they confer great patronage and power.

We are embarked in^the war ; a military force is neces-
sary to carry it on : it must be one of two descriptions —
militia or regulars. When we ask gentlemen for the mili-
tia, they say no ! — the militia belong to the States ; they
are constitutionally under the control of the State author-
ities for local defence ; you shall not have them. Well,
sir, in this, for the present, we have seemed to ac-
quiesce ; but, gentlemen, if you will not give us the militia,
pray give us a regular force. No, say gentlemen, regular
armies are dangerous to Republics ; they confer too much
patronage. Well, if you will neither give us regulars nor
militia, what will you do 2 And here, sir, at last we have
extorted their system. Will you believe it, sir ? — it is to
repeal the declaration of war, lay down our arms, and
throw ourselves upon the generosity of the enemy — he is a
noble and generous foe, and will grant you reasonable
terms. Thus, sir, are we to be bound hand and foot, with
our locks shorn, and delivered over to the Philistines.
We answer : this, gentlemen, may be a very good system
for you, but it is a very bad one for us ; if you will be

CHAP. VI.] FURTHER REMARKS OF COL.- TROUP.

united against us, we will endeavor to be united for the
country against you ; and when we negotiate, to negotiate
with arms in our hands.

Sir, there is one argument which, on this subject, I think,
merits attention. As the power of declaring war is lodged
with the Legislature, so the power of conducting it is vest-
ed in the Executive. He is, constitutionally, the sole con-
ductor of war ; he has the planning of the campaign, the
adaptation of force, and the uncontrolled direction of it in
the field. The object of the war is a speedy and honorable
peace, and it is his duty so to direct the national force, that
the object be attained in the best manner, and with the
least possible delay. He is responsible to you, therefore,
for the wise and judicious application of the force; he is
responsible to you by election, and by impeachment. Is
not this responsibility of some value to you ? Does it not
become you to maintain and cherish it ? You can only
cherish it by granting, and granting liberally, the supplies
asked for. If you withhold the supplies, you destroy the
responsibility, you assume it to yourselves. If you grant
the supplies with a niggardly or parsimonious hand, you
impair the responsibility, you diminish it essentially. Lib-
eral supplies of men and money are necessary to success ;
your armies and navies must be well found, or they are
inefficient. How comes it the Emperor of France marched
fifteen hundred miles from home, and vanquished forty
millions of people, before we reduced a petty province of
the enemy, with a population of only three hundred thous-
and, and lying at our very door ? Military skill out of the
question — it is because of his ample command of men and
money. How is it that England makes such vast efforts on
the Peninsula ? It is because the Parliament never hesi-
tates to grant the supplies, and to grant them liberally.
But the term of enlistment is too short ; so it is, if we want
this force for the general purposes of the war ; for the
general purposes of the war, five years' men are infinitely
better ; but we do not want more five years' men than are al-
ready provided for by law. The Executive asked this force,
in addition, as a peculiar force, and for a temporary occasion ;
they say, everything considered, it is best adapted to their
object. Will we believe them ? Will we give them what
they ask ? Or, will we give them what they do not ask ?

Mr. T. concluded his speech, by adverting to the alleged
misfortunes of the war, and attributing much of the delay

132 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTIP. [CHAP. VI.

of operations on land to the unwarrantable efforts of party,
in introducing insubordination and disaffection in the East-
ern States, &c.

[1813.] The bill passed the House on the 14th of Jan-
uary, under the title of " An act in addition to the act,
entitled 'An act to raise an additional military force, and
for other purposes,' " was slightly amended in the Senate,
and was finally approved by the President on the 29th of
the same month.

The second and last session of the Twelfth Congress ter-
minated on Ikl March, 1813.

CHAP. VII.] RE-ELECTION TO CONGRESS. 133

CHAPTER VII.

Col. Troup's Re-Election to Congress. — Sessions of Thirteenth
Congress. — Progress and close of the War. — Conscription. —
Retirement of Col. Troup from the House of Representa-
tives, &c.

ON the 24th day of May, 1813, the first session of the
Thirteenth Congress began. Mr. Madison had been inaugu-
rated, for the second time, as President, on the 4th of
March preceding. The Representatives from Georgia,
elected on the first Monday of October, 1812, were "William
Barnett, William W. Bibb, John Forsyth, Boiling Hall,
Thomas Telfair and GEOKGE M. TEOUP.

On the 26th of May, Col. Troup was appointed Chair-
man of the Committee on Military Affairs, and in this po-
sition he continued during the war. A better selection
could not have been made. It is admitted that he pos-
sessed military talents of a high order. His advocacy of
the war was based upon principle, and he was for pressing
it with vigor. In afterwards reviewing his political life,
" he was better satisfied with his speeches and efforts in
Congress, in bringing on the last war with Great Britain,
after her dastardly and disgraceful attack upon the Chesa-
peake, than any other portion of his past political life."*
He possessed all the talent, foresight and firmness necessary
for the post ; and when we consider the distinguished abil-
ity on the Republican side of the House at that time, his
appointment may be considered anything else than an
empty compliment.

It is not consistent with the plan of this work to go into
a detail of the events of the war. Up to this period, the
land forces had met with some reverses and some successes,
and our gallant little navy had already given earnest, in a

* See letter of Hon. Joseph H. Lumpkin, in a subsequent chapter.— ED.

134 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VII.

few brilliant victories, of a future career of renown as re-
markable as it was unexpected.

This session of Congress was adjourned on the second day
of August. Several important acts were passed for the de-
fence of the country, the prosecution of the war, raising
taxes, &c.

[1813.] On the 14-th of June, Col. Troup, from the Mil-
itary Committee, introduced a bill to provide for the wid-
ows and orphans of militia slain, and for militia disabled
in the service of the United States; and, on the 22d, he in-
troduced a bill to continue in force, for a limited time, cer-
tain acts authorizing corps of rangers for the protection of
the frontiers, &c.; and, on the 23d, a bill supplementary to
the act in addition to the act to raise an additional military
force ; also one in relation to the regulation of the ord-
nance ; and, on the 30th, a bill making further appropria-
tion for fortifying the ports and harbors of the United
States. But it would be useless to go into a consideration of
the various measures proposed by him, from the appropriate
committee, during the session. The reports of proceedings
do not show that he took much part in debate. Indeed,
this seems to have been a working and not a debating
session. Such was the progress made in business, that,
on the 16th of July, in secret session of the House, Col.
Troup, from the committee on Military Affairs, made the
following report :

The committee on 'Military Affairs, to whom was referred
a resolution of yesterday, having relation to the present
movements of the enemy, report :

That they have examined into the state of preparation,
naval and military, made to receive the enemy, and are
satisfied that the preparation is, in every respect, adequate
to the emergency, and that no measures are necessary, on
the part of the House, to make it more complete.

[1813.] On the 6th of December, Congress re-assembled.
The President congratulated that body on the success of
our arms— the splendid victory of Perry on Lake Erie, of
Gen. Harrison at the battle of the Thames, &c., &c. No

CHAP. VII.] REMARKS ON RESOLUTION OP' INQUIRY. 135

man felt more keenly than Colonel Troup the revers-
es which our land and naval forces sometimes experi-
enced, and no one rejoiced more heartily at the successes
which crowned the efforts of the Administration and its
friends to wage an unequal war against a haughty foreign
foe, and insidious enemies at home. Late in the previous
session, Mr. Bradley, of Yermont, had offered a resolution
of inquiry " into the causes which led to the multiplied
failures of the arms of the United States on our Western
and North-western frontier," &c. The resolution had been
laid on the table, and a resolution to print it negatived.

At the present session, a resolution, of the same import,
but calling on the President for information, not improper
to be communicated, was offered by the same member. In
voting against the resolution,

Mr. Troup said, that if an inquiry of this sort was expe-
dient at all, the shape of the proposition was perhaps as
little exceptionable as could have been given to it. But a
military inquiry, under any circumstances, was a matter of
so much delicacy that it ought to be well weighed and en-
tered into with much caution and circumspection. This
arose from the nature of such inquiries. Secrecy was the
soul of military operations. Their details ought to be
known to those concerned only ; for, if imparted to others,
perchance they might find their way to the enemy. It was
very well known that military investigations frequently
took place in the British House of Commons ; but the inva-
riable object of them was to turn out the Ministry. Such
an inquiry, however common, rarely was instituted even
there ; and, whenever successfully urged, it had invariably
been when the object of an expedition or campaign had
been abandoned. Mr. T. said he should have liked to have
heard from the mover of the resolution something like ar-
gument ; that much more of advantage would result from
the adoption, than of evil that might ensue from it. Sup-
pose any possible result of the inquiry — suppose, for in-
stance, that by the communication, in answer to this
resolution, it should be shown that General Wilkinson had
been prevented by bad weather from commencing his op-
erations in due season ; that, when he reached St. Regis,
General Wilkinson, without forming a junction with Gen.
Hampton, had proceeded on Montreal ; or that, even having

136 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VII.

formed sucli a junction, it would have been unmilitary for
him to proceed onwards ; suppose it should turn out that
there had been the best military conduct possible on the
part of all our Generals ; or, that the object of the cam-
paign failed to be accomplished in consequence of the mis-
conduct of either of them, or was the result of cowardice
or treason ; suppose any result, probable or improbable,
and where is the constitutional remedy? How would the
gentleman lay his hand on the delinquent "i An investiga-
tion, it appeared to him, could not properly be made by a
tribunal which had not the power to apply the remedy.
The investigation, as well as the remedy, rightly be-
longed to another department of the government. Martial
law was the only proper corrective to be applied to mis-
conduct of military men. Not, Mr. T. said, that he was
opposed to every species of military inquiry. Far from it.
There were certain species of inquiry which it might be
perfectly proper to institute. For the purpose of new-
modeling an army, abolishing certain descriptions of force
or grades of office, such inquiries might be necessary.
But, said he, for the purpose of reaching any particular
military commander, who is supposed to have forfeited the
confidence of the people, the remedy is not yours; it bo-
longs to the Executive. Not having the remedy in our
hands, the inquiry cannot be productive of any advantage
to the public concerns. But with respect to some evils
which may result, Mr. T. said he would add a few words.
What description of evidence would be necessary to the
intelligent prosecution of such an inquiry * Nothing short,
certainly, of the plan of the campaign, the correspondence
with the Generals, and the correspondence of the Gen-
erals with each other, &c. Mr. T. dwelt on the evils which
would result from exposing to the enemy a plan of the
campaign, &c. Unfortunate as the termination of this
campaign might have been, it would become more so by
exposing to the enemy the official details of its plans and
progress. Wherever we had experienced, during the war,
anything of disaster or defeat, it was attributable to our
ignorance of the force of the enemy. It was therefore ob-
viously important to us to follow the example of the enemy
in this respect, and keep him as much as possible in igno-
rance of our military operations. He may occasionally
derive information from a traitor or deserter; but informa-
tion so acquired bore no comparison to the injury which
would result from affording the enemy official information
on these matters ; and such official information, he presumed,

CHAP. VII.] ANOTHER RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY. 137

would alone satisfy the object of the gentleman's motion.
He hoped therefore it would not pass.

The resolution was passed by a large majority, but against
the vote of Col. Troup and the two next to him on the
Military Committee.

[1814.] On the Yth of January, Mr. Grosvenor, of New
York, offered the following Resolution :

" That the committee on Military Affairs be instructed
to inquire into the acts, rules and regulations, by which fur-
loughs and leave of absence from the Armies of the Unit-
ed States are obtained by officers thereof, and whether the
said acts, rules and regulations ought to be revised, altered
and amended ; and that they have leave to report by bill
or otherwise."

Mr. Troup objected to this motion, as traveling out of
the province of the Legislature into that of the Executive.
To Congress was granted the power of raising armies and
granting supplies for them ; but to the Executive were con-
fided the exclusive control and direction of the armies
when raised. To enable him properly to execute this duty,
the President had been vested with the most arbitrary pow-
ers— the power of dismissing without assigning a cause,
and, jointly with the military courts, of cashiering, and in-
flicting on officers other punishments, even unto death.
The power, then, of controlling military movements, said
Mr. T., is not with us, but with the Executive. He may
dismiss any officer of the Army, and even the Secretary of
War, for misconduct ; and the power of control, possessed
by this House, is the power of impeaching the President,
if he fail in the performance of his duty. True it was, the
enemy had, on a recent occasion, suprised us, found us
slumbering in our beds in a thoughtless manner — but it
was not for him to say where the blame lay of that occur-
rence. In relation to the officers now absent from the
Army, he could only say that he had heard — and he had
heard because, in his capacity of Chairman of the Military
Committee, it had become his duty to inquire into the mat-
ter— that when the Army lately went into cantonments,
there were found to be a considerable number of supernu-
merary officers attached to it. An order had been issued
by the commanding General to consolidate the troops into
full and complete regiments, and allot to each of the regi-
ments so formed its proper complement of officers. That
18

138 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VII.

order being properly executed, the supernumerary officers
were thrown out of employ — and orders were given to them
to repair to the different recruiting stations, where un<iues-
tionably they would be occupied more beneficially to the
service than in any other way. This was the fact in relation
to the absence of the officers generally who were not in the
Army. It struck him, Mr. Troup said, that there was some-
thing objectionable in the object of the resolution. It
proposed to make the manner of granting furloughs a mat-
ter of legislative provision, when in fact it was a thing
which could not properly be legislated upon, depending so
entirely, as it did, on circumstances and on the state of the
Army. If Congress were to make a law that no furlough
should be granted, there was not an honorable man in the
country who would accept a military office. This being his
view of the subject, he hoped the resolution would not pass.

In rejoining to the member from New York,

Mr. Troup deprecated the disposition which appeared to
prevail in that House to interfere in the management of the
Army. If the members of this House undertook to make
themselves judges of the manner in which the war ought to
be conducted, there would be about as many opinions as then
were members in the House: an<l at last, after all their
opinions, the war must be conducted by the Executive, in
such manner as he might deem most consistent with the
public interest. The gentleman last up had fairly av<'\ve<l
his ignorance of existing regulations on the subject. Mr.
T. rose to inform the gentleman and the House of their
nature; by whom it would be agreed they weiv a- com-
prehensive as anything could be. Mr. T. read the following
article from the regulations issued from the War Office :

" No furloughs shall be given during a campaign ; nor
any, but by the General commanding me district or army,
and _ for the cause of disability, which disability shall be
certified by regimental or hospital surgeon.

"Furloughs shall, besides expressing the term of time grant-
ed to absentees, express also an order to join the regiment,
post or garrison, to which they may belong.

" No order shall be given to officers seeking a furlough for
their own convenience, which shall have the effect of enti-
tling them to an allowance for transportation of baggage."

This provision, Mr. T. said, was as imperative as it could
be, and had all the force of law. There was, therefore, ob-
viously, no amendment necessary to the existing pr<
In inquiring into the non-execution of this. provision, if
such was the object, the House assumed a duty not belong-

CHAP. VII.] CAPTURE OF WASHINGTON CITY. 139

ing to it, and must go upon the principle that it had a right
to punish officers for misconduct; otherwise, it was not
within its province to inquire into their conduct in this re-
spect.

The resolution was laid on the table.

These speeches are given, not merely on account of their
intrinsic excellence, but to show the zeal and activity of
Col. Troup in that particular branch of the public service
which had been so largely entrusted to his vigilance, and
to show, also, his familiarity with the duties and details of
his responsible post.

' Besides many plans and propositions which he presented
to the House, for carrying on the war, he spoke, during the
session, on various subjects — most of them connected with
the absorbing topic of the war. But we do not deem it
necessary to refer particularly to them. This session closed
on the 18th of April, 1814.*

Congress was again convened, by the President, on the
19th of September, of the same year, by proclamation
dated the 8th of August. Before the meeting of Congress,
however, to wit, on the 23d of August, the British had
taken possession of the city of Washington, burned the
Capitol and other public buildings, and committed other
acts of outrage unknown to civilized warfare.

In his message to Congress, the President thus alluded to
these outrages :

" In the events of the present campaign, the enemy, with
all his augumented means and wanton use of them, has
little ground for exultation, unless he can feel it in the suc-
cess of his recent enterprises against this metropolis and the
neighboring town of Alexandria, from both of which his
retreats were as precipitate as his attempts were bold and
fortunate. In his other incursions on our Atlantic frontier,
his progress, often checked and chastised by the martial

* During this session, a new embargo act was passed, entitled "An Act laying an embargo
on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States," and was approved by
the President on the 17th day of December, 1813. It was of short duration, however, having
been repealed on the 14th day of April, 1814, by the decisive vote, in the House, of one hun-
dred and fifteen to thirty-seven. On the Question of repeal, the Georgia delegation stood :
YEAS — Messrs. Alfred Cuthbert, Forsyth and Telfair ; NATS — Messrs. Barnett, Hall and TROUP.
Dr. Bibb had been elected, on 6th November, 1813, to the Senate, in place of Hon. William
It. Crawford, resigned; and Mr. Cuthbert took his seat in the House, on 7th February, 1814, in
place of Dr. Bibb. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. TIL

spirit of the neighboring citizens, has had more effect in
distressing individuals, and in dishonoring his arms, than in
promoting any object of legitimate warfare. And, in the
two instances mentioned, however deeply to be regretted on
our part, he will find in his transient success, which in-
terrupted tor a moment only the ordinary public business
at the seat of government, no compensation for the loss of
character with the world. by his violations of private pro-
perty, and by his destruction of public edifices, protected,
as monuments of the arts, by the laws of civilized war-
fare."

Although not strictly pertinent to a biographical work,
we cannot here omit the insertion of one of the many in-
cidents of brutal outrage, which so excited the American
people at the time, and the recollection of which at this day
causes the patriotic heart to rejoice that the time has pas-ed,
when England, witli all her boasted strength, can further
outrage the feelings of a generous but then comparatively
impotent foe. Although anonymous, the article appears to
be truthful, and has been recently republished, substan-
tially, in one or more of the newspapers of this country.
It is as follows :
To tl> K, I 'dors of the Nation «1 Intelligencer :

Among the deeds of vandalism committed during the
late invasion of the city, by the enemy, 1 know of none moiv
base and wanton than the mutilation of the monument at
the Navy yard. This elegant monument of the liberality
ana gallantry of our naval heroes, has been shamefully de-
faced by the hand of some barbarian. On the base, the
Genius of America is represented by a female figure point-
ing to an inscription and raising a view of the battle before!
Tripoli, instructing her children who are standing beside
her. The pointing finger and thumb have been cut oil'.
History, a female figure, who is represented as recording
the event, has- been robbed of her pen — and the figure of
Fame, who is represented as descending in a cloud covering
the deeds of her sons with the palm and crown of glory,
has been robbed of the palm at the expense of the hand
that held it. From every inquiry it is possible to make,
there is no reason to doubt that it was the deliberate act of
some of the British officers, as several of them were seen to
be on the base of the monument, by the neighbors around

j 1 i *

the yard.

CHAP. VII.] BRITISH OUTRAGES.

The deed itself appears to have some allusion to the time
when it was perpetrated ; but poor indeed must have been
the inspiration of the poet, not to have foreseen, in the
victories of McDonough, Warrington and Blakeley, how
soon History might resume her employment, and Fame cover
our heroes with, I trust, an imperishable palm of victory.

AN OBSERVER.

Colonel Troup was at the seat of the national government
when the capital was taken. As chairman of the Military
committee of the House, he probably deemed it his duty
to be there. His proud spirit was fired with indignation at
these atrocities. We have it from good authority,* that
amongst the few persons in Washington at the time, who
did not forget their propriety in the general panic which
pervaded all classes, were JAMES MONROE, then Secretary
of State, and GEOKGE M. TftOUP.

In consequence of the destruction of the Capitol, Con-
gress convened in a public building of the city which had
been used for the Post and other public offices.

On the 26th of September, a resolution was offered,
" That a committee be appointed to inquire into the expe-
diency of removing the Seat of Government, during the
present session of Congress, to a place of greater security,
and less inconvenience, than this city, with leave to report
by bill or otherwise." On this resolution, five of the mem-
bers from Georgia, to wit, Messrs. Cuthbert, Forsyth, Hall,
Telfair and TROUP, voted in the negative.

During this session, Col. Monroe (who had succeeded
John Armstrong as Secretary of War,) addressed the fol-
lowing communication to the Military Committee of the
House :

DEPARTMENT OF WAR, October 17, 1814.

Sir: The great importance of the subject, and the other
duties of the Department, which could not fail to be very
sensibly felt, at so interesting a period, by a person who had

* Gen. Thomas S. Jesup, of the IT. S. Army, who stated the circumstance to two gen.
tlemen of Savannah, in 1854. — ED.

14-2 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VII.

just taken charge of it, are my apology for not answering
your letter of the 24th of September, at an earlier day, on
the defects of the present Military Establishment.

Due consideration has been bestowed on the subject-
matter of that letter, and I have now the honor to submit
to the Committee the following report :

1. That the present Military Establishment, amounting
to sixty-two thousand four hundred and forty-eight men, be
preserved and made complete, and that the most efficient
means authorized by the constitution, and consistent with
the general rights of our fellow-citizens, be adopted, to fill
the ranks, and with the least possible delay.

2. That a permanent force, consisting of at least forty
thousand men, in addition to the present Military Establish-
ment, be raised for the defence of our cities ana frontiers,
under an engagement by the Executive with such corps
that it shall be employed in that service within certain
specified limits, and that a proportional augmentation <>!'
general officers of each grade, and other staff, be provided
lor.

3. That the corps of engineers be enlarged.

•i. That the ordnance department be amended.

Respecting the enlargement of the corps of engineers, I
shall submit hereafter a more detailed communication.

For the proposed amendment of the ordnance department,
I submit a report from the senior officer of that department
in this city, which is approved.

I shall be ready and happy to communicate such further
remarks and details on these subjects as the Committee may
desire, and shall request permission to suggest hereafter the
result of further attention to, and reflection on, our Military
Establishment generally, should anything occur which may
be deemed worthy its attention.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

JAMES MONEOE.
Hon. G. M. Troup,

Chairman Military Committee.

This letter was accompanied by " Explanatory Obser-
vations," which, after other remarks on the occasion, the
nature and the exigencies of the war, spoke as follows:

" It follows, from this view of the subject, that it will be
necessary to bring into the field, next campaign, not less
than one hundred thousand regular troops. Such a force,
aided, in extraordinary circumstances, by volunteers and

CHAP. VII.] MILITARY CONSCRIPTION. 143

militia, will place us above all inquietude as to the final
result of this contest. It will fix on a solid and imperish-
able foundation, our union and independence, on which the
liberties and happiness of our fellow-citizens so essen-
tially depend. It will secure to the United States an early
and advantageous peace. It will arrest, in the further pros-
ecution of the war, the desolation of our cities and our
coast, by enabling us to retort on the enemy those calami-
tiesw hich our citizens have been already doomed to suffer ;
a resort which self-defence alone, and a sacred regard for
the rights and honor of the nation, could induce the United
States to adopt."

Four plans were then submitted, with a view to carry out
a system of national defence ; and, on the 27th of October,
Col. Troup, from the committee on Military Affairs, report-
ed a bill making further provision for filling the ranks
of the regular Army, by classifying the free male popula-
tion of the United States. The bill proposed, generally, to
provide for the division of the whole free male population of
the United States, by the assessors, into classes of twenty-
five men each ; each class to be compelled, under a penalty

of hundred dollars, to furnish, within days after

such classification, an able-bodied recruit, for the service of
the United States, &c., &c.

It is hardly necessary to state that this whole system of
raising men by draft, instead of recruiting, (which had very
much failed in consequence of domestic opposition, especi-
ally in New England, to the war,) was denounced by the
Federalists as a CONSCRIPTION; or that the occurrence of
peace, soon afterwards, rendered the further consideration
of the drafting system unnecessary — a system which seems
to have met the approbation of General Washington,*
in 1790, and which the great military powers of Europe
have practically, although not always humanely, enforced,
as necessary to successful military operations.

It is only fair to let Col. Troup speak for himself on this
and other plans, then before Congress, for the conduct of

*For a full consideration of these plans, the reader is referred to the Annals of Congress,
1814— '15, vol. 3, pp. 482 to 491— Niles' Weekly Register, vol. 7, pp. 294 to 301— Encyclopedia
Americana, Article CONSCRIPTION. — ED.

144 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VII.

the war. On the same day that he reported the bill for
classifying the militia, (27th October,) he also reported
a bill " to authorize the President of the United States to
accept the services of volunteers who may associate and
organize themselves, and offer their services to the govern-
ment of the United States ;" also a bill " to provide for
the further defence of the frontiers of the United States, by
authorizing the President to augment the present Military
Establishment."

On the 2d of December, the House being in commit-
tee of the whole on these several bills, as well a> two bills
from the Senate on that subject, the Senate bill authoriz-
ing the President to call into service 80,430 militia, to
serve two years, for the defence of the frontiers, being in
order,

Mr. Troup said, that the bill before them being a bill
from the Senate, which had not been referred to the Mili-
tary Committee, but which hud boon taken up on the mo-
tion of the gentleman from South Carolina, (Mr. Callmun,)
the Military Committee, as such, were strangers to its pro-
visions. It was not to be expected, therefore, that he could
give to the House an exposition of its principles and de-
tails. The gentleman from South Carolina was, no doubt,
prepared to do so. For himself, Mr. T. said, he was op-
posed to the measure of the Senate, and would therefore
move to strike out the first section of the bill ; it would
try the principle. The measure of the Senate, he humbly
conceived, was inadequate to the object. It proposed to
give you a militia force, when you wanted not a militia but
a regular force. He respectfully suggested to the House,
in considering this subject, the propriety of endeavoring,
in the first place, to establish the principle on which they
would rest their military measures for the further prosecu-
tion of the war ; whether it were the principle of classifi-
cation and draught, or classification and penalty ; whether
the principle proposed by the Senate, or any other princi-
ple, they could not, he humbly conceived, arrive "at any
conclusion satisfactory to the House, or useful and honor-
able to the country, without adopting this mode of proceed-
ing. Having established the principle, the Committee of
the Whole, or a select committee, might consider the de-
tails.

CHAP. VII.] SPEECH ON WAR MEASURE*. 145

Mr. T. said, lie very well knew that mankind were gov-
erned by their hopes and fears ; more by their hopes than
their fears ; and he was not insensible of the effect which the
dispatches received yesterday from our Ministers at Ghent
might have on the measures under consideration. He
should be very sorry if the effect would be to induce the
Legislature to discontinue or relax the preparations neces-
sary for a vigorous prosecution of the war. If such should
be the effect, the enemy might have good reason to exult in
the success of a diplomatic trick played off at Ghent,
which, lulling us into a false security, would enable him to
strike us at the opening of the next campaign, unarmed
and unprepared. If he should be able to do so, he would
begin to consider himself a match for the Yankees in cun-
ning, and we would repent when it was too late. Mr. T. said
he did not mean to say we would not have peace — politics
were too uncertain to justify such a declaration — we may
have peace in a few weeks. He only meant to say, that
calculations founded on events which may happen at Ghent
or at Vienna, and which would induce the Legislature to
relax in the necessary preparations for the next campaign,
ought not to be indulged ; measures ought to be taken, not
on a supposition of speedy peace, but of protracted war.
If peace happened, the preparation for war would do no
harm. If peace did not happen, the want of preparauon
would do much harm ; it might lose the next campaign, and
losing the next campaign might lose the objects of the war.
I only suggest, therefore, sir, that it is wise and prudent
to act as if the negotiations at Ghent would certainly fail.
In submitting, sir, to the committee, the few observations
with which I intend to trouble them on this motion, I will
endeavor to satisfy them that the measure proposed by the
Senate ought not to be taken, because it places our reliance
for a successful prosecution of the war on irregular militia ;
whereas, our reliance ought to be placed on disciplined
troops, and that some other measure, therefore, ought to
be resorted to — some measure calculated to fill the regular
ranks and augment the regular establishment.

In making provision for the further prosecution of the
war, there would be but one object common to all — to
bring the war to a speedy and honorable termination by
all the means in the power of the Legislature. At least, it
would be an object common to every genuine American,
because every American had an interest in it. The war
was a war for the country, and the result of it, whatever it

14(3 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTT. [CHAP. VII.

might be, whether glorious or inglorious, would determine
the character of the country and government. If glorious,
every American, without distinction of party, would partic-
ipate in that glory ; if inglorious, every American, without
distinction of party, would participate in the infamy of it.
He knew very well that certain gentlemen had said the
war was a party war, a war for the administration — but

fentlemen would find, ere long, their mistake. They would
nd that Europe, the civilized world, who will alone be
competent to pass judgment upon this subject, will not
stop to inquire by what party in America this war was de-
clared— by what party it was prosecuted — by what party
brought to its termination. No, sir, they will look to the
result, and to the result only, and as that result i< glorious or
inglorious for the country, so will they determine the charac-
ter of this country and government. Every American,
therefore, is interested to bring the war to an honorable
termination by all the means in his power. But how is this
to be done? I answer, in the spirit and language of per-
fect simplicity, by endeavoring to create a motive in the
enemy to discontinue the contest. Hut how is this to be
effected? I answer, in the same spirit and language, by
endeavoring to wound him whore he is vulnerable. The
enemy is vulnerable in two points ; in his commerce on the
ocean — in his territorial possessions neighboring tu us. If,
by any possibility, (which I do not admit,) he should suc-
ceed so effectually to blockade our ports and harbors as to
shut up completely our public and private armed vessels,
he will cease to be vulnerable in his commerce; he will re-
main vulnerable in his territorial possessions only. There,
sir, I would carry the war without Dentation ; there I would
endeavor to create a motive in him to discontinue the con-
test. In proportion as he values his territory, in the same
proportion will he make sacrifices to preserve it ; as you
endanger the existence of his territory, in the same degree
will be his motive to discontinue the war to preserve it.
That he sets a high value on his territories you have the
strongest evidence. He has already made great exertions
to preserve them ; he has been able to preserve them only
because you have not made great efforts to conquer them.
You never will conquer them by taking the measure of
the Senate. "Will any man believe we can induce the ene-
my to discontinue the war, by manning the lines of our
frontiers — standing on the defensive — receiving and repel-
ling his blows as well as we can ? No, sir, so far from inducing
the enemy to abandon the contest, this mode of pros-

CHAP. VII.] SPEECH ON WAR MEASURED.

ecuting the war would only increase his motive to continue
it, whilst the motive on our part to discontinue it would be
daily and hourly increasing. A dishonorable peace would
terminate the contest — the surrender of our independence
would terminate it — nothing else could. I would, there-
fore, carry the war into the enemy's country, and with a
force enabling you to wound him there. But the military
force of the enemy has been greatly augmented. It is un-
necessary to speak of the events by which this augmenta-
tion has been brought about — it is sufficient that we know
and feel it. Ordinary prudence requires that your own
military force be augmented ; not merely in the same pro-
portion— in a much greater proportion. In a much greater
proportion, because, all other things being equal, he has
one decided advantage over you — an advantage which we
can neither destroy nor remove — I mean the command of
the ocean, by which he compels you to stand upon the de-
fensive on a line of frontier of 2000 miles, and to defend
that line with 100,000 men against 10,000 afloat. He
comes, no man can tell when, no man can tell where ; and,
to be prepared at all, he compels you to be prepared at all
points. I say, therefore, your, augmentation ought to be in
much greater proportion than his augmentation. But what
description of our military force will you augment ? Sir,
if, after what has happened, I could for a moment believe
there could be any doubt or hesitation upon this point, I
would consider everything as lost; then, indeed, would
there be an end of hope and of confidence — 'then, indeed,
would there be nothing before us but gloom and despond-
ency, and the horror of despair. But you will not doubt
— you will place your reliance on a disciplined regular
force ; upon a regular disciplined force alone can you rely
for success. It matters not whether you determine to con-
duct the war offensively or defensively : if you determine to
prosecute it offensively, you ought to rely mainly on a regular
force — because, to be successful, you must meet and beat
in the open field the regular veteran troops of Europe.
]STot one step can you advance in the conquest of Canada,
until you are prepared to do this. This can only be done
by regular disciplined troops. If you determine to prose--
cute the war defensively, you ought to rely mainly on regu--
lar troops ; for you must expect to meet and to repel regu lar
disciplined troops-and this can be done most effectually with
regular disciplined troops. It will be done, not only more
effectually, but more economically ; not only more econo-
mically, but more conveniently for the country. It will

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAI-. VII.

save the militia of the country, and in saving the militia it
will save the active industry 'of the country— it will save,
of course, the product of that industry ; the product of
that industry is national wealth— it will save the national
wealth.

But not only do these considerations urge you, in my
humble opinion, to resort to all the means within y« nil-
power to fill the ranks and augment the regular establish-
ment; other considerations call upon you to make the army
as respectable in number as it is already in character —
considerations growing out of that character. An army
little better than two years old, collected hastily from the
plough, the loom and the workshops — without discipline,
without even the rudiments of the military science — the
officer to be instructed, that he might be qualified to in-
struct the soldier — this army has performed deeds of hero-
ism and of gallant daring that would have done honor- to
the best days of Greece and Rome, that will adorn the j
of your own history. It is true that this army has not from the
beginning every where triumphed; it is true, it has not from
the beginning carried everything before it ; it had not
strength, it had not numbers.. Hut this much may he said of
it, and with truth, that, from the beginning to this moment, it
has in no one instance dishonored the standard which it 1" >iv ;
unless, indeed, a solitary instance may be appealed to as an
exception — an instance as yet of doubtful and undecided
character. More recently, its triumphs have been more
brilliant; in open field, man to man, it has vanquished the
conquerors of the conquerors of Europe. Who can hesitate,
therefore, (the war continuing,) to make this army as re-
spectable in number as it is already in character, to enable
it to continue these triumphs? The bill from the Senate,
instead of proposing this, proposes to authorize the Piv-i-
dent to call upon the States for eighty thousand raw militia ;
and this is to be our reliance for the successful prosecution
of the war. Take my word tor it, sir, that if you do rely
upon it, (the military power of the enemy continuing undi-
vided,) defeat, disaster and disgrace must follow. As an
auxiliary or secondary force, the militia may be relied on ;
as principal, in a contest with regular troops, never, lint
the state of the army : upon this part of the subject, sir, I
will say nothing, because I can say nothing that you are
not already in possession of. You hare authorized a force of
sixty odd thousand men; you have raised thirty odd thousand;
you have a deficiency of twenty odd thousand to supply ;
these thirty odd thousand men, already raised, are distrib-

CHAP. VII.] SPEECH ON WAR MEASURES. 149

uted over a line of four thousand miles of frontier ; is it
any wonder, then, Mr. Speaker, that Canada has not been
conquered ? No, sir. the wonder is not that Canada has
not been conquered : the wonder is that this little army-
has been able to keep its ground ; the enemy has been
stronger in regular troops at all points from the beginning,
and the very annunciation of this fact is enough to cover
our little army with glory. You have a deficiency of
twenty odd thousand to supply ; how will you supply it ?
Assuredly the bill from the Senate will not supply it; will
the mode heretofore resorted to, supply it? Will the re-
cruiting system supply it? No, sir; the recruiting system
has failed ; I mean it has failed to fill your ranks. What
are the facts upon this subject 1 They are, that two mil-
lions of dollars have been applied, since January last, and
thirteen thousand men have been enlisted; this, it may be
said, is doing very well. So it is ; but what is the general re-
sult ? The general result is, that our army is very little strong-
er now than it was this time last year; and in testing the
operation of the system, it is to the general result we must
look. At the rate of thirteen thousand men per annum, it
would take five years to raise the authorized force ; the re-
cruiting system therefore has failed, it has failed to fill our
ranks. I do not mean to say, sir, that the recruiting system,
with the present high bounty and encouragement, would
not eventually fill our ranks ; I am not disposed to say that
it would not (provided the power of the enemy had con-
tinued broken and divided by the troubles of the continent,)
have answered our purpose ; but I do say, that under ex-
isting circumstances and for our present purpose, the re-
cruiting system ought not to be relied on ; it cannot be
relied on to fill our ranks by the opening of the next cam-
paign, and to risk the loss of the next campaign is to risk
the loss of everything. But is there no mode to which you
can resort for filling the ranks, but voluntary enlistment ?
I would be extremely sorry if we could not. I have al-
ways thought this Government, when administered in the
true spirit of the Constitution, the strongest government in
the world, even for the purposes of war ; but if the doc-
trine set up of late be true, this is the weakest and most
contemptible government on earth ; it is neither fit for war
nor peace ; it has failed of all the ends for which govern-
ments are established. It cannot be true that this Govern-
ment, charged with the general defence, authorized to
declare war and to raise armies, can have but one mode of
raising armies, whilst every other government that has ever

150 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VII.

existed has had an absolute power over the population of
the country for this purpose, and has actually exercised it.
But this question is not properly before the House, and I
will not go into an argument to show that you can, like other
governments, resort to other modes of raising armies than
that of voluntary enlistment ; that you can resort to classi-
fication and draft, to classification and penalty, or any other
mode which a sound discretion may in a particular state of
the country dictate and justify. All I intend to say at
present is, that you have an absolute power over the popu-
lation of this country for this purpose, and that in the
present state of the country it is wiser to resort to classifi-
cation and draft, than to resort to the bill from the Senate;
the one will give the men certainly and expeditiously, the
other will not. But, sir, compare the measure of the Sen-
ate with the measures proposed by your own committee,
and which are before you. The measure of the Senate pro-
poses to authorize the President to call out eighty thousand
militia for two years, and this is called a remedy for the
evil of State. Now, sir, the evil of State, as I understand
it, is not the want of a militia force, but the want of a regular
force. The evil of which the country complains, of which
the Government complains, of which the militia themselves
complain most grievously, is the number of militia in
service ; the incessant harassment, vexation and oppres-
sion of the militia, and the extraordinary and burdensome
expense of that particular service. As a remedy for this
grievance, the Senate propose to detach eighty thousand
militia. The President has at command, and lias always
had at command, a million of militia ; and in this extraor-
dinary crisis of our aifairs, when pressed by a formidable
enemy, and surrounded with difficulties, the remedy pro-
posed by the Senate is eighty thousand militia, which, it
must be admitted on all hands can be no better, for at least
the next campaign, than raw militia called out in the ordi-
nary way. But the bill proposes to furnish regular troops.
How? By holding up in terrorem, a militia classification
and draft ; exempting every three classes which shall
furnish two regular soldiers, from the liability to furnish
three militia men. Do the friends of this measure believe
— will they with any degree of confidence assert, that it
will have the eifect, even partially, to fill the ranks ? I
think not. And suppose it should fail to furnish regular
soldiers, what will be our condition in the months of July
and August next? Much worse, sir, than our condition in
the months of July and August last. The war continuing,

CHAP, VII.] SPEECH ON WAR MEASURES. 151

the power of the enemy unbroken, our condition will be
desperate. The regular force every day falling off, (for be
it remembered these eighty thousand militia will be with-
drawn from the operations of the recruiting service,) we
shall have to oppose to the enemy a remnant of regular
troops, and these eighty thousand raw militia — and who
will answer for the consequences? In the months of
August and September last, we had in the field the regular
army and upwards of one hundred thousand militia, and
we nowhere found ourselves too strong. It is true, the
Senate propose to improve the recruiting system — an im-
provement which two years ago this House proposed to the
Senate, but which the Senate then thought proper to reject.
I mean the enlistment of young men between the ages
of eighteen and twenty-one. But if these eighty thousand
militia for two years should happen to be, as they are like-
ly to be, that very description of population upon which
this system would otherwise operate, what hope can be en- •
tertained that the recruiting system, even with its improve-
ments, will be as productive the next year as the last ?
I humbly conceive, Mr. Speaker, that the measure of the
Senate, proceeding from the best intentions, will fail in the
accomplishment of our object. I conceive, with much
deference to the House, that the measures reported by their
own committee are much to be preferred. They propose —
first, to augment the regular establishment to one hundred
thousand men ; second, to authorize the President to accept,
under liberal encouragements, the service of volunteer
corps ; third, to authorize the President to receive into the
service of the United States, State troops, which may be
made to serve in lieu of the militia of such States. The
principle of the system is, to substitute, as far as we are
able, a regular force for a militia force, as more efficient,
more economical, and, for the militia themselves, more con-
venient— and one hundred thousand regulars would take
the place of two hundred thousand militia — two hundred
thousand militia would cost as much as three hundred
thousand regulars. If we can command an hundred thous-
and regular troops, it may, notwithstanding, be necessary,
on particular emergencies, to resort to the militia. To en-
able the government still further to spare the militia, vol-
unteers are authorized. They also will be more efficient
than ordinary militia. It is impossible to say to what ex-
tent these corps will offer themselves — to whatever extent
the government is enabled to avail itself of their services,
to the same extent will the militia be saved. If govern-

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. VII.

for the regular Army, within a given number of days, in
lieu of said tax.

Resolved, That the said committee be instructed to in-
quire into the expediency of augmenting the direct tax for
the present year, so as that it may be sufficient to procure
thousand men at hundred dollars each.

The resolutions were denounced, amongst other reasons
assigned, because of their alleged tendency to obstruct the
recruiting service ; and the plan proposed was denominated
a "wild project."

The House having agreed to consider the rcsoluti

Mr. Troup (the chairman of the Military Committee.)
said that, being a member of the committee to whom it was
proposed toreter this subject, it did not become him to ex-
press any decided opinion on it. All he hoped was, that
the House would not instruct the committee on tins head,
imless determined to perfect the proposition into the shape
of a law; inasmuch as the committee, in its ministerial
capacity, had already cognizance over this subject, and
could report on it without instruction, if deemed by them
expedient. With respect to the military subjects of the
present session, the House could not fail to recollect that the
report of the Secretary of War had stated M-hat force we
had, and what addition to it was desirable for the further
defence of the country. It had been proposed to ('onirre><
to augment the regular force to one hundred thousand men,
for which purpose it was proposed to resort to the most en-
ergetic means. It was necessary for the committee of
this House, said Mr. T., to endeavor to ascertain the opinion •
of both branches of the Legislature as to the different modes
of raising men. We did so ; and found that no ell'icac-inus
measure, calculated certainly and promptly to iill the reg-
ular army, could be effectually resorted to. Measures were
matured and proposed by the committee, but were not pressed
on the House from the solemn conviction that there was no
disposition in the Legislature to act finally on the subject.
This being ascertained, other measures were adopted to im-
prove the recruiting service, to authorixe the acceptance into
the service of volunteers and State troops in the nature of reg-
ulars. If the whole number authorized of the two latter
could be commanded, together with the sixty thousand
regulars, (supposing the ranks to be filled,) it would give
an effective force of one hundred and forty thousand men,
and might be reasonably expected to produce one hundred

CHAP. VII.] HIS ARMY MEASURES. 155

thousand ; as great a number, perhaps, as, under pres-
ent circumstances, the finances of the country would bear.
Even at this late day of the session, however, Mr. T. said,
he was willing to resort to the only certain and effectual
mode of augmenting the regular army to a hundred thou-
sand men, to the support of which the finances of the
country might, before the adjournment, be made adequate.
He hoped, at least, the House would so decide on this ques-
tion, as to make the vote on it decisive of their real views
in regard to it.

The resolutions were, finally, referred to a committee of
the whole House ; but the foregoing speech of Col. Troup
gives the best and the true reasons why they were never
afterwards called up or acted on.

On the same day that he reported the bill for classifying
the militia, (27th October,) he had also, as we have seen, re-
ported a bill "to authorize the President of the United
States to accept the services of volunteers who may asso-
ciate and organize themselves, and offer their services to the
Government of the United States " ; also a bill " to provide
for the further defence of the frontiers of the United States,
by authorizing the President to augment the present Mili-
tary Establishment." The former of these two was, after
amendment, passed into a law on the 27th of January after-
wards ; and, at a prior day of the session, an act was passed
making further provision for filling the ranks of the Army
of the United States. These were, it would seem, the " other
measures" to which reference is made in the foregoing
speech, and which rendered useless any effort to raise troops
by drafting or conscription. Let those who might be dis-
posed to censure the Secretary of "War and the Chairman
of the Military Committee for proposing this plan- for con-
ducting the war, remember the actual condition of the
country at the time, the difficulties attending the recruiting
service, and the levy of troops in any other way ; and that
the judgment of eminent military men has been in favor of
this method as the proper one for raising the most effective
military force.

[1815.] On the 8th of January the battle of New Or-

154: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TKOUP. [CHAP. VII.

for the regular Army, within a given number of days, in
lieu of said tax.

Resolved^ That the said committee be instructed to in-
quire into the expediency of augmenting the direct tax for
uie present year, so as that it may be sufficient to procure
thousand men at hundred dollars each.

The resolutions were denounced, amongst other reasons
assigned, because of their alleged tendency to obstruct the
recruiting service ; and the plan proposed was denominated
a "wild project."

The House having agreed to consider the resolutions,

Mr. Troup (the chairman of the Military Committee.)
said that, being a member of the committee to whom it was.
proposed toreter this subject, it did not become him to ex-
press any decided opinion on it. All he hoped was that
the House would not instruct the committee on this head,
unless determined to perfect the proposition into the shape
of a law; inasmuch as the committee, in its ministerial
capacity, had already cognizance over this subject, and
could report on it without instruction, if deemed by them
expedient. "With respect to the military subjects of the
present session, the House could not fail to recollect that the
report of the Secretary of "War had stated what force we
had, and what addition to it was desirable for the further
defence of the country. It had been proposed to Con-
to augment the regular force to one hundred thousand men.
for which purpose it was proposed to resort to the mos!
ergetic means. It was necessary for the committee of
this House, said Mr. T., to endeavor to ascertain the opinion •
of both branches of the Legislature as to the different modes
of raising men. "We did so ; and found that no efficacious
measure, calculated certainly and promptly to fill the reg-
ular army, could be effectually resorted to. Measures were
matured and proposed by the committee, but were not pressed
on the House from the solemn conviction that there was no
disposition in the Legislature to act finally on the subject.
This being ascertained, other measures were adopted to im-
prove the recruiting service, to authorize the acceptance into
the service of volunteers and State troops in the nature of reg-
ulars. If the whole number authorized of the two latter
could be commanded, together with the sixty thousand
regulars, (supposing the ranks to be filled,) it would give
an effective force of one hundred and forty thousand men,
and might be reasonably expected to produce one hundred

CHAP. VII.l HIS ARMY MEASURES. 155

On the same day that he reported the bill for classifying
the militia, (27th October,) he had also, as we have seen, re-
ported a bill "to authorize the President of the United
States to accept the services of volunteers who may asso-
ciate and organize themselves, and offer their services to the
Government of the United States " ; also a bill " to provide
for the further defence of the frontiers of the United States,
by authorizing the President to augment the present Mili-
tary Establishment." The former of these two was, after
amendment, passed into a law on the 27th of January after-
wards ; and, at a prior day of the session, an act was passed
making further provision for filling the ranks of the Army
of the United States. These were, it would seem, the " other
measures" to which reference is made in the foregoing
speech, and which rendered useless any effort to raise troops
by drafting or conscription. Let those who might be dis-
posed to censure the Secretary of War and the Chairman
of the Military Committee for proposing this plan- for con-
ducting the war, remember the actual condition of the
country at the time, the difficulties attending the recruiting
service, and the levy of troops in any other way ; and that
the judgment of eminent military men has been in favor of
this method as the proper one for raising the most effective
military force.

[1815.] On the 8th of January the battle of New Or-

156 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CiiAr. VII.

leans was f ought and won. Eesolutious of thanks and

congratulations were introduced in Loth Houses — in the
Senate by Mr. Giles, and in the House by Col. Troup. A
treaty of peace had been signed at Ghent, on the :Mth of
December, but the news of it did not reach this country
until the llth of February. On the 20th of that month,
the President laid before Congress copies of the treaty, the
ratifications of which had been duly exchanged.

On the 16th of February, the resolutions from the Senate
expressive of the thanks of Congress to Gen. Jackson and
the troops under his command, being amended and coming
up before the House on the question of ordering them to a
third reading,

Mr. Troup, of Georgia, said that he congratulated the
House on the return of peace; if the peace be honorable,
he might be permitted to congratulate the House on the
glorious termination of the war. He might be permitted
to congratulate them on the glorious termination of the most
glorious war ever waged by any people. To the glory of it
General Jackson and his gallant army have contributed not
a little. I cannot, sir, perhaps language cannot, do justice
to the merits of General Jackson and the troops under his
command, or to the sensibility of the House. I will there-
fore forbear to trouble the House with the usual prefatory
remarks; it is a fit subject for the genius of Homer. But
there was a spectacle connected with this subject upon
which the human mind would delight to dwell — upon which
the human mind could not fail to dwell with peculiar pride
and exultation. It was the yeomen of the country inarch-
ing to the defence of the city of Orleans, leaving their
wives and children and firesides, at a moment's warning ;
on the one side, committing themselves to the bosom of
the mother of rivers ; on the other, taking the route of the
trackless and savage wilderness for hundreds of miles ;
meeting at the place of rendezvous — seeking, attacking and
beating the enemy in a pitched battle — repulsing three
desperate assaults with great loss to him — killing, wound-
ing and efcpturing more than four thousand of his force—
and finally compelling him to fly, precipitately, the country
he had boldly invaded : the farmers of the country tri-
umphantly victorious over the conquerors of the conquerors
of Europe. "I came, I saw, I conquered," says the Amer-

CHAP. VII.] THE MILITARY PEACE ESTABLISHMENT. 157

lean husbandman, fresh from his plough. " The proud vet-
eran who triumphed in Spain, and carried terror into the
warlike population of France, was humbled beneath the
power of my arm. The God of Battles and of Righteous-
ness took part with the defenders of their country, and the
foe was scattered before us as chaff before the wind." It
is, indeed, a fit subject for the genius of Homer, of Ossian
or Milton.

We should be pleased to give this speech entire ; but it
is unnecessary. The war was closed ; and to Col. Troup
the country was much indebted for wise and calm counsels
devised in the committee-room, and for many stirring
appeals on the floor of the House — all calculated to bring
to a happy issue a contest in which his intellect and his
heart were united in vindicating the honor of his land.
He had not been a candidate at the election in 1814, and,
as the thirteenth Congress was about to expire, he was on
the eve of retirement to private life, entitled to and fully
enjoying the confidence and respect of his countrymen.
Before retiring, however, he felt that he had a duty to per-
form to the brave army whose operations he had so essen-
tially aided. He, accordingly, on the 22d of February,
reported, from the Military Committee, a bill fixing the
Military Peace Establishment of the United States. The
bill provided that the Military Peace Establishment should
consist of such proportions of artillery, infantry and riflemen,
not exceeding in the whole ten thousand men, as the Presi-
dent should think proper; the corps of engineers to be
retained ; the general officers to consist of two Major Gen-
erals and four. Brigadier Generals ; the President to cause
selections to be made of officers from the existing force,
and to cause tne supernumerary officers to be discharged
as soon as circumstances should permit ; three months pay
to be given to each officer, &c., so honorably discharged,
and, in addition, to each officer and private a donation of
land, ,&c., &c.

The bill seems to have passed the House substantially as
it was reported, and afterwards passed the Senate, with

158 LIFE or GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP, VII.

amendments, the principal of which was that striking out
donations of land to disbanded officers and soldiers. On
the question that the House recede from their disagreement
to this amendment, Col. Troup voted in the negative. The
motion, however, prevailed, and the Act was approved by
the President on the third of March.

When the bill was before the House, Col. Troup made
a long and able speech in its support, which deserves to be
recorded here, but which is reluctantly omitted because of
the space already devoted to military subjects.

The House adjourned, sine die, on the third of March,
1815, and Colonel Troup, having thus finished forever his
connection with that branch of Congress, retired to his
plantation in Laurens County.

CHAP. VIII.] ELECTION TO THE U. S. SENATE. 159

CHAPTEK VIII.

Col. Troup's Election to the United States Senate. — His Course
in that Body. — Resignation. — Election as Governor of Georgia,
&c. — Internal Improvement. — Land Lottery.

THE retirement from public life which Colonel Tronp
had proposed to himself, was to be of no. long duration.
The Legislature of Georgia assembled in November, 1816 ;
and one of the duties devolving on them was the election
of a Senator in the Congress of the United States, for the
term which was to begin on the 4th of March, 1817.

We have already seen that Dr. "William "W. Bibb had
been elected to fill the residue of Hon. Win. H. Crawford's*
term, made vacant by the appointment of the latter as
Minister to France. Colonel Troup having been urged to
become a candidate for the full term, he wrote, as follows,
to his friend Governor Mitchell :

LATTEENS, Oct'r 30th, 1816.

Dear Sir : Having lately suffered a severe cut on the
second finger of my right hand, which is not yet healed, I
hold the pen with great difficulty in answering your friend-
ly letter of the 19th instant.

To the solicitations of my friends, heretofore, I have
uniformly opposed the resolution, together with the motives,
with which I retired from Congress. They have ceased to
operate with their original force, but I cannot disguise that
it is with great reluctance I have answered to their more
recent requests on the subject of the approaching election
for the Senate, that " they might command my services."
My name will by no means be used for any oifice, unless
it should seem to be the general wish.

If the state of my hand permit, I will have the pleasure
to see your Excellency in the course of the ensuing week.

* On tho resignation of Mr. Crawford, William Bellinger Bulloch, of Savannah, was
appointed in his place, on the 8th of April, 1813, by tho Executive of Georgia, and took
his seat in tho Senate on 24th May, and continued there until the adjournment of Con-
gress on the 2d of August. Dr. Bibb was elected, in November following, Mr. Bulloch being
no candidate. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

In the mean time, I remain, my dear sir, most respectfully
and sincerely, Your friend and servant,

G. M. TKOTJP.

His Excellency, Gov. Mitchell,
Milledgeville.

On the 8th of November, 1816, the election came on,
and resulted in the choice of Col. Troup over Dr. Bibb.
The latter immediately resigned his seat for the unexpired
term, and Col. Troup was, on the 12th November, elected
in his place. It is said that Dr. Bibb had made himself
unpopular* by voting for the " compensation law ;" in other
words, for a bill which, amongst other things, provided for
payment " to each Senator, member of the House of Ke-
presentatives, other than the Speaker, and delegate, the
sum of fifteen hundred dollars," annually, in lieu of the
usual per diem pay. There is no doubt that the people of
the country were very much excited at the passage of this
law ; and yet, as it would seem, for very little cause. The
act was passed in March, 181G, and was soon after made the
subject of presentment by grand juries in different parts of
the State.

The following sketch from Gov. Gilmer's work, entitled
"Georgians," pages 108 and 109, is deemed appropriate
here :

Dr. Bibb was a member of the Georgia Legislature at a
very early age for entrance into public life. William II.
Crawford and John Forsyth had, perhaps, more of the con-
fidence of the authorities of the State than Dr. Bibb.
George M. Troup alone rivaled him in the love of the peo-
ple, lie was elected a member of the House of Repre-
sentatives in 1806, and, some years after, Senator in Congress.
He was a very influential member during the restrictive
commercial policy of Mr. Jefferson's administration, and
afterwards one of Mr. Madison's most confidential ad v!
The passage of the compensation law excited the indigna-
tion of the people to such fury, that all the members of
Congress from Georgia, except one, were turned out of
office, though the measure was not voted for by some
of them ; because, as the people said, they talked at all
times, upon every subject, but objected not a word against

CHAP. VIII.] IN THE SENATE.

getting increased pay per day. Mr. Madison soothed Dr.
Bibb's mortification for this withdrawal of their confidence
by his constituents, by appointing him Governor of Ala-
bama Territory. He accepted the appointment, and re-
moved to Huntsville. Two years after, the people of
Alabama organized a State Government. Dr. Bibb was
their first Governor. During the summer of 1820, whilst
riding rapidly to escape from a shower of rain, his horse
stumbled, and injured him so that he died.

On his. way to "Washington, Col. Troup came to Savan-
nah, where, after some necessary preparation, he embarked
by sailing vessel bound for the Chesapeake. He arrived at
"Washington on the llth of December, and on the next day
took his seat in the Senate, when, also, the credentials of
his election for six years from the 4th of March, were read
and filed. On the 13th, he was placed on the Finance, and
also the Military, Committee. During this session, he sub-
mitted a resolution, which was adopted, instructing the
committee on Claims to inquire into the expediency of
authorizing the payment to Georgia, of certain claims, for
the services of militia called out under the authority of the
United States, during the years 1792 and 1793, for the de-
fence of said State against Indian invasion. An act was
also passed for the payment of a sum of money to the State
of Geqrgia, under the articles of agreement and cession
between the United States and Georgia ; also an act au-
thorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to the State
of Georgia fifteen per centum upon the quota of direct tax,
for the year 181G, assumed and paid by Georgia. He voted
for a repeal of the compensation law ; and, at every
stage, against a bill " to set apart and pledge, as a permanent
fund for internal improvements, the bonus of the National
Bank, and the United States' share of its dividends." Af-
ter sundry amendments, the bill passed both Houses,* but
was arrested by the President's veto, because of the " in-

* On the passage Of this bill in the Senate, Judge Tait, the other Senator from Georgia,
voted for it; on its passage in the House, every member from Georgia voted for it, except Hon.
Alfred Cuthbert, who was absent. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

superable difficulty" felt by that officer " in reconciling the
bill with the Constitution of the United States."

Congress adjourned on the 3d of March, 1817, and the
Executive session of the Senate terminated on the (!th
of the same month.

[1817.] The first session of the Fifteenth Congress began
on the first day of December. Col. Troup took his seat on
the 10th. He was appointed to a place on the Committee
on Foreign Kelations, and was made Chairman of the Mil-
itary Committee of the Senate.

On 31st December, the following resolution was submit-
ted by Mr. Burrill, of Khode Island :

Resolved, That the committee to whom was referred the
petition of the committee of the yearly meeting of the So-
ciety of Friends, at Baltimore, be instructed to inquire into
the expediency of so amending the laws of the United
States, on the subject of the African slave trade, as more
effectually to prevent said trade from being carried on by
citizens of the United States, under foreign flags, and also
into the expediency of the United States taking measures,
in concert with other nations, for the entire abolition of said
trade.

[1818.] The resolution coming up for consideration, on
the 2d of January, and having been read,

Mr. Troup rose to object to the last clause of the resolu-
tion, which contemplated a concert with foreign nations.
He thought this a most extraordinary proposition, and as-
serted that, according to his apprehension, no measure could
be adopted more replete with danger to the welfare, to the
very existence of this country, than a formal coalition, for
any purposes, with any foreign nation whatever. It was a
policy, a resort to which ought always to be resisted,
and he hoped would be resisted, with a firmness not
to be overcome. The object of the first part of the
proposition, for making our laws against the slave trade
more perfect and more effectual, Mr. T. approved, and was
willing to co-operate in it. He was ready to go as far as
any one, in enforcing, within our own jurisdiction, the ab-
olition of the African slave trade. Within our land line, or
water line, even on the high seas, he was willing to enforce
our own laws on the subject ; but to direct the President to
enter into any compact or concert for this object with any

CHAP. VIII.] THE SLAVE TRADE RESOLUTIONS. 163

foreign nation or individuals, was a step he would never
consent to. He could not separate from foreign alliances the
idea of foreign politics and foreign wars ; and the proposed
measure he should view as the commencement of a system
of foreign connections, tending to foreign alliance, to which
Mr. T. expressed great repugnance. Unless, therefore, the
propositions embraced by the resolution were separated, he
should be obliged to vote against it.

Mr. Burrill having spoken on the subject,

Mr. Troup replied, that the proposed concert for abolish-
ing a particular traffic on the high seas, pre-supposed resist-
ance, and resistance was to be repressed by the united
means of the nations entering into the compact. This,
certainly, Mr. Troup said, was one step towards, and might
be the prelude to, alliances with foreign powers. Besides,
he said, this was not one of those traffics proscribed by the
law of nations, though prohibited by our statutes ; and he
doubted the expediency of such a combination to put down
a trade which was thus permitted. If motives of humanity
are urged in favor of this measure, let us, said Mr. T., begin
at the fountain head. If the policy of this country is to be
changed ; if the well-remembered parting advice of a
wise and good man is to be departed from, and we are to
commence a system of " entangling alliances," let us look
for some objects worthy of the change ; let us aim at
the abolition of impressment, and free our seamen from that
odious tyranny ; or, let us enter into the cause of South
American emancipation ; let us not enter, for the first time,
upon a system so fraught with danger, without some such
great justifiable motive; without the certainty of accom-
plishing some object of an importance corresponding with
the sacrifice we are to make.

Mr. Burrill having read the tenth article of the Treaty
of Ghent, to show that the proposition was not a novelty,
and that the United States were specifically pledged to
Great Britain to use " their best endeavors " to abolish the
trade,

Mr. Troup replied that, in the very provision referred to,
the Executive had cautiously and pointedly abstained from
compromitting the country to any connection for this object
— the article of the treaty stipulating simply that each
party would, with good faith, carry into effect its own
statutes on the subject of this trade. The article, in short,
engaged the parties to do that which, Mr. T. said, would

164: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

have been done by the United States without any such
stipulation.

The same subject coming up again on the 12th January,

Mr. Troup said he had no intention, when lie objected the
other day to a part of the resolution, to involve the Senate
in a debate upon it ; and he very plainly perceived that,
at this stage of it, it would be considered premature to
discuss at large the merits of the question. Hut he would
submit to the Senate if it were competent to them, in union
with the President, to pledge the arms and resource's of the
country, in a concert with foreign Powers, for any object
whatsoever. He denied that it could be done in the spirit
of the Constitution. It would be a pledge of that which we
had not. The arms and resources of the country were con-
fided elsewhere ; they were deposited, not with the two,
but the three, branches of the Legislature; and, in fact,
were not even to be found there. The people were etten-
tially the depositary of them, and their Representatives the
organ. Yet it was proposed to pledge, by an act of the
Executive power only, the arms and resources of a nation,
in concert with foreign Powers, for the abolition of the
slave trade. Gentlemen seemed to entertain very different
significations of the term concert ; for his part, Mr. T. said,
he knew of but one signification, which, in its application
to the present subject, could legitimately attach to it; a
signification sustained equally by the law of nations, the
law of diplomacy, as far as he Knew such a law, and the
universally received acceptation of the term — concert with
foreign nations. Sir, what is it but a term for common
councils and common efforts The gentlemen propose to
themselves a great object — no less than the universal abo-
lition of the slave trade ; other nations, they acknowledge,
hold out against them. Will they be content, then, with a
concert of common councils? Assuredly they will not.
Between nations, common councils mean nothing, unless
sustained by common efforts ; and common efforts between
nations mean nothing less than war, if war be necessary for
the object. War must be necessary, so long as other na-
tions assert the right and hold to the practice of the slave
trade. It is true that you may begin with negotiation, but
it is certain that, if negotiation fail, you must resort to war.
What would avail a treaty stipulation which would pledge
the United States to exert, in concert with Great Britain,
their advice and persuasion to induce Spain and Portugal

CHAP. VIII.] THE SLAVE TRADE RESOLUTIONS. 165

to abolish the slave trade ? Spain and Portugal would care
nothing about your advice and persuasion, especially when
you told them that you intended nothing more. Rhetoric
and eloquence are not the instruments of nations for the
execution of grand projects. He was well persuaded that
the gentleman from Rhode Island meant to deal in some-
thing more substantial ; idle and insignificant verbiage
could not suit his purpose; for, if it did, he already found it
in a treaty. This word concert, therefore, Mr. President,
means something — it means connection, combination, alli-
ance, for a given object ; it means entangling alliance.
You are admonished against entangling alliances ; for what
reason ? Because our Government is of its own kind, in-
sulated, the only Republic in the world, between which
and other governments there is no common principle, no
common feeling, no common sympathy ; they may combine
for their own interests ; they may enter into concert for
your destruction ; they will not be so ready to combine with
you either to promote your interests, or interests common
to you and them. You propose a concert with crowned
heads ! They never concert with themselves, but broils,
and quarrels, and wars follow in the train. History is full
of them ; and, if entangling connections, sir, between mon-
archs, who wield the sword and the purse, who make peace
and war at their will, be fruitful of these mischiefs, what
may we not expect when you enter the lists without the
means of doing what you engage to do? Gentlemen will
say this mode of reasoning is entitled to little weight ; it is
speculative — admit it; the argument of experience is alone
admissible, and the argument of experience is decisive.
The only instance which I recollect, sir, of a concert be-
tween this country and any foreign Power, is that of the
French Treaties of 1778. It was a concert, and it turned
out a most entangling one. It was a concert, too, for an
object near and dear to the American heart ; a concert for
liberty and independence. A more important object can
never present itself. In the one treaty, we stipulated the
guaranty of the French American possessions ; in the other,
we stipulated that France (being in a state of belligerency
with any other Power,) might use our ports freely with her
ships of war and prizes. Now, sir, I pray you, how did we
fulfil our stipulations? We did not fulfil them at all. We
got out of the difficulty, I will not say dishonorably, but as
well as we could. I believe, sir, the men who presided
over our councils, at the time of which I speak, were hon-
orable men, and were willing to do whatever they could to

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROITP. [CHAP. Till.

carry into effect, in good faith, what they engaged to do;
but, sir, they could not ; they wanted the sword and the
purse, and the Constitution had intrusted them to others ;
they were intrusted to the people. I sincerely believe, sir,
that France saw the embarrassing dilemma, and took pity
upon us. She saw we could not execute the guaranty
without going into the war, and she forbore to press it.
But, in consequence of her thus forbearing, she thought she
might the more rightfully demand the rigid execution of
the other article. We had stipulated to allow French ships
of war and prizes to go and come freely, and to remain at
pleasure ; it was a stipulation partial in effect. France
being at war with England, it admitted to France what it
refused to England. It was inconsistent, too, with the
spirit of President Washington's proclamation of neutrali-
ty. France, having abandoned her claim for the fulfillment
of the guaranty, thought she was entitled to a favorable
construction of the article relating to ships of war and prizes.
She demanded the right of arming, and fitting, and com-
missioning in our ports. We resisted, and eventually we
found ourselves in a war with France. This, sir, is the only
instance of a concert between this country and a foreign
Power which I recollect ; such has been the result of it, and
such will ever be the result. It is unavoidable from the na-
ture of our political institutions. We enter into enihar;
ing stipulations ; we are called upon to execute them ; we
call uponthe people to draw the sword and advance the ]>i
they answer us, No ! we have nothing to do with your treaties
of concert or your guaranties ; if you are unwise enough
to enter into them, you may get out of them as well as you
can; you shall not do so at our expense, or with our aid
and assistance. And so, sir, they will answer alwavs.
They will go to war for rights which belong to them ; for
their honor, their independence ; for interests entirely their
own ; they will not for rights and interests which are
extraneous, and in which they feel no concern. This was
the lesson taught by the people to the men who directed
our councils on the occasion to which I referred ; an awful
warning never to put to hazard the peace of this country
by connections with foreign Powers for any objects what-
soever, much less for objects foreign to our interests and
our feelings. The treaties adverted "to were negotiated un-
der the former government. It is believed ttiat nothing
similar has occurred under the present. Mr. T. said ho
would no longer tire the patience of the Senate with such
desultory remarks : but he could not forbear the expression

CHAP. VIII.] HIS RESIGNATION. 167

of his surprise that the proposition of the gentleman should
be urged with so much zeal and earnestness, when it was
well known to the Senate and the world, that from the
origin of the present Government, almost up to the present
moment, American citizens, the flesh and blood of the land,
had been seized by the Algerines, handcuffed and chained,
incarcerated and enslaved, four thousand miles from their
homes and the bosoms of their families, and no instance is
recorded of a proposition having been submitted to the
Senate to advise the President to enter into concert with
foreign nations for the abolition of Algerine slavery.

The course and speeches of Colonel Troup, on this sub-
ject, evince the soundness of his judgment, and his political
forecast. His warnings and predictions have been justified
and fulfilled by events occurring at the present day. It is
only during the last year, 1858, that Great Britain, on pre-
tence of a right to visit American vessels for the purpose
of capturing slavers, under the " concert " treaty between
the two governments for suppressing the African slave
trade, carried this assumed right so far as to endanger the
peace of the two countries, and was at last compelled to
acknowledge the justice of our complaints against the in-
solent exercise of a pretended right which the United States
never admitted, and which our ancient enemy has been at
length compelled to abandon.

This session of Congress closed on the 20th of April.
It is unnecessary to dwell upon the proceedings, or to spe-
cify the measures of the session in which Col. Troup took
part. He had left his home reluctantly ; private and do-
mestic considerations required his presence there ; arid, bid-
ding farewell once more to public pursuits, he resigned his
place in the Senate, and retired to his home in Laurens.

At the time of which we write, there was, politically
speaking, but one party in Georgia. As the best evidence
of the fact, the Legislature of 1816, which elected Colonel
Troup to the Senate, not many days afterwards elected
Gen. John Mclntosh, Charles Harris, H. Mitchell, Jared
Irwin, John Kutherford, Gen. David Meriwether, John
Clark and David Adams, Electors of President and Vice

163 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII

President ; and who, though belonging to different local
parties in Georgia, were known to be favorable to the elec-
tion of Mr. Monroe and D. D. Tompkins to the two high-
est offices in the gift of the people. Mr. Crawford was the
acknowledged leader of one local party, and Gen. John Clark
of the other. They were personal em-mies, and, in one sense,
political rivals. The towering intellect and high position
of Mr. Crawford, put him, in some respects, far above the
men of his day in Georgia, and her people looked forward
to the time as not far distant, when, besides the lofty posi-
tions already occupied by him, the highest honor of the re-
public would almost certainly be conferred on him. In
biding his time as the looked-for successor of Mr. Monroe,
his prospects became blasted by sudden and severe <li~
which, in the judgment of many of his friends and wann-
est admirers, unfitted him for the first place in the gift of
his countrymen. For several years he had been unconnect-
ed with active participation in the local politics of Georgia.
Soon after his return from France, he was appointed Sec-
retary of the Treasury, and was in the discharge of the
duties of that office at the period to which we refer.
Nevertheless, his name and his character were potent in
Georgia. As a general thing, his friends were the friends
of Col. Troup ; and it was the wish of these friends, and of
Mr. Crawford also, that Col. Troup should become a candi-
date for the Gubernatorial Chair of Georgia.

The time for which Gov. Rabun had been elected, ex-
pired in November, 1819. That gentleman had died in
October, just previously to the meeting of the General As-
sembly which was to elect a Governor. Gen. Clark and
Col. Troup were the opposing candidates — the latter " in-
duced by urgent application of his friends to consent to
become a candidate." It does not become us to speak of
the comparative merits of the two men. The bitterness of
the times has passed away, and it is the duty of all, but es-
pecially the impartial historian, to tread lightly over the
ashes of the dead. Born in Revolutionary times, and
trained, under the eye of his patriotic father, to the use of

CHAP. VIII.] POSITION OF PARTIES IN GEORGIA. 169

arms in defence of his country, Gen. Clark had done ser-
vice to the State. Inferior to Col. Troup, in education,
though equally brave, he had the same good fortune to en-
list troops of ardent and devoted friends.

The election resulted in the choice of Gen. Clark, by a
majority of thirteen votes. The probability is, that this re-
sult was, for private reasons, gratifying to the defeated can-
didate, although mortifying to his friends. The main reason
which induced his retirement from the Senate — domestic
affliction in the loss of his wife's health — still operated with
full force to check political aspiration, if he had any. His
consenting to serve, if elected, showed a disposition to yield
rather to the advice and solicitations of friends, than to
obey his own inclinations.

The same result occurred in 1821. Gov. Clark was re-
elected by a majority of two votes — Clark 74, Troup T2.
The late Hon. Joseph W. Jackson, than whom none better
understood or appreciated the character of his friend, and
who was a member of the House at the time, thus wrote :

" The writer of this memoir well remembers the intense
excitement that preceded this election, and the course of
Col. Troup at Milledgeville. His supporters urged him to
visit the members, and to canvass for their votes. He re-
fused, alleging, truly, that a candidate for the Executive cJiair
should not debase that high office by seeking to influence the
Legislative votes. He had refused, through life, to electioneer^
and he was too old to do it now."* In looking back at these
reverses, the intelligent reader cannot fail to perceive that,
as events afterwards proved, the time had not come when
Col. Troup's talents and firmness were absolutely needed
at the helm of state. There was then no imminent peril,
no impending crisis, which required them.

The following letter to Gen. D. B. Mitchell, will show
that Col. Troup was not inattentive to the interests of Ag-
riculture :

* White's Statistics of Georgia, page 553. — ED.

1YO LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cn.u-. VIII.

LATJMNB, Deer. 12, 1S22.

Dear Sir : — The enclosed letter for ( leneral Mclntoeh,* is
without the proper direction, because I do not know cither
the place of his common residence, or the means hy which
it may be most cxpeditionsly conveyed to him. I take the
liberty to trouble you with* it, that it may reach him cer-
tainly and without delay.

The object ef it is to procure horses for the plough— In-
dian Tackles, young and sufficiently strong — say 10 or 12 of
them. I presuppose they maybe bought low; and that,
being much in the habits of trade, he can furnish them as
cheap as any body. 15e B U to charge yourself with

the receipt of his answer, and forward it, to me.

Pray, what is the state of the atmosphere at Milledge-
ville, or have you been much there ?

Your t'riend and serv't,

<;. M. TBOTJP.

[1823.] Tlu- gubernatorial < . . newed in 1823 ;

but Gov. Clark was no longer in the field. The rival can-
didates were George M. Troup and Hon. Matthew Talbot
— the latter a friend and supporter of (Jov. Clark. The
election took place on Tin lie fith day of November,

i;i the Representative Hall, by joint ballot of the two
Houses. The result •,

For George M. Troup,
" Matthew Tall >ot, s!

Majority for Col. Troup, - - 4:

The inauguration of the new Governor took place, with
the usual solemnities, on the 7th, when he delivered the fol-
lowing admirable

INAUGURAL ADDKKSS:

FELLOW Ci 1 come to the administration of jour

affairs with unfeigned diilidence of my own ability to man-
age them to your advantage. The indulgence which you
have shown me, on every p;isi occasion, is my inducement
to undertake it, and my incentive to persevere. At every

* The Indian Chief, Own. William ' auJ who fij.'nrt'* in n Huccccd-

in- |,i,i-tiM,i ,,f this lii,t..ry.— En.

CHAP. VIII.] HIS INAUGU.RAL ADDRESS.

step of iny progress, there will be errors to extenuate —
weaknesses to overlook. Nevertheless, I come into office free
and unfettered, without passions to gratify or pledges to re-
deem ; and what is deemed to be right, under the Consti-
tution and the laws, will be done.

I have nothing to promise but good intention — save only,
that I will endeavor that the laws be executed, the public
functionaries, so far as depends on me, held to a strict ac-
countability, and the State, according to its means, defend-
ed against its enemies.

The season of peace, gentlemen, in which we find our-
selves, is the season for the cultivation,of the arts of peace;
and what is wanting in the works of Providence, designed
for the purposes of man, 'tis for the industry of man to
improve ; and to improve what God has bountifully given,
is gratitude to God. In the measures, therefore, which you
may deem proper, to extend or facilitate the great work of
internal improvement, you may, at all times, rely on my
hearty and zealous co-operation. "With regard to the other
measures, embracing the leading interests of our country,
that in them we will move in harmony and in concert, I
have the best assurance in the patriotism and intelligence
with which I am surrounded.

Fellow-citizens — let us cease our strifes — let our divisions
be at an end. The march of science is so steady — the pro-
gress of illumination so irresistible in this great and gi ow-
ing country, that the generation to come may look back
upon our foibles with pity and compassion. Let us discard
our selfishness, therefore, and let our motto be — GOD AND
OUR COUNTRY.

The following message of the Governor to the Legisla-
ture, is so characteristic of his honesty and his aversion to
political intrigue, that we insert it for the benefit of the
reader. The caucus referred to was one for the nomination
of persons to be voted for as President and Yice President
of the United States. The rest is explained by the mes-
sage.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA,
Milledgemtte, 16th Dec., 1823.

Having been made the instrument of conveying to you
the accompanying document transmitted to me by Gov.
Carroll, of Tennessee, at the request of the Legislature of
that State, I would cheerfully have submitted it to you

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

without comment ; but, as forbearance in this respect might
be construed into approval on my part of any thing con-
tained in it, I do not hesitate to lay before you the crude
suggestions to which it has given rise, trusting that they
will be regarded with all the indulgence to which good in-
tention may entitle them.

This paper purports to be a formal act of the Legislature
of Tennessee, and its object the denunciation of what it
pleases to call a Caucus, which may possibly be held at the
city of Washington, by members of Congress, for certain
purposes. What precise and definite meaning the Legisla-
ture of Tennessee designed to attach to the word Caucus, I
cannot conceive. It is not an English word. It is not to
be found in our dictionary, and, being an uncouth word and
of harsh sound, I hope never will. It is not to be found in
either the Constitution or laws of Tennessee, and heiiiL'; a
mere abstract conception, cannot become a subject of legis-
lation at all.

The paper evidently refers to a contemplated meeting of
members of Congress, to influence a decision on a certain
question. Can any act of the Legislature of Tennessee
affect the persons of members of Congress, or others at the
city of Washington f There it has no more jurisdiction
than it has beyond the sea. Members of Congress, like all
other officers of government, stand in two relations to so-
ciety ; the one public, the other private. They forfeit noth-
ing of their rights as individuals, by assuming public duties,
and the most arbitrary despotism could not prevent their
assembly for purposes not expressly inhibited by the laws.
Such an assembly for convivial or social purposes, might
intermingle with its amusements the gravest discussions,
and, among these, the very question the discussion of which
by that assembly the Legislature of Tennessee so ardently
denounces. It would give to itself a name other than that
of Caucus, and then the vain, unprofitable resolution of the
Legislature of Tennessee would not have even a shadow on
which to fix itself.

It is thus that Legislatures, on the eve of great elections,
stepping aside from their legitimate province, enter the
field of contention, inflame the angry passions, making the
contention more fierce and the tumult more boisterous ;
and it is thus, that instead of seeing a great and wise people
moving with calmness and deliberation to the election
of their first magistrate, the political arena presents a scene,
where, as in the turbulent days of Rome, the bitterest feel-
of human nature are in conflict ; which, from idle

CHAP. VIIL] INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT IN GEORGIA. 173

agitations grow into tempest, and, when they do no worse,
make ns discontented with ourselves and bring representa-
tive government into disrepute everywhere.

G. M. TEOUP.

The direct reference made by the Governor, in his in-
augural, to the question of Internal Improvement, the
importance of the subject, and a disposition not to break
the connection in the narrative of political matters in sub-
sequent chapters, induce us to give here a brief but
connected view of that subject, and the important part
which Governor Troup acted on it.

The position of Georgia, in regard to the trade of the
West and the commerce of the Ocean, had called the atten-
tion of her people and her politicians to the subject of
internal communication long before any regular system
was devised. To go no further back, the Legislature of
1820 passed joint resolutions looking to the gradual but
certain introduction of such a plan ; and, on the 22d Decem-
ber, of that year, Gov. Clark approved an act for the ap-
pointment of " a fit and competent person for topographical
and civil engineer of the State of Georgia, " at a salary of
three thousand dollars, and providing that " the duties of
the said topographical and civil engineer shall consist in
surveying the navigable rivers and waters of this State ; in
exploring the obstructions of the same ; reporting the best
plans for removing them ; suggesting the practicability and
utility of internal improvement ; in directing and superin-
tending the application of such appropriations as the
Legislature may make from time to time for the purpose
of internal improvement ; in rendering an annual report
to the General Assembly of his official transactions, and of
the transactions of his department ; and in such other
duties as are usually imposed upon such officers, and as
may be imposed on him, from time to time, by law."

In his annual message of 1823, Governor Clark said :
" I am constrained to inform you that I have not, during
my administration, been able to select a suitable character,
who would accept the appointment of civil and topograph-
ical engineer. There have been, notwithstanding, several

LIFE OF GEOKGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

applications made for the appointment of gentlemen of
respectable character and standing, but not of experienced
knowledge, which I deem an indispensable requisite in the
person oil whom it is conferred. 1 am still of the opinion
which I had the honor of suggesting to the last Legislature,
that it would be advisable to unite with the State of jX'orth
Carolina in procuring the services of Mr. Fulton. '•• "
In his annual message of 1824, Governor Troup said:
The period has arrived when Georgia can no longer
postpone the great work of internal improvement. Tf con-
siderations of the highest order could not prevail. State
pride would be a motive sufficiently strong to determine
her. Some of her sisters are already far in Advance <>f her.
Almost all of them have, to a greater or less extent, em-
barked in it. She sees the most enterprising and pel-severing
nulling them already deriving advantages from it, which
place them in the first rani Vnce and power. A

State, therefore, like Georgia, blessed by Providence with
the means of reaching th- ; commercial prosperity,

by a road plain, direct and practicable, will no longer
linger in the rear. She will .ad, with a little pa-

tience and perseverance, instead of decaying cities and a
vacillating trade, and, what is must humiliating, that trade
seeking an emporium elsewhere than within her .>wn limits,
she will witness the proud and animating spectacle of
maritime towns restored and nourishing, new ones rising
up — her trade steady and increasing — her lands augmented
in value and improved in cultivation— the face of the
country beautified and adorned ; and she may witness what
was once deemed impossible to human efforts, the Western
waters mingling with her own, and the trade of Missouri
and Mississippi floated through her own territory to her
own seaports, and all this within the compass of her own
resources, provided the ordinary economy, prudence and
foresight be employed to husband, cherish and improve
them. The first and most important step will be to com-
mand an engineer of science and practical skill, and
measures have been taken to procure the services of such
an one. As it is indispensable that he rank among the
highest of his profession, it follows that his compensation
should be fixed at such a rate as other States have assigned
to the like order of talents and qualification. I am' per-
suaded you will not hesitate to do this. The Legislature of
Georgia is too enlightened to undervalue the services of

* Hamilton Fulton; afterwards appointed Chief Civil Engineer by Governor Troup.— ED

CHAP. VIII.] REMARKS ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 175

mind ; and, looking to her true interest in this particular, she
will find the best economy in the highest compensation.
The critical accuracy necessary in every stage of the pro-
ceeding, the minuteness of observation, the correctness of
calculation, and the application of the mathematical science
to the whole, require the first order of cultivated mind, and
under the direction of such a mind there is moral certainty
that mistakes or errors of a fatal character will not occur.
In avoiding these you save an expenditure, in comparison
with which the salary of a lifetime would be as nothing.
The laborious topographical explorations and surveys which
must precede the plans and estimates for the execution of
the great works, will also require time ; for they are these
which will determine what ought first to be undertaken —
what most beneficial — what most practicable — what least
expensive.

In his message at the extra session in May, 1825, the
Governor again referred to the subject; but as this portion
of the message is intimately connected with the Indian con-
troversy, and the whole of it may be found in a subsequent
chapter, we forbear extracts here.

At the regular session of 1825, he spoke thus, in his an-
nual message :

A resolution of the Legislature, instructing the Governor
to authorize the survey of the intermediate country, with
the view of connecting by a canal or road, or both, the
waters of the Gulf and Atlantic — a work of not less im-
portance to the Union than the connection of the two seas
by the Isthmus of Panama, and of most easy execution,
has not been carried into effect. The opinion of the Ex-
ecutive on this subject has been made known to the Legis-
lature. The authorities of Georgia cannot pass beyond
their own limits into the territory of any other State, or of
the United States, for any such objects, without committing
trespass, and it is not understood that the most practicable
line of communication between the two waters would fall
wholly within the jurisdiction of Georgia. In truth, this
is most appropriately a work for the United States, without
any constitutional hinderance or impediment ; a short cut
through her own soil would accomplish it, and the whole
Union would immediately partake the benefits. The atten-
tion of the President had been invited to this subject before,
and whilst he acknowledged the great importance of the

176 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUr. [(.'HAP. VIII.

work, it is not known that any measures have been taken
in relation to it. His attention was called, at the same
time, to the practicability of uniting the eastern and west-
ern waters, by a canal turning the base of the Apalachian
mountains at their southern extremity ; an operation of
more obvious utility, because of less doubtful practicability,
than the contemplated one for connecting the Chesapeake
and Ohio. A promise was given that this also should re-
ceive early consideration, but nothing more has been heard
of it. Without bringing into question here the power of
the General Government to make canals at pleasure- within
the jurisdiction of the States, it would, perhaps, be more
advisable for the State governments to depend for inter-
nal improvements on their own powers and resources; and
I am happy to inform yon that the State of Tennessee,
having a common interest with ourselves, has given une-
quivocal indications of her willingness to co-operate with
us in this undertaking. We have continued assurances that
a civil engineer of competent qualifications may soon be
commanded for the service of the State. To give you an out-
line of the views of the Executive on the general subject, I
have caused the instructions, which, in the absence of the
Legislature, would have been given him, to be laid before
you. And here permit me to suggest the policy of applying
a portion of the fund set apart for internal improvement,
to the construction of roads which shall so traverse the
country as to make the communication between the differ-
ent counties and the commercial towns, ni"iv sate, easy and
expeditious. Considering climate and localities, it may be
deemed expedient to invest the capital in a description of
labor, which, under proper direction, would not only be
efficient for the accomplishment of the work, but could be
ultimately made to return to the treasury a large propor-
tion of the amount invested.

From the "instructions" we make the following extracts,
which are deemed appropriate here :

The first movement will be the exploration of the country,
with a view to make yourself master of its topography ; ancl,
as our large rivers have their rise in the north-western ex-
tremity of the State, there I would first invite your attention,
that you may discover the facilities and difficulties offered by
the ground — the water which may be commanded for all
purposes, and the points at which the rivers may be most
usefully connected by a grand transverse canal. To ascer-
tain these with precision, surveys are to be made, levels to

CHAP. VlfT.] INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.

. be taken, and estimates formed ; and these, with the utmost
diligence, will require time. This first movement will have
steadily in view an eventual communication between our
own waters and those of Tennessee or Alabama, and the
connection of both by a grand canal with the Atlantic,
from which, as a great artery, the lateral ones will proceed,
connecting the various sections and interests of the coun-
try, so that it may be said by each and by all that none
have been neglected, and that nature and art had combined
effectually to make of a great community one family, be-
tween the most distant members of which the intercourse
would be safe and easy always. The Alabama and Chat-
tahoochee, which empty into the Gulf of Mexico — the Ten-
nessee, which disembogues into the Ohio, and the Savannah
and Alatamaha, which discharge into the Atlantic, all take
their rise at the foot of the Apalachian mountains, and may
almost be said to have a common source. How far the
union of these may be practicable — at what points it would
be most feasible, and at what labor and expense it may be
accomplished, are objects not now claiming your attention
for any other purpose than, by a bird's-eye view of the
country, to ascertain what may be done at a future day,
either by the General Government, or by the States more
immediately interested in opening the communication, and
at what points either the Savannah or our extreme western
waters may first receive either the water of the Tennessee
or Alabama. So far from details being required in relation
to these, general conclusions and conjectural estimates,
formed from your observation of the country, will be con-
sidered satisfactory.

On the 20th December, 1824, a joint resolution had been
approved, authorizing and requesting the Governor "to
engage the services of a competent civil and topographical
engineer, on such terms as may be deemed advantageous,
and that he cause the said engineer, with the necessary
aid, to make such surveys, estimates and reports as may be
practicable, in pursuance of the laws of this State, in order
that the same may be laid before the Legislature with a
view to the commencement of a system of internal im-
provement, and that the sum of ten thousand dollars be
appropriated to carry this resolution into effect." The ap-
propriation was accordingly made during the same session.
23

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cnxr. VIII.

On the 21st of December, 1825, an act was passed, " to
create a Board of Public Works, and to provide for the
commencement of a system of Internal Improvement." It
provided for the election, by joint ballot of both houses, at
that session, and annually thereafter, of seven persons, who,
together with the Governor for the time being, should con-
stitute " The Board of Public Works of the State of Geor-
gia," one Commissioner to be chosen from each Congres-
sional District, the Governor to be ex-officio President of
the Board, which was to be a body corporate, &c.; and it
was declared that " the Board shall, as soon as may be, cause
the necessary surveys, estimates and reports to be made
and presented to the Legislature, with reference to the open-
ing, improvement and construction of roads, bridges, navi-
gable waters and canals in this State," &c., tfcc. Fifty
thousand dollars were appropriated to the purposes <>f the
act. Under this act, the following persons were eh
Commissioners: John Elliott, t'»r the first, John Schh-y,
for the second, John G. Pitman, for the third, Wilsnn
Lumpkin, for the fourth, Joel Crawford, for the fifth, Elijah
H. Burritt, for the sixth, and flames Hamilton Couper, for
the seventh, Congressional District.

It is evident, from what has been said, that a groat system
of canalling was in the contemplation both of the Gover-
nor and the Legislature. Kail Roads were then hardly
thought of in this country, or in any 'part of the world. The
success of the New York and Erie Canal had prepared the
minds even of the Southern people for most extravagant
expectations from that branch of internal improvement.
The result is too well known t<» be here particularly men-
tioned. But no less praise is due to those patriotic men who
devised the first grand scheme of internal communication,
under the administration and the auspices of Governor
Troup.

Pursuant to a call of the Governor, the first meeting of
the Board took place atMilledgeville, on the 20th of March,
1826. It was addressed by the Governor, its ex-qfficio Pre-

CHAP. VIII.] INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 179

sident, in a speech which we would gladly transcribe, if
we had room for it. The following extract will be read
with interest :

" Fortunately, a happy concurrence of opinions between
the Legislative and Executive branches of the government,
has relieved us, for the present, from the embarrassment of
rival claims and conflicting interests. Expanded views
have been preferred to a narrow and contracted policy, and
we commence our labors untrammeled by local projects or
undigested details. The outlines are marked, and the sub-
divisions are to be sketched and filled up by degrees. Our
resources are not to be exhausted by idle or vain experi-
ments, or dissipated by the heedless policy of attempting
everything and perfecting nothing. We are to proceed
cautiously, that we may proceed safely, giving our undi-
vided means and labor to a single work of approved utility,
until it is done and well done. The Eastern and "Western
waters are to be united, and to the accomplishment of this
every minor interest is made subservient. The large rivers
are to be connected with each other and with the sea, by a
grand transverse canal, as nearly central as practicable,
from which the lateral ones are to flow, as the legislative
authority shall from time to time decree. Railways and
roads are subjects of your jurisdiction, and within the scope
of your powers either to construct or to improve them —
and, for these, funds are at your disposal — corporate powers
given to you — and the geometric skill and engineering sci-
ence of the country placed within your reach. Your first
measures will be chiefly preparatory — to appoint the artists
necessary to carry your orders into effect — to cause to be
made topographical examinations and surveys of the coun-
try least explored — to direct the routes to be traced — the
levels to be taken, and the estimates of expense, whether
the communications be opened by roads or by canals, and
to calculate the relative advantages in different positions of
roads, canals or railways, will be among the first of them ;
and to these objects, as limited by law, your measures will
be confined for the present year/'

The Governor informed the Board of his intention to ap-
point Hamilton Fulton principal Engineer ; and, after the
adoption of necessary resolutions, appointment of commit-
tees and the transaction of other business, the Board ad-
journed to the fourth Monday in October. During the

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

recess of the Board, William Terrell, of Sparta, and Alex-
ander Telfair, of Savannah, were appointed in the room of
Joel Crawford and John Elliott, respectively, who had re-
signed.

[1826.] The Board met, pursuant to adjournment, at
Milledgeville, on the 23d of October, and, alter a session of
twelve days, adjourned, having first adopted an aide report
to the Legislature, drawn by Mr. Couper, accompanied by
the report of the Chief Engineer. Our regret at not be-
ing able to give the proceedings of the Board entir
much diminished by having it in our power to furnish the
following condensed statement of its operations and the
results, furnished the writer by Mr. Couper, in a letter dated
St. Simon's Island, August 14, 1858 :

"By the Act of the Legislature of 1825, establishing the
Board of Public "Works, Gov. Troup became, ex-otlicio, its
President; and he presided at nu»t. if not all, of its meet-
ings. He took an active and leading part in all of the
proceedings, and the influence of his opinions was felt in
the most important decisions of the Board. Upon the :
vital question which arose, — and that which baa shaped the
course of the public improvements of Georgia, the co-cji-
eration of Gov. Troup decided the action of the Board, and
subsequently that of the State. To illustrate this, I must go
into some detail, and incur your suspicion of my egotism.
I refer, however, to the printed proceedings of tne Hoard,
for the principal facts in support of my assert i

" By the Act of the Legislature establishing the Board
of Public Works, an extensive system of Canal* was con-
templated, extending, in the one direction, from the Ten-
nessee river to the Atlantic, and, in the other, from the
Flint to the Savannah river; and the first duty enjoined on
the Board was to make the requisite surveys for both. At
the first session of the Board, two corps of Engineers were
organized to make the surveys; and they were employed,
during the summer of 1826, on them. At the next session,
in the autumn, reports were made by the Engineers to the
Board, and it then devolved on the latter to present their
report to the Legislature. At this stage I presented my
views to the Board, in opposition to the system of canals,
and in support of the substitution of rail roads in their
place.

CHAP. VIIL] INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 181

" A recent visit to England had demonstrated to my own
mind, that, except for heavy transportation, rail roads were
destined to supersede canals ; and I was most anxious that
the State should not involve herself in a work of very
great expense and of very doubtful advantage. The sub-
ject being new, I found myself, at first, in a minority ; but,
being ably supported by the concurrent opinion of the
Chief Engineer, Mr. Fulton, and ultimately receiving the
support of Gov. Troup, I was authorized by the Board, in
the Report which I made to the Legislature, as Chairman
of the committee, to recommend the abandonment, for the
present, of the system of canals, and a trial, on a limited
scale, of rail roads as a substitute.

" The quarrel among the Engineers, and the enlistment
of the two dominant parties in it, occasioned the dissolution
of the Board, and the abandonment of the system of Inter-
nal Improvement. This was fortunate, as the public mind
was not then prepared for rail roads, and a perseverance in
the construction of the grand system of canals would have
cost the State from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000.

" After a very earnest conversation with Gov. Troup, he
at last said to me : ' Well, Mr. Couper, I will go with you
in favor of rail roads ; but what power do you contem-
plate ?' My reply was, ' locomotives, of course.' ' Good
God,' said he, ' I cannot stand that ; I will go to the extent
of horse-power.' This was in 1826, when there were only
22 miles of rail road in the whole world. What a contrast
a third of a century has produced !"

It should be mentioned that three days after the passing
of the act creating the Board of Public Works, to wit, on
the 24th December, 1825, the General Assembly passed an
act " to lay out a central Canal or Railway through this
State," the main purpose being stated in the act to be " the
ultimate object of joining the waters of the Tennessee or
Mississippi rivers " ; with canals to unite with the Central
Canal, &c., and with liberty to the Board of Public Works
to take into consideration the comparative advantage of
railways over canals, &c., &c. Still, as has already been
said, railroads were hardly in the contemplation of the
authorities of Georgia at that time, as a part of the perma-
nent internal improvement of the State. The gradual

182 LIFE OF GEORGE 51. TROUP. [CHAP. Till

substitution of this system for canals, the awakening of
public attention to its superiority, and the extension and
perfection of that system, are subjects of curious consid-
eration. That Governor Troup was one of the iirst to be
convinced of this superiority, is shown by the letter of Mr.
Couper. To these two gentlemen, perhaps, more than to
any others of their compeers, belongs the credit of having
saved the State from the ruinously expensive system of
canalling, worthless anywhere in comparison with rail-
roads, and especially in a southern country.

In his annual message of 1826, Governor Troup said :
" After a tedious correspondence witli several of the
most distinguished of the Engineers of the United St:.
from which no satisfactory result could be promised,
Hamilton Fulton, Esq., a gentleman of known integrity of
character, and recommended by the most eminent of the
Engineers of England, was appointed to the office of Chief
Civil Engineer. It is hoped that Mr. Fulton will not dis-
appoint the just expectations of the public. The proceed-
ings of the Board of Public Works, after their Iirst
organization, are submitted to you. A j»lan:: of Internal
Improvement having been digested and jiiv~rril>cd l>y the
Legislature, nothing remaineu for them but t> a<lo|,r the
most prompt and appropriate measures to carry it into effect.
The report of the Board and of the Chief .Engineer will
disclose the first practical operations under them, and will
enable you to decide upon the merits of the past, and what
for the future, in furtherance of the plan, the public inter-
est shall require. To open new sources of commerce, and
give facilities to those already open, arc the great objects
of the system. If, by a communication between the waters
of Tennessee and those of Georgia, the trade of the Missis-
sippi and Ohio can be diverted to our Atlantic ports, the
freight and commissions would more than suffice to replace,
with the ordinary interest, the capital which might be em-
ployed in effecting that communication ; and, if this were
true at the beginning, the progressively increasing com-
merce which an almost unbounded region, with rapidly
augmenting population, would supply, might convert a

* Tho act of 24th December, 182,'), alreaily < itcd, contained thin jim vision : '-Tliat the
Board of Public Works shall not enter on any further plan or scheme for internal improve-
ment, till the duties imposed by this act are fulfilled, unless they are BO directed by tho
Legislature of this State.'7— ED.

CHAP. VIII.] HIS MESSAGE. 183

channel of intercourse into a permanent source of revenue
to the State. Whatever can be realized in this respect,
will depend on the facilities given by the projected canal
across the Peninsula of Florida, which, forming a line of
steamboat communication between the Western waters and
our Atlantic ports, cheap, continuous and comparatively
safe, may have advantages over the short and more direct
route, not open to this valuable instrument of conveyance.
As connected with such an undertaking, the States of Ala-
bama and Tennessee have been consulted, and their views
in relation to it, so far as communicated, are submitted.
With respect to that part of public improvement designed
to facilitate the intercourses of trade within our own limits,
the obvious rule will be to adapt our measures not only to
the actual state of the trade and commerce of the country,
but to the means which we can command to give efficacy
and success to them ; and whether canals, or rail roads, or
turnpikes shall, in different situations, be considered as
best adapted to this end, to limit both capital and labor to
a single object at a time, until that object is accomplished."
Then follow these remarkable words : " It need, not exalte
surprise, if, before a long time, with the exception of the
level alluvial country, tlie RAIL will universally supersede
the CANAL, having the advantage of cheapness, expedition,
healthfulness, safety and certainty"

On the 26th of December, 1826, the act creating the
Board of Public Works, and that to lay out a Central
Canal or Railway, were repealed.

The following extracts from Governor Troup's message
of 1827, contain his last official views and his parting advice
on the subject of Internal Improvement:

I invite your attention again to the subject of Internal
Improvement, and to the dangers inseparable from a longer
postponement of a judicious system adapted to the wants
and resources of the State. It is mortifying to our pride,
and it will prove ruinous to our interest, that every State in
the Union and every State in Europe, advancing in the
course of improvement, opening communications between
the most distant parts of its territory, cheapening its trans-
portation, augmenting its trade and commerce, arid ce-
menting the union of its people, give signs of increasing
illumination, whilst Georgia, with some claims to intelli-
gence and public spirit, has not yet executed a solitary
work or raised a single monument in illustration of her de-

184. LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. VIII.

votion to the agricultural and commercial prosperity of her
people. We must soon withdraw from the rivalry of trade,
or share it on the most unequal terms. No fertility of soil, no
geniality of climate, can compensate to Georgia a difference
of freight of five to one against her, in a competition with her
neighbor States. Her industry will be paralyzed, and her
capital exhausted. Already, the wheat-grower of the western
parts of New York, from which formerly a bushel of wheat
was not exported, supplants the wheat-grower of Georgia in
his own market ; and, ere long, the cotton market reduced to
the lowest price at which the article can be raised, Georgia,
with such fearful odds against her, will be forced to aban-
don the cultivation. In this, as in all the articles of a
bulky or weighty carriage, the ei»tt<>n States will undersell
her in the same proportion which their facilities of trans-
portation bear to her difficulties; and, when reduced to the
ultimate point of stagnation and depression, she may awake
from her repose with regrets and lamentations, but without
the means or the resources to remedy the evil. You are
not invited to premature or unprofitable efforts. You are
asked to keep pace with your sisters in the improvements
which correspond to the actual state of the trade, wealth
and population of the country; and, if IK •thing more, at lea-t
to make the high roads the avenues of a cheap and expe-
ditious transportation at all times, and the navigable
streams likewise in the degree and to the extent of which
they are susceptible. The Report of the Chief Engineer,
who has continued in the public service at my particular
request, will show what, with very limited means, has been
done or attempted, during the past season, and what it may
be useful or profitable to do hereafter. It is not to be ex-
pected that this or any other competent officer will devote
himself to the service of the State, for a compensation
scarcely sufficient for the maintenance of his family, when
the same qualifications in other States find a double or
triple allowance. It would be wiser to abolish the office.*

It is unnecessary to pursue this subject further. Enough
has been said to exhibit the views of Governor Troup on
this subject ; and although subsequent events showed, and
the sentiment of the country is now in favor of, the pro-
priety of entrusting works of internal improvement to
private enterprise, yet, in looking back to the history of

* The office was afterwards abolished, under a joint resolution passed in 1828.— ED.

CHAP. VIII.] LETTER ON INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. 185

such works, whether public or private, it must be admitted
that the course of Governor Troup on the subj ect had no little
influence, at the time, in rousing public attention to the
great system of works which have conduced to place Georgia
amongst the foremost States of the Union, and that the in-
fluence of his example has been felt for good to the present
time.

In addition to what has been said on the subject of in-
ternal improvement, it is proper to present to the reader
the following letter from Gov. Troup to a committee of
gentlemen at St. Mary's :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEO., |
Milledgeville, ZQth July, 1824. j

Gentlemen : — I have received your resolutions and me-
morial. On the subject of Internal Improvement they speak
my own sentiments.

Every argument will be urged upon the Legislature, and
of course will not be urged in vain, to do its duty in this
respect. Until they decide, your wishes can in no respect
be gratified. No power is reposed here to gratify them.

You ask the appointment, pro tempore, of a special En-
gineer to make the surveys and estimates of the works
which will be necessary to accomplish the connection be-
tween the waters of the St. Mary's and Suwanee — no such
power is lodged with the Executive. It is due to your very
respectful and respectable memorial, to make known to you
what the Executive has deemed it his duty to do in this
respect.

The resolution of the Legislature which authorized the
Governor to appoint an Engineer, has been unavailing for
that purpose, as might have been easily foreseen. A salary
which it authorized, of $3,000, could not be supposed to
command adequate qualifications, when such qualifications
were compensated by other States at the rate of from 5 to
10,000. All the eiforts, therefore, made in past time by my
predecessor, failed of effect. They have not been renewed
by me, on the same ground, because on the same groinid
they would have been equally unavailing. But, trusting
and believing that the Legislature would, upon their first
meeting, place this business on the only basis upon which
it should rest, I have been unremittingly engaged in em-
ploying all the means left me to procure a competent Civil
Engineer for the great objects of Internal Improvement in
24

186 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. [CiiAr. VIII.

the State of Georgia. No man is worth employing who is
not, scientifically and practically, an Engineer of the first
order. No mistakes or errors must be committed in the
outset, as, in the state of public opinion, they would have
the effect of devolving on posterity what it is both our in-
terest and our duty to undertake ourselves.

A Civil Engineer of these qualifications is in a fair way
of being engaged conditionally, but conditionally only. If
the Legislature should adopt my recommendations, lie will
be employed, and under the most favorable auspices for the
permanent benefit and advantage of the State.

With respect to the subject to which you have more es-
pecially invited my attention, 1 have only to say,-that on
the very first opening which presented itself of executing
the resolution by means which did not depend upon our-
selves, I availed myself of it by addressing a letter to tin-
President himself, requesting that, under the late act of
Congress, competent Civil Engineers should be dispatched
to Georgia to attend to her interests under that act, and
more particularly invited his attention to the survey, plans,
estimates, &c., of the grounds and works for connecting the
St. Mary's with the Suwance. To this communication,
though made many weeks ago, no answer lias been re-
ceived.* "When received, whatever may be the purport,
it will be made known to you through the public prints.
Very respectfully, gentlemen,

Your ob't serv't,

Messrs. Beltoii A. Copp ami G. M. TJROUI-.

Bachlott, Committee, St. Mary's.

* Just received and will be published in the next papers.
— G. M. T.

The correspondence with the President, to which refer-
ence is above made, is here inserted in full. It will be
found referred to in the Governor's annual message of
1824 ; and it will be seen that the Governor's application
did not at all commit him to {in admission of the power of
Congress to legislate in cases not falling within the letter of
the Constitution.

EOUTIVE .Di:rAUTMi:.NT, <iix>., )

M&ledgeyitte, 1'WA June, 1824. j

Sir : — The Congress having thought proper to pass the
act of the 30th April, which authorizes the President to

CHAP. VIII.] OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 187

procure the necessary surveys, plans and estimates for roads
and canals, and feeling it to be my duty to ask for Georgia
a proportionate share of the benefits or advantages which
may result to the Union from such a measure, I beg leave
to call your attention to the importance of connecting the
waters of the Savannah with those of the Tennessee river —
the waters of the St. Mary's with those of the Suwanee in
East Florida, and of directing to be made any other sur-
veys, plans and estimates in which Georgia may take an in-
terest, and which the President may think proper to order
under the act of Congress.

"With great consideration and respect,

G. M. TKOTTP.
The President of the United States,

"Washington City.

DEPARTMENT OF WAE, July 15th, 1824.
Sir : — The President of the United States has transmitted
your letter, of the 29th ult., to this department, with in-
structions to inform you that in carrying into effect the act
of Congress, of the 30th April last, directing surveys to be
made for the purpose of constructing roads and canals,
the interest of all the great sections of the country will be
duly attended to, comprehending those of the Southern
States, and, in connection with their interests, as well as
that of the nation, he has determined at an early period to
direct a survey for a national road from the seat of govern-
ment to New Orleans.

In relation to the objects to which you call his attention,
as being particularly connected with the interest of the
State of Georgia, he deems them to be important and
worthy of the attention of the nation ; but it will be impos-
sible, under the general arrangements which have been
made to carry into effect the act above referred to, to bestow
immediate attention on them.

I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,

J. C. CALHOUN.

His Excellency G. M. Troup, Governor of the
State of Georgia, Milledgeville.

The reader will find the Act of Congress, to which re-
ference is made in the preceding correspondence, in the
U. S. Statutes at large, vol. 4, pages 22 and 23, entitled " An
Act to procure the necessary surveys, plans and estimates

188 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. VIII.

upon the subject of roads and canals" ; and, on pages 139
and 140, of the same volume, another act, entitled " An
Act for the survey of a route for a canal between the At-
lantic and the Gulf of Mexico." It needs scarcely be
added that nothing practical ever resulted from these acts,
at least so far as concerned the development of the re-
sources of Georgia.

Having thus referred to Governor Troup's connection
with Internal Improvement, it is proper here to notice an-
other subject which has always divided the public mind of
Georgia as to its advantages and evils — we mean the Land
Lottery system — one to which Governor Troup publicly
and officially gave the sanction of his name in lsi_T>. For
his views thus announced, we must refer the reader to his
message at the extra session of the Legislature in that yc-ar.
The first act passed by the General Assembly for disposing
of the public lands, was approved by Governor Milledge
on the llth day of May, 1803, and was entitled " An Act
to make distribution of the late cession of Lands, obtained
from the Creek Nation Tjy the United States Cortirni^n>
in a Treaty entered into at or near Fort Wilkinson, on the
sixteenth day of June, eighteen hun<lr<<l ami A/vv1 Gov.
Troup was then a member of the Legislature ; but whether
he voted, or how he voted, we have now no means of
knowing. That he was opposed to a distribution of the
public lands without important reservations for the great
interests of public education, internal improvement, &c.,
may be seen by the message to which reference has just
been made. The whole subject was one of delicacy ; and
whilst the opponents of the system were neither few nor
wanting in intelligence, yet they were most decidedly a
minority of the people. Governor Trouprs approval of the
Lottery act of 1825, is no evidence, however, that the de-
tails of the bill were in consonance with his own opinions.
The probability is he would have made larger reservations
for public purposes. Still, he deferred, on this as on other
occasions, to the will of the people as expressed through

CHAP. VIII.] THE LAND LOTTERY SYSTEM. 189

their representatives. "The lands," said he, "belong to
them in joint and several property, and none but them-
selves or their immediate representatives can rightfully
dispose of them."

But, independently of other considerations, there were
grave political reasons why Georgia should come into full
possession of the .territory acquired from the Creeks in
1825. These reasons will appear in the sequel ; and it may
suffice here to say that the time seemed fully to have come
when all hope of remaining longer within the constitutional
boundaries of the State, against the spirit of the articles of
cession of 1802, should be taken from savages, whose resi-
dence in Georgia was not only of no benefit to either the
white man or the red, but was actually detrimental to the
true interests of the former. A survey, and early settle-
ment of the lands by lottery, seemed to give better prom-
ise of this result than any other mode ; and, right or wrong,
that system has been heartily approved by a large majority
of the people of Georgia.*

As the biographer of Governor Troup, the writer con-
fesses to a suspension, if not an entire change, of opinion,
on the subject, since he undertook this work ; and he feels
that he cannot do a better service to the public than by giv-
ing the following views of the origin, policy and propriety
of the land lottery system, from the pen of a gentleman f
whose opportunities have been ample, and who seems to have
given to the subject the most careful consideration :

" The peace of 1783 found a population of some 35,000
or 40,000 thinly spread over about one-third of our State as

* Such was the popularity of the Lottery system, that, out of fifty-three who voted in
the Senate, at the extra session of 1825, only three voted against the bill ; and, in the House,
only ten out of ninety. The Senators' were James Bozeman, of Baldwin, John J. Maxwell ,
of Bryan, and John Whitehead, of Burke. The Representatives were William Law, Jlorde-
cai Myers and Robert W. Pooler, of Chatham, Joseph Quarterman and George W. Wal-
thour, of Liberty, Belton A. Copp, of Camden, S. M. Ingersoll, of Bibb, Simeon Oliver, of
Elbert, I. H. Saffold, of Washington, and James Rembert, of Wilkes. — ED.

t Dr. W. C. Daniell— in a letter to the editor, dated 7th May, 1859. It is due to this
gentleman to state, that, whilst ho admits a change of opinion in regard to the Land Lot-
tery, he speaks, in his note to the editor, of the foregoing contribution "as the best and
only amende which I can now make to a profoundly wise policy, which I prejudged be-
cause I did not comprehend it in its full bearings." — ED.

190 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. VIII.

now defined, with a western frontier running from the St.
Mary's river to the Cnrrahee mountain, some four hundred
miles, and that frontier rendered insecure by the pres-
ence of tribes of Indians, who could not be trusted as
friends nor subdued as enemies. The Federal Government
was Tinable to supply the protection claimed, and Georgia
left to her own inadequate resources. Indian incur-
sions were not infrequent. A law of the State, still on our
statute books, requires that every man capable of bearing
anus shall take them with him, with a specified amount of
ammunition, when he shall attend public worship. <
were stationed at intervals, on a line parallel to the Oc<
river, and near it, to give the alarm upon the appearance
of the Indians in the settlements, so that families near those
stations should seek refuge in the block-houses built, for
that purpose chiefly by individual enterprise. The farms
were cultivated in succession, by their owners in a body,
with their arms stacked at a convenient distance for alarms
to be given by their vigilant and faithful dogs. Occasional
forays were made by the Indians, to kill, seal]), burn and
carry away. Then the men in the neighborhood would
assemble, usually at a block-house as a central point — ap-
point their officers and dash off in hot pursuit. Some; '
they would overtake the retreating marauders — at times
encumbered with prisoners and spoils — attack and usually
disperse them, with more or less of mutual loss ; at other
times, they would follow the trail to the Indian village, at-
tack it, disperse the inhabitants, burn their wigwams, destn >v
the standing crops, and carry off recovered prisoners and
stock.

" About 1837, in returning from a visit to the bereaved
family of my deceased brother, who had died in the Petit
Gulf Hills, Mississippi, I stopped to dinner at the house of
a Mrs. Collins, in Emanuel or Bulloch county, who had
been scalped in one of these Indian forays late in the last
century. She was a tall, stately woman, upwards of eighty
years old, and wore a handkerchief on her head to conceal
the loss which she had sustained from the scalping-knife of
an Indian warrior.

" There was no established peace between the frontier
Georgians and Creek Indians, from the Revolutionary war
until after the close of the war of 1812-'! 5 between the
United States and Great Britain, after which they were
well whipped and virtually destroyed or dispersed by the
Hero of New Orleans. During the colonial government
in Georgia, as in other British American provinces, the

CHAP. VIII.] THE LAND LOTTERY SYSTEM. 191

great demand was for occupants for the boundless domain
of forest land, and the latter was freely distributed to all
who would occupy but a small portion of the large grants
freely supplied to settlers at nominal prices. This policy
necessarily scattered the population thinly over the terri-
tory. Here, this condition was rendered still worse by
the sale, at nominal prices, of a body of land acquired
by the Crown, early in the Kevolution, from the Indians,
and now embraced in the counties of Washington, Han-
cock, Taliaferro, Greene, Oglethorpe, Clark and Jackson,
east of the Oconee and Apalachee rivers, and to which we
are indebted for the introduction of a word into our ex-
pansive language. It was sold in large bodies, at nominal
prices, soon after Peace, chiefly to wealthy emigrants from,
and to land speculators in, Virginia and North Carolina ;
and, held by such men and in such bodies, how could it be
rendered a barrier to the powerful and hostile tribes of
Indians who fished and hunted on the western banks of
these streams? Fauche's troop of one hundred mounted
men, raised to guard the four hundred miles of frontier,
even with all his energy and tact, and all their industry and
endurance, could supply but a very inadequate protection.
The Federal Government was in its swaddling clothes, and
did little or nothing in reply to appeals for protection
against the Indians, which went up to distress and harass
the great and good Washington almost daily from the
frontier settlements extending from Florida to Canada.

" Georgia, the youngest of the thirteen colonies recently ,
admitted to their Independence, possessed of a large terri-
tory occupied by a small and sparse population by no
means homogeneous, was left to her own resources to pro-
vide that protection to herself which the Federal Govern-
ment was unable to furnish. How was that necessity to be
supplied ? Near twenty weary years of occasional conflicts
and continual insecurity had failed to build up a barrier
population on the boundary rivers, when the settlement of
the Yazoo controversy by the treaty of 1802, which divested
Georgia of the territory now composing the States of Ala-
bama and Mississippi, supplied the means of acquiring the
Indian land west of the Oconee and east of the Ocmulgee
- ; and the distribution of that land in small parcels or
tracts, by Lottery, was determined on as the best mode of
establishing a barrier population against the aggressive
Indians.

" It has never been

Lottery was fully

een denied that the purpose sought in the
and promptly accomplished ; but it has

192 LIFE OF GEORGE 31. TROIT. [Ciur. VIII.

been contended that the land should have been sold, and
the money received applied to Education, Internal Improve-
ments, <fec., «fcc. It has long been affirmed, and is, I be-
lieve, almost annually repeated, that the Land system of
the United States does not pay. With us, even after the
gift of the land in lots, the sale of the fractions, (the small
portions cut off in the surveys by straight lines,) yielded a
fund which has been in part wasted in various schemes of
opening rivers, <fcc., and in part applied to the uses of the
University, county academies ana poor schools ; with how
much success, I leave to those to say who have administered
these bounties or partaken of the benefits of the provision.
One thing is certain : small as was the proportion of the
land sold, to the whole, the purchasers of the fractions were
enabled to obtain of the Legislature indulgences on their
notes given in payment, from time to time, until this action
became annual and chronic ; and the applications ceased
because the debtors were deceased and their estates dis-
tributed, or had been hurried "Westward by the spirit of
enterprise so characteristic of us. In 1833, I saw amongst
the assets of the Central Bank — then virtually the State
Treasury — notes of various denominations, dated in the
early days of this century, and held as part of the proceeds
of the fractional sales — where, doubtless, your eminent
Collector of Autographs could add even to his collection.
If we admit that all the money applied to the improvement
of our rivers, has been as successful as wise men anticipated,
and that devoted to Education has accomplished all that
the ambitious promised and the good expected, we must
still believe that if all the land had been sold, it would
have yielded less money than the sales of the fractions
have brought into the Treasury, and that here, at least,
part has been greater than the whole. If the purchasers
of one or five per cent, of the land, controlled the Legisla-
ture to the extent of a virtual remission of ten or fifty per
cent, of the purchase money, how much would the State
have received, had she sold all the land ( And then sluj
would not have established on the east bank of the Ocmul-
gee that barrier of stout hearts and strong arms — the
necessity of that day in Georgia. That was no Whitefield
enterprise to build 'an Orphan House Ix-ibre the children
were begotten or their parents had mated, but a self-reared
protection to a recent and sparse population — to save feeble
woman and helpless infancy from the scalping-knife and
the firebrand of a border savage enemy. That was achieved ;
and how can we measure that by money, or weigh the lives

CHAP. VIII.] LAND LOTTERY. -[93

of the previous generation from whose loins we have sprung,
in the balance with any measures involving merely ameli-
orations of our condition, whether real or imaginary ?

" May we not indeed say that our Land system has been
wiser than that of the United States, which, thus far at
least, has been a tax upon the Treasury, whilst ours has paid
something above and beyond the protection which it gave
to our frontier ?

" You will see that I have spoken of our Land Lottery
policy as a system originating, as I think, in a clear and
wise view of our condition, when it was introduced. Of
the abuses to which it is said to have given rise, I need not
speak. They affect not the principle. How often is it that
what was at first a pure and simple good, becomes the
nucleus around which errors and abuses gather — parasites
that exhaust the vitality of the tree — vermin that devour
the life-blood of the animal ! "

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

CHAPTER IX.

Beginning of JiuJfnn Difficulties. — Cherokee Controversy. — Fed-
eral Relations. — Slavery Aglt<it!"i< l>y Ohio L> ://'••• In fm-c. —
Gov. Troup's Jirst Annual M>smi>/>'. — h'/>c(i»n »f C,nv<rn»r
i/iriii to the People. — ObmMJMIOfMrj iif>j»>inti-if (n fruit
til'' C'/v<7.-.s-. — d'nn ninr i-iijVi. <t't1 to f> C< i<> /.-' /'''j/- //' . <l'''

IN this and succeeding chapters, we are to consider that
portion of the life of Gov. Troup which is admitted to have
been the most interesting in his history, not only because
of the conspicuous part which he acted in the important
events of that time, but because of the events themselves;
and however some may affect to sneer at what they pretend
to consider a small matter — one which, as is further pro-
tended, might have been consummated under the direc-
tion of some other and less sagacious and determined
statesman — yet, it will be found, on investigating the origin
and results of the Indian, and especially the Creek, contro-
versy, that great moral and political truths underlay the
whole, and that the development and practical application
of them were owing more to Gov. Troup than to any other
man of his day. No history of this period could be com-
plete without the most frequent reference to him ; and his
biography for that period is a history of Georgia for the
same time. Fortunately, this history is enveloped in no
doubt ; the evidence speaks for itself; and, like all history
depending upon documentary evidence for its elucidation,
the chronicler is relieved from vague and empty specula-
tion ; and, instead of mere surmising, he has only to quote
the well authenticated records of the day as the best vin-
dication of the truth of his story.

Reference has already been made to the cession by
Georgia, in 1802, to the United States, of all that portion
of her western territory lying west of her present western

CHAP. IX.] CESSION OF 1802. 195

boundary, and east of the Mississippi river — an immense
tract of valuable land, embracing almost the entire extent
of the present States of Alabama and Mississippi. The
land, thus ceded, amounted to about fifty millions of acres,
and the consideration to be paid to Georgia was the sum of
.one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The
fourth article of the act of " agreement and cession " was
in the following words :

" That the United States shall, at their own expense, ex-
tinguish, for the use of Georgia, as early as the same can
bepeaceably obtained on reasonable terms, the Indian title
to the coanty of Tallassee, to the lands left out by the line
drawn by the Creeks in the year one thousand seven hun-
dred and ninety-eight, which had been previously granted
by the State of Georgia ; both which tracts had formerly
been yielded by the Indians; and to the lands within the
forks of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers ; for which sev-
eral objects the President of the United States has directed
that a treaty shall be immediately held with the Creeks,
and that the United States shall, in the same manner, ex-
tinguish tJie Indian title to all the other lands within the
State of Georgia"

It would be going beyond the design of this work, and
lead to undue prolixity, to give a history of the measures
by which Georgia, at various times between the act of
cession and the beginning of Gov. Troup's administration,
came into possession of lands in the occupancy of the Indians
at the time the cession was made, to wit, 24th April, 1802 ;*
or to enumerate the various excuses made for the delays in
extinguishing the Indian title to all the lands within the
boundaries of the State as laid down in the articles of
cession and defined in the constitution of Georgia ; or to
specify the various appeals which, in the mean time, were
made, to induce the General Government to do an act not
only of simple justice but of plighted faith. We cannot,
however, omit a speoial reference to u the memorial, re-
monstrance and protest " of the Legislature, to the Presi-

*The cession was ratified by the Legislature of Georgia on the 16th of June, 1802.— ED.

196 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

dent of the United States, approved by the Governor, Gen.
Clark, on the 22d December, 1819, from which we make
the following extract :

" Your memorialists are impelled, by a sense of duty
which they owe themselves and the people of Georgia,
again to call the attention of your excellency to a subject
in which they consider their best and most permanent in-'
terests involved. It has been the unfortunate lot of our
State to be embroiled in the question of 'territorial right,'
almost from the commencement of her existence. The
feelings excited by such warmth and succession of contest,
have been heightened and aggravated by inconveniencee
and exposures incident to our frontier situation. To alle-
viate this condition, to circumscribe our extent of settle-
ment and become more defensible; and finally, to settle
the questions of territory, limits and boundaries, \vere the
prevailing inducements to the vast retinqnishment made
by Georgia to the United States, in the articles of ;IL
ment and cession of 1802. Abstractedly from these in-
ducements, it will not be contended that other considerations
could have produced the effect. The period hns'now arrived,
when, in the opinion of your memorialists, the subject is no
longer to be regulated by the rules of policy and conve-
nience, but has assumed the more definite and substantial
shape of positive right. It has long been the desire of
Georgia, that her settlements should be extended to her
ultimate limits; that the soil within her boundaries should
be subjected to her control, and that her police, organixa-
tion and government should be fixed and permanent. For
the fulfilment of these desires, we have waited the tide of
events, and observed the march of time for seventeen years.
Within this period, we have witnessed with much gratifi-
cation the spread of the Union, and the accession of States
and Territories greater in extent than the original confed-
eration. Two of the members of this vast family are the
descendants of Georgia ; yet, Georgia loses her strength
andjnfluence as a member of the .Republic, retarded, as
she is, in her growth and population, and denied the foster-
ing aid of her common parent.''

After eloquently narrating some of Georgia's grievances
in the premises, the remonstrance added :
_ " Your memorialists respectfully solicit, that Commis-
sioners acting under the authority of the United States,
may treat with the Creek and Cherokee nations of Indians,
for further cessions of territory for the use of Georgia."

CHAP. IX.] SPECIAL MESSAGE.

On the 8th of January, 1821, a treaty* was concluded at
Indian Spring, with the Creek Indians, by which a consid-
erable cession of land was made to Georgia, and of which
land the (original) counties of Dooly, Houstoun, Monroe,
Fayette and Henry were laid off by act of the Legislature
passed 15th May, 1821. The Creeks and Cherokees, how-
ever, still remained in possession of a large portion of the
best territory of Georgia.

In this posture Governor Troup found affairs when he
assumed the duties of the executive government in 1823.
In December, of that year, he sent the following message to
the Legislature :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA, )
Milledgeville, 15^ J)ec., 1823. j

The repeated remonstrances to the general government,
urging the extinguishment of Indian claims to lands within
our territorial limits, have only resulted in partial conces-
sions of territory. Notwithstanding the pledged faith of
the general government in the articles of agreement and
cession, frequent occasions have been omitted to fulfil her
obligations to Georgia. It is mortifying enough to advert
to the single one of 1814, f when, disregarding positive

* For this treaty, see U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 7, pages 215, 216.— ED.

t The occasion to which reference is here made, is evidently the treaty at Fort
Jackson, dated 9th August, 1814, by which not only was a large cession of land, now
lying within the State of Alabama, made to the United States, as "an equivalent for all
expenses incurred in prosecuting" a war against the Creeks, whilst what was then con-
sidered a comparatively worthless portion was acquired for Georgia, but in the second
article of which the United States agreed to " guarantee to the Creek nation, the integrity
of all their territory castwardly and northwardly of" a certain line. It was in reference
to this treaty, that Mr. Bevan, in his report to tho Governor, in 1825, said : " it is well known,
THAT at Fort Jackson presented to the General Government a favorable opportunity for a
full compliance with all the stipulations of its agreement with Georgia; but the United
States (although bound to us,) owed money to others, which consideration, blending itself
with other views of policy or expediency, (synonymous terms,) induced them to extinguish
the Indian title to a very great quantity of rich land in Alabama, while Georgia was told
that she must be content with a portion of pine-barren territory," &c., &c.

For the Resolution, Memorial and Remonstrance of the Legislature of Georgia, against
this treaty, in 1816, the reader is referred to Lamar's Digest, pp. 1168, 1169, 1170 and 1171.
In the memorial and remonstrance, tho Legislature said : " No crisis ever presented such
prospects of an advantageous extinguishment of Indian title, as the period of the treaty
referred to. A severe chastisement had been inflicted on the Creeks; then- power was
broken — then- arrogance subdued; and it only became necessary, under these circum-
stances, to have demanded and obtained an accession to such terms as the United States,
looking to their compact with Georgia, might have thought proper to have dictated."— ED.

19S LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

obligations to Georgia, as stipulated by compact, the United
States suffered a large extent of Indian country to pass into
tbe hands of others to whom she was not bound by en-
gagements of a'jy k?nd. The same treaty ought to have
extinguished for Georgia the Indian claims to all. the lands
within her limits — she was not noticed in it., In every
subsequent negotiation with the Indians, it would have been
as easy to have acquired the whole, as part of the territory.
The failure is to be sought in the parsimonious appropria-
tions of money on the part of the United States, and the
coDseqjent limited instructions to her agents. A Aviso
eco -omy would have dictated the application <>f abundant
ireano under favorable auspices, to do at once what she
knew sooner or later she would be obliged to do. Ki.>in
the moment the general government entertained a belief
that Geo/gia would be satisfied with small appropri.i
of money for the acquisition of small portions of lands,
things have been growing worse and worse. The general
government itself is daily multiplying obstacles (innocent-
ly, to be sure,) to the further acquisition, and its practice is
so far variant from its theory, which teaehes that a concen-
tration of the tribes is one of the n\»<\ ellectnal jnod.
advancing their civilization. Georgia has given to the
United States 50,000,000 of acres for 1. dollars.

The United States have gratuitously given to the Yazoo
claimants between four and live millions dollars besi
and when you have added to this the paltry sums she has
paid in extinguishment of Indian title within our limits,
you will find a net balance in her favor to the amount of
twenty millions of dollars at least. The words, " as soon as
may be," in the articles of agreement and cession, will no
longer avail the United States any thing ; the operation ot
these has been long since estoppecl by time. It was never
in contemplation of either of the parties to that agreement,
that twenty years should elapse, and that Georgia should
find herself in possession of only one half of her reserved
territory. Indeed, further procrastination, as inconsistent
as it is with justice to Georgia, can subserve no useful pur-
poses to the United States, or to the Indians th erase 1
The latter have discernment enough to perceive that, soon,
very soon, Georgia must have what is her own. The
United States recognize in practice, and in theory, the
allodiality to be in Georgia, the temporary usufruct only in
the Indians. Of what value is this right of use within our
limits, in the present exhausted state of the game '. If the
passion of the hunter is to be gratified, send him across the

CHAP. IX.] GEORGIA MEMORIAL. 199

Mississippi ; if the mind is to be improved into civilization,
limit him to the pursuits of agriculture. Blending justice
with authority, the United States have but to command, and
the claims of Georgia will be satisfied. The treaty lately
held with the Seminoles is in illustration. The. United
States had little else to do than to prescribe the limits with-
in which those tribes were to retire.

I recommend to you, therefore, to address yourselves,
once more, and for the last time, to the justice of the United
States, in language firm but respectful ; to demand and
insist on, 1st, A liberal appropriation of money to extinguish
the Indian claims to all the lands within our territorial
limits — 2dly, Commanding instructions to her agents, who-
ever they may be, that what of right ought to be done,
shall be done.

G. M. TKOTTP.

The message having been referred, in the Senate, to the
joint committee on the State of the Republic, they made a
report,* on the 18th December, which finally passed both
Houses, and was approved by the Governor on the 20th.
From the report we make the following extracts :

The Committee on the State of the Republic, to whom
was referred the communication of his Excellency the
Governor, on the subject of the extinguishment of Indian
claims to the lands within the territorial limits of Georgia,
beg leave to report :

That they have derived much gratification from the peru-
sal of this interesting document. It presents to them an
unequivocal manifestation of the disposition of the Execu-
tive to sustain the just .rights of the State on the important
subject of the extension of jurisdictional limits, with a
firmness which is tempered by discretion, and a zeal which
is guided by intelligence — a disposition, to which, in the
unanimous opinion of this committee, every suggestion of
duty, and every feeling of honorable pride, on the part of
this Legislature, will be accordant and responsive. The
committee do not deem it necessary, in this report, to enter
into a minute examination of the luminous exposition of the
rights of this State, which is contained in the communica-
tion of his Excellency the Governor. Adopting it as unan-
imously as they do, and in its whole extent, they believe

* This report, although not presented by Judge Berrien, who was second on the commit-
tee, yet bears unmistakable marks of his pen. It deserves to bo inserted at length ; but
•want of space forbids. — ED.

o,M, LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

they will best perform the duty which is aligned to
them, bv recommending that an address be presented to
the President of the United States, based on the principles
and fortified by the arguments of this communication.

Then follows an eloquent address to tlu- Piv-idont, the
conclusion of which is as follows :

These memorialists have seen witli what facility, the
Cuited States, " blending justice with authority." have been
enabled to prescribe to the native tribes inhabiting the con-
tiguous Territory of Florida, the limits of their range, and
they do not doubt that a similar exercise of a legitimate
authority, equally tempered by justice, will suffice to obtain
for Georgia all which she desires. They ask, therefore, fn »m
the government of the Union, certainly with the respect
which they have always felt, and which they have omitted
no proper occasion to m:mife>t. to the government of their
choice and of their confidence, but at the same time \vith
the earnestness which is authori/ed by the ju.-tiee of their
claim, and demanded by the nee 01 their constitu-

ents, that a liberal appropriation may be made for th*
tinguishment of the Indian title to all the remaining lands
within the limits of Georgia, and that commissioners may
be appointed, with instructions in . ent to eit'ect this

indispensable object, by a proper representation to the In-
dian tribes of tne just claims of Georgia — of the solemn
obligation of the United the improvement

in their own condition, which will result from their acqui-
escence.

The report was agreed to, ' /, in the Senate,

and probably in the House also, although the journal of the
latter body simply shows that it was passed without divi-
sion.

Daring the same session, the Governor approved joint
resolutions embodying a memorial and remonstrance of the
Legislature to the President of the United States, "relative
to the claims of the citizens of Georgia, under the treaty
made at the Indian Springs on the eighth of January,
eighteen hundred and twenty-one," drawn by Judge I'.er-
rien, and to which reference is made in the Governors
annual message of ISi'l.

Appended to the report already noticed as having been

CHAP. XL] LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 20l

approved by the Governor on 20th December, was a reso-
lution, " that a copy of the foregoing memorial and remon-
strance be forwarded to the Senators and Representatives
of the State of Georgia in the Congress of the United
States, and that they be requested to use their exertions for
the attainment of its object." The Governor accordingly
communicated the proceedings of the Legislature to the
Georgia delegation in Congress, and the same were imme-
diately thereafter made known to the government at "Wash-
ington. On the 17th of February, 1824, the Secretary of
War addressed the following note to Gov. Troup :

DEPARTMENT OF WAR, 17th February, 1824.
Sir: — I am directed by the President of the United States
to enclose for your information, copies of a communication
from the Cherokee delegation, now at this place, the answer
of this department to their communication, and the reply,
by which you will perceive that the nation is very adverse
to making any additional cessions of land to the United
States. I avail myself of the opportunity, to assure you
that it will afford the President much pleasure to adopt any
measure, in his power, which may tend to the fulfilment of
the convention with the State of Georgia, with the least
possible delay. With this view, he would be gratified to
receive the aid of your opinion on a subject so interesting
to the State over which you preside.
I have the honor to be

Your most obedient servant,

J. C. CALHOUN.

Accompanying this letter was one to the President, dated
January 19th, 182-i, signed by John Ross, Geo. Lowrey,
Major Ridge and Elijah Hicks, calling themselves "the
delegation of the Cherokee nation," and in which, amongst
other things, they say, " the Cherokee nation have now
come to a decisive and unalterable conclusion not to cede
away any more lands." In his answer to them, the Sec-
retary, after stating, " you must be sensible that it will be
impossible for you to remain, for any length of time, in
your present situation, as a distinct society, or nation, within
the limits of Georgia, or of any other State," &c., &c.,
added, " it remains for the Cherokee nation to decide for
26

OQ2 '-I"' OF GEORGE M. TROUP. (Ciur. IX.

itself, whether it will contribute most to their own welfare
and happiness lor them to retain their present title to their
lands, and remain where they are, exposed to the discontent
of Georgia and the pressure of her citizens, or to cede it to
the United States for Georgia, at a lair price to be paid,
either in other lands beyond the Mississippi, or in money to
be vested in lands to be purchased for them, as individuals,
within that or any other State. Should the nation decide
to relinquish its present title, and to adopt either of the al-
ternatives suggested, this government is disposed to act
generously with them," &c., Arc. In their reply, " the dele-
gation of the Cherokee nation," amongst other things, said,
" we beg leave to say to the President, through you, the
Cherokee nation are sensible that the United States are
bound, by its compact with Georgia, to extinguish, for the
use of that State, the Indian title to lamls within the limits
claimed by the State, as soon as it can be done 2><.(it\ally
and on reasonable conditions; and are also sensible that
this compact is no more than a conditional one, and, with-
out the free and voluntary consent of the Cherokee nation,
can never be complied with on the part of the United
States ; and having been duly authorized to make known
to the government of the United States the true sentiments
and disposition of the nation on this subject, the 1'nsitk-iit
has been informed that ' the Cherokees have come to a
decisive and unalterable conclusion never to cede way any
more lands. And as the extinguishment of Cherokee titlo
to lauds can never be obtained on conditions which will
accord with the import of the compact between the United
States and Georgia, it is desirable that the government
should adopt some other means to satisfy Georgia, than to
remain any longer under anticipation of being enabled to
accomplish the object of purchasing the Cherokee title."
The reply further suggested that the limits of Georgia, if
too small, might be increased by an addition from the
Florida*, and that the Cherokee nation might one day
"enter into a treaty with the United States, for admission
as citizens under the form of a Territorial or State govern-

CHAP. IX.] EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION. 203

ment ! " — although they admitted that " the situation of the
nation is not sufficiently improved in the arts of civilized
life to warrant any change at present."*

The Senators from Georgia, at that time, were John
Elliott and Nicholas Ware ; the Representatives were Joel
Abbott, George Gary, Thomas W. Cobb, Alfred Cuthbert,
John Forsyth, Edward F. Tattnall and Wiley Thompson ;
Col. Tattnall was sick and absent. In their letter to the
Governor, after referring to an interview which two of their
number had had with the President, and to the " corres-
pondence which had been held between the Secretary of
War and certain Cherokee Chiefs," they added, " we shall
not attempt to describe our surprise at the novel character
of this correspondence." In conclusion, they said, "should
the President address a message to Congress on the subject,
our course will be a plain one. If he should not, it does
not appear to us proper to do more than we have done, as a
correspondence has been opened between your Excellency
and the Secretary of War, at the request of that officer, no
doubt acting under the direction of the President."

The aid of Gov. Troupes opinion having beeii invoked
by the letter of the Secretary of War, he promptly ad-
dressed to that officer the following communication :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEO., )
Milledgeville, 28th February, 1824. )

Sir : — I have received this day your letter of the 17th
instant. Be pleased to present to the President my ac-
knowledgments for the attention which he has given to the
requisition of Georgia, and especially for the manifestation
of his sincere desire to adopt any measure in his power
which may tend to the fulfilment of the convention with
the State of Georgia, with the least possible delay.

In compliance with his wishes, I hasten to lay before him
my views and expectations, as connected with this fulfil-
ment. In your effort to open a negotiation with the Che-
rokee delegation, for extinguishment of claims, you are
met by a flat negative to two fair and liberal propositions :

* It was strongly suspected, at the time, that the Indians were influenced to this course of
conduct by designing white men. The history of their race shows conclusively that they can-
not endure too close proximity with a superior race. Gov. Troup lived to witness the peaceable
removal of the " Cherokee nation" beyond the Mississippi. — ED.

204 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CHAP, IX.

the first, to purchase for valuable consideration in money ;
the second, to accommodate them with equivalent territory
in a favorable situation beyond the Mississippi. Unreason-
able as the answer has been, my mind was fully prepared
for such an one. It had been made known to me, some time
before, that a council had been formed in the nation, for the
special purpose of coming to the resolution that the State
of Georgia should never acquire, for any consideration,
another acre of Cherokee land, either through the agency
of the United States or otherwise ; and, in conformity with
this resolution, all the measures were preconcerted to en-
able the Chiefs to present the; 'Before the President,
with a boldness bordering on eiiVontcry. and to receive his
first advance to negotiation with the emphatic no! a word
easily pronounced, but in this instance most unadvisedly:
not the spontaneous offspring of Indian feeling and senti-
ment, but a word put into his mouth by white men, who are
nourished and protected by the power of the United States ;
who have no common interest or sympathies with t
whom they instigate to use it ; and who, fixed upon tic
almost without mete or bounds, regard it as a goodly
heritage for their descendants, which : r can limit or
take away. 0

From the day of the signature of the article- of agree-
ment and cession, this word ceased to be available to the
Indians, for any permanent interest of their own. From
that day, the power of protestation which they have so re-
cently interposed, departed from them, and could never l>o
used but for a little delay, or for a bcl tin. On that

day the fee simple passed from the rightful proprietors to
Georgia, and Georgia, after a lapse, of twenty years, de-
mands nothing of the competent authority but tic- am
of the tenants in possession. The answer is not only no!
but never. And is this a fit and proper one to be given to
the demand of the people "1 .>, who have endured

BO long and so patiently ? who have parted with an empire
for a song? who have waited to -ec the t'nited States reim-
bursed all their expenses, and a net revenue flowing into
their coffers from the land which was their birthright? a
people who, having made a little reservation for them-
selves by compact, are now told, in answer to their just and
reasonable demand, that this compact is only conditional,
depending for its fulfilment on the will and pleasure of the
Indians? that the primitive aboriginal rights are such m»w
as they were before the discovery of the country, and that,
if Georgia wants land, the United States have enough in

CHAP. IX. 1 EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION. 205

Florida or elsewhere to give her? How is this insult and
mockery to be repelled, proceeding as it does from the pol-
luted lips of outcasts and vagabonds, who make the Chiefs
the instruments of reiterating it at Washington ? No, sir ;
this trick of vulgar cunning is only to be met by the firm-
ness and dignity which become the United States govern-
ment, which it has never failed to manifest on every occa-
sion calling for it, and which he, who is the special deposi-
tary of all these sacred qualities, has always displayed to so
much advantage to his high office and to the country. The
Indians must be made to understand that no talks will be
listened to but such as proceed from councils strictly Indian
in character and composition ; that the compact with Geor-
gia is a very different instrument from that which has been
represented to them ; that by it the word of the United
States is passed, and that nothing can redeem it but the
cession of all their lands within her limits ; that the time
has come when to postpone this redemption would be essen-
tially a breach of faith, of which the United States will
never permit herself to be suspected ; that, consulting the
comfort and happiness of the Indians alone, the United
States have omitted to press this measure upon them until
the very last hour ; that the United States have made sac-
rifices for Indian interest, and will expect some small ones
from the Indians in return; that, if they desire civilization,
nothing is more consistent with it than concentration ; and
that, without regard to the acquisitions of territory, the
United States have acted upon this principle from the begin-
ning, as a fundamental one in their system of improvement ;
that beyond the limits of Georgia, and within the territory
proper of the United States, there are lands enough for the
Cherokees and all their generations to come, of which the
United States possess the full and absolute dominion, where
they may sit down in quiet and peaceful enjoyment, and
where none can come to make them afraid ; that, on the
other hand, if tired of the arts of civilization, they will
betake themselves to their old pursuits, you have made a
fair and liberal offer of wilderness enough, abounding in
game, where the white man will not speedily come to trespass
or to annoy ; that, in presenting these honorable overtures,
you are actuated by a sincere regard to Indian intecest ;
that, in the rejection of both, you can perceive nothing but
an unfriendly spirit ; and that, finally, if they persevere in
this rejection, the consequences are inevitable : 1st, that you
must assist the Georgians in occupying the country which
is their own, and which is unjustly withheld from them ;

206 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

or, 2ndly, in resisting the occupation, to make war upon and
shed the blood of your brothers and friends.

Having said so much, it remains only to advert to the
other topics contained in your letter to the Indian delegation,
and for these a word will suffice :

1st. The reservation of part of our territory for the
settlement of the Indians ;

2nd. Their incorporation into and amalgamation with
our society.

As to the first, the answer is, the articles of agree-
ment having made no provision for such reservation,
none can be made without the consent of Georgia, and that
Georgia will never give her assent to any without an equiv-
alent, (if she would, with one,) is absolutely certain. With
regard to the second proposition, the answer is, that if such
a scheme were practicable at all, the utmost of the rights
and privileges which public opinion would concede to In-
dians, would fix them in a midale station between the negro
and the white man, and that as long as they survived this
degradation without the possibility of attaining the eleva-
tion of the latter, they would gradually sink to the condi-
tion of the former; a point <>!' (k-ircucracy below which
they could not fall. It is likely that before they reached
this, their wretchedness would find relief in broken hearts.
Most assuredly, nothing will contribute so essentially to that
scanty share of human nappiness which is left them, as their
concentration and insulation, where, having enough for the
wants of agriculture, they will, in their seclusion, afford no
pretexts for the intrusions or annoyances of the white man.

Thus frankly, in compliance with the request of the Presi-
dent, I submit to him my general views on this interesting
subject. Thus frankly I will deem it my duty to submit thr~
to the Legislature of the State. They are such, no doubt,
as have already suggested themselves. They seem to me
the only ones which the attitude assumed by the Indians
will sutler us to entertain. I am sorry I cannot support
them by matter-of-fact information of official character.
To me this is impossible. I can only sav, generally, that
among men best informed on Cherokee affairs, the minds of
a majority of the nation arc well prepared to receive your
proposition for removal.

In conclusion, I must state not only my hope, but my
conviction, that the President will perceive, in every move-
ment on our part in relation to this business, a sincere
desire to harmoni/.e with the Union; to maintain peace and
tranquillity with the Indians, until longer forbearance will

CHAP. IX.] PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. 207

cease to be a virtue ; in fact, to lend ourselves, as we have
always done, heart and hand, to the support of every wise
and virtuous administration of the General Government.
But the President will, at the same time, consider that
Georgia has a deep stake in the prompt decision of the
present question. Of all the old States, Georgia is the only
one whose political organization is incomplete ; her civil
polity is deranged ; her military force cannot be reduced
to systematic order and subordination ; the extent of her
actual resources cannot be counted ; the great work of in-
ternal improvement is suspended, and all because Georgia
is not in the possession of her vacant territory ; a territory
waste and profitless to the Indians ; profitless to the United
States ; but, in the possession of the rightful owner, a source
of strength, of revenue, and of union.

"Whilst you present to the President my respects, be
pleased to accept for yourself the offer of my high consid-
eration for the part you have taken in this transaction.

G. M. TKOUP.
Hon. John C. Calhoun,
Secretary of War,

Washington City.

. [1824.] On the 30th of March, the President sent a
message to Congress, transmitting " certain papers enu-
merated in a report from the Secretary of War, relating to
the compact between the United States and the State of
Georgia, entered into in 1802, whereby the latter ceded to
the former a portion of the territory then within its limits,
on the conditions therein specified." Giving a synopsis of
the fourth article of the compact, the message stated that
the papers would show the measures adopted by the Exec-
utive of the United States in fulfilment of its conditions,
from its date, and particularly the negotiations and treaties
with the Indian tribes for extinguishing their title, and the
sums paid for the lands acquired ; also the posture of affairs
with the Cherokees, " and the inability of the Executive
to make any further movement with this tribe, without the
special sanction of Congress." The President further stated
his full conviction that the best efforts of his predecessors
had been exerted " to execute this compact in all its parts,
of which, indeed," said he, " the sums paid and the lands

208 LEFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. IX.

acquired during their respective terms, in fulfilment of its
several stipulations, are a full proof." He further stated
that he had been animated by the same zeal since he camo
into office, enumerated some of the means that had been
lately used to induce the Cherokees to remove beyond the
Mississippi, their refusal to cede any more land, &c.
"Whilst his impression was strong " that it would promote
essentially the security and happiness of the tribes within
our limits, if they could be prevailed on to retire west and
north of our States and Territories,' on lands to be procured
for them by the United States," he said, "I have no hesi-
tation, however, to declare it as my opinion that the Indian
title was not affected in the slightest circumstance by the
compact with Georgia, and that thorn is no obligation on
the United States to remove the Indians by force. The ex-
press stipulation of the compact, that their title should be
extinguished at the expense of the United States, when it
may be done peaceably and on reasonable conditions, is a
full proof that it was the clear and distinct understanding
of both parties to it, that the Indians had a right to the
territory, in the disposal of which they were to be regarded
as free agents. An attempt to remove them by force,
would, in my opinion, be unjust. In the future measures
to be adopted in regard to the Indians within our limits,
and, in consequence, within the limits of any State, the
United States have duties to perform and a character to
sustain, to which they ought not to be indifferent. At an
early period, their improvement in the arts of civilized life
was made an object with the Government, and that has
since been persevered in. This policy was dictated by
motives of humanity to the aborigines of the country, and
under a firm conviction that the right to adopt and pursue
it was equally applicable to all the tribes within our limits."
He submitted the matter to Congress, to " decide whether
any measure on the part of Congress is called for at the
present time, and what such measure shall be, if any is
deemed expedient."
Ihe report ot the Secretary of War reviewed the state

CHAP. IX.] STATISTICAL EXTRACTS. 209

of affairs with the Creeks and Cherokees at the date of the
convention with Georgia, in 1802, and the subsequent
measures taken to obtain cessions of land, and the supposed
grounds of failure in many instances. The following sta-
tistical extracts will be interesting :

" At the date of the convention, the Indians owned, with-
in the limits of Georgia, 25,980,000 acres, of which 19,578,-
890 acres belonged to the Creeks, and 7,152,110 acres to
the Cherokees, which tribes owned, besides, a considerable
extent of country in the .States of Alabama, Tennessee and
North Carolina. Between both of those tribes and the
United States there were subsisting treaties, at the time of
the date of the convention, which, among other things,
fixed the limits of their respective territories, and guaran-
tied to them the lands within those limits. [See 1st vol.
U. S. Laws — Treaty with the Creek Indians, p. 361, art. 5.
Treaty with the Creeks, ratified 7th August, 1790. Same,
page 327, Treaty of Holston, 1791, art. 7. Same, page 332,
Treaty of 1798, near Tellico, articles 1 and 2.] In fulfilment
of the stipulation of the 4th article with Georgia, there have
been held seven treaties with the Creeks and Cherokees ; of
which five were with the former ; two of which were previous
to the late war with Great Britain, in 1812, and three since.
By the two preceding the declaration of war,there were ced-
ed to Georgia 2,713,890 acres, and, by the three latter, 12,034,
800 acres, making together 14,748,690 acres. With the Che-
rokees there have been held two treaties, both since the late
war, by which Georgia has acquired 995,310 acres, which,
added to that acquired by treaties with the Creek nation,
make 15,744,000 acres that have been ceded to Georgia
since the date of the convention, in fulfilment of its stipu-
lations. In acquiring these cessions for the State of Georgia,
the United States have expended $958,954.90 ; to which
should be added the value of 995,310 acres, which were
given in exchange with the Cherokees, on the Arkansas
river, for a similar quantity ceded by the Cherokees to
Georgia, by the treaties of 1817 and 1819, which lands,
estimated at the minimum price of the public lands, would
make $1,244,137.50. If to these we add the sum of $1,250,--
000 paid to Georgia under the convention, and $4,282,151,-
12 1-2 paid to the Yazoo claimants, it will be found that
the United States have already paid, under the convention,
$7,735,243,52 1-2, which does not include any portion of
the expense of the Creek war, by which upwards af seven
millions of acres were acquired to the State of Georgia."
27

210 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. [Crur. IX.

The following is the conclusion of the report:
"In performing the high duties of humanity to the
wretched aborigines of our country, it has never been con-
ceived that the stipulation of the convention with (4 corgi a,
to extinguish the Indian title within her limits, was contra-
vened. The government has been actuated solely by a
desire to perform the obligation which considerations of
humanity imposed on iis, in relation to these unfortunate
people. Their situation, at best, is wretched, and can only
be rendered tolerable by the perpetual exercise of that
humanity, kindness and justice which has ever character-
ized the acts of the government towards them."

The foregoing extracts and synopsis may suffice to ex-
plain some portions of the previous letter of Gov. Troup to
the Secretary of War, and as an introduction to that which
follows :

Kvi:« ruvi; I )I:PAI: T.MI.NT. <ia., \

-M. /

M ''/,. i'!//,

Sir: — I cannot refrain from the expres>i«'ii of my sur-
prise at the late communication which the President lias
thought proper to make to Congress, on the subject of the
claims of Georgia against the United States, under the
articles of agreement and cession of the year 1802.

Assuming, as it does, principles which I controvert ; as-
serting facts which I cannot permit myself to admit, it
becomes my duty in the recess of the Legislature of Geor-
gia. to enter my protest in behalf of the people of this
State against them, in the same manner a- I believe they
would themselves do, if they had an opportunity of speak-
ing by their immediate Representatives. The avowal of
these principles, the assertion of these facts, involves the
destruction of the compact between Georgia and the I'nited
States, makes it null and void, and leaves no alternative to
Georgia but acquiescence or resist an <

If nullified by the act of one party, the other party is
absolved, and both are free to declare the resumption of
their original rights. Will this cancelmcnt make for
Georgia or the United States? Give us back our lands;
we give you back your money; and, without making war
upon the States of Alabama and Mi-^si-r-ippi, we will run
the risk of concluding with them the best bargain we can.
It would be a better bargain for Georgia, than that tin- ex-
ecution of which we urge upon the General Government.
But, before this, we will have to ask a little money of you.

CHAP. IX.] LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 211

Refund to Georgia the five millions which you gratuitously
presented to certain persons, the price of the pacification of
New England, and which you paid from the proceeds of
our lands. And is it come to this ? Is it discovered at last
that Georgia has no claims either upon the United States,
or upon the Indians, under the compact of 1802 ? That it
is all a dream, a vision, a phantasma, with which the de-
luded people of Georgia have been plaguing themselves for
twenty years ! And I pray you of what other construction
is the Message to Congress susceptible ? Are not the In-
dians there treated as allodial proprietors? As an inde-
pendent people, having plenum et absolution dominium,
and seized per my etper tout ; and that therefore Georgia
can take nothing but at their will and pleasure ?

The United States have promised, in the compact, to ex-
tinguish for Georgia the Indian claims to the lands reserved,
as soon as it could be done peaceably and on reasonable
terms. The President, in his message, construes this into a
stipulation, to do in this respect whatever it might please
the Indians at any time to do. Of what value was such a
stipulation to Georgia ? She could take nothing by it
which she had not without it. Georgia might, according
to the President, entreat the United States to ask the favor
of the Indians, to sell peaceably and on reasonable terms,
and if the Indians pleased to answer No ! Never ! the just
claims of Georgia were satisfied now and forever. Was
ever such a stipulation heard of before, either in compact
between government and government, or in contract be-
tween man and man ? Georgia has not required the United
States to invade Indian rights, to satisfy her claims. She
has only asked of the United States to do for her what she
has done for herself; acquire Indian lands whensoever and
wheresoever she wanted them ; employ the same means for
us in the fulfilment of Treaty obligation, which you habit-
ually employ for yourselves without any such obligation.
In short, do as you did in the case of the Florida Treaty
and others. When the President says he and his predeces-
sors have invariably done so, may he not have forgotten
the Treaty of 1814, when a commanding word to General
Jackson would have procured for us the Creek lands with-
in our limits, on at least as good terms as it did procure
other lands for the United States beyond them? I appeal
to the records of your office, sir, as the voucher of the fact,
that when that treaty was negotiated, the obligations of the
United States were no more remembered than if the com'
pact of 1802 had never existed. Make an estimate from

212 I<IFE OF GEORGE M. TROrr. [CHAP. IX.

the same records of what you, since 1802, have acquired
for yourselves, and compare it with what, under the pledges
of the agreement, you have acquired for Georgia. The
difference will be about as one hundred to an unit. And
yet it is asserted that the United States have sought every
opportunity to fulfil the stipulations »i the compact. And
may I ask 'the favor of you, sir, to put your linger on that
particular part of them, where it is shown that a proposi-
tion to extinguish claims in your behalf, has been answered
by the potent monosyllable No! and that yon have been
content? The history of the Plymouth Colony and of
William Penn might have been illustrated by the patii
with which such an answer had been borne. The I'nited
States have never pretended, until now, that it would be
borne at all. Now we turn over a new leaf — the principle,
of the old treaty of Philadelphia, the </>"'</ />/•<> i/»f> principle,
must govern all treaties and satisfy all consciences. Would
it had been so from the beginning. I confess to you. sir,
I do not like this kind of half hoiu-ty. If the principle of
Penn's Treaty was right, that of every other which followed,
was wrong, and lie who has done wrong is in point of c<>n-
science bound to get back to right. To undo promptly and
directly what you have unrighteously done, is a dictate, I
think, of the Platonic and Socratic school; undoubtedly
that of a much higher, the Christian.

Begin, therefore, with Georgia, if you please, to unsettle
all that has been settled ; but let not Georgia be the tirst-
and the last. Say, in a spirit of repentance, that what wo
have taken unlawfully we will restore; that the edict of
Pope Alexander, of pious memory, shall pa-s for nothing ;
the proclamations and charters of divers Kings of England
for nothing; priority of occupation, priority of civilization,
priority of Christianity, all nothing ; Spanish precedent,
which, by the law of force, took everything and gave in
return stripes and blows, of course for nothing ; and, be-
seeching the forgiveness of sins, return to the principles
and practices of William Penn.

But then is not atonement still due to the Aboriginal '.
How (if you take the rule of the message, for your guide,)
can you repair the wrongs of all kinds dVme him since the
landing on the rock of Plymouth ( Your whole substance
would not compensate them by one half, lint, sir, not
even the Puritans and the Quakers will consent to give up
now, and, if things are to remain as we find them, why is
Georgia to be selected as a propitiary offering? It is a fact
unquestionable, that for fifteen or twenty years past, well

CHAF. IX.] LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 213

knowing your obligations to Georgia under the compact,
you have encouraged the Cherokees to make progress in
ail the arts of civilized life of first necessity and comfort,
within the acknowledged limits of Georgia. They have
been rearing flocks and herds, constructing comfortable
buildings, making agricultural improvements of various
kinds, organizing a government adapted to the grade of
civilization they had reached, with schools and religious
establishments appurtenant, &c., &c. And yon encour-
aged the beginning and progress of these things, with certain
foreknowledge they could by no possibility endure. They
have been taught by the United States to value them as
they ought ; if they had not been taught altogether at our
expense, and without our consent, we would have had no
objection. But this has been the sole cause of the unwil-
lingness of any part of the Cherokees to move. The United
States, therefore, create the cause — the Cherokees avail
themselves of it, to turn their backs upon your propositions
for negotiation, and you have no means of escaping the
difficulty, but by asserting for the Cherokees rights which
they have not, and denying rights to Georgia which you
ought to know she has.

I do most earnestly wish, sir, that this subject could be
disposed of forever. It never recurs but the heart sickens
at the recollection of the crimes connected with it. And
are the wrongs of Georgia never to have an end ? When
the proclamation of '0-i* gave to Georgia the country be-
tween the Atlantic and the Mississippi, it was thought we
took something by it. It was not believed it gave us what
we and all mankind had before, the right to ask the Indians
to sell lands in fair market. We not only thought differ-
ently, but acted differently. We knew that the whole
country was ours in virtue of the very best kind of title
then recognized by civilized Europe, and, paying proper
respect to the occupation of Indians, we exercised all the
rights of sovereigns and masters, until Mr. Adams con-
ceived a notion that part of the country belonged to him.
So he said to us : That part which you occupy you may
keep — the rest I will take to myself. Accordingly he sat
down with his army on the banks of the Mississippi, and
erected a Territorial Government ; Georgia was in no con-
dition to resist. She began therefore to supplicate ; from
supplication she passed, by an effort of great courage, to

* The royal commission to GOT. Wright, in 1764, is probably hero meant, and not the
proclamation of 1763. — ED.

014 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

remonstrance, and thence suddenly into the articles of
agreement and cession, where we still find her. But, in the
:i time, what had happened? I blush to think of it.
The evils of that sore and nameless iniquity are felt at this
hour in all the ramifications of society. The instigators and
plotters of it you paid handsomely. How, 1 will not say ;
the seciet is yet to be revealed. The purity of the 1'ivsi-
dent has no doubt kept him a stranger to it, t«> this moment.
But, after all, having proceeded in a course of piece-meal
execution of the Articles for twenty year-, why do you Mop
short, and say to us — all this has been gratuitous; we
owed you nothing, and we have pai<l you a great deal ;
your restlessness and inquietude and importunities; our
hara<sments and perplexities and expenses, have all been
the results of false conceits and hallucinations, and they
must have an end. Accordingly, it is recommended to end
them, by proposing a removal of the Indians, with their
consent; not because "the United States arc bound by the
compact to take this, or any other meaMire, to place Georgia
at once in possession of her territory ; but because of con-
siderations confined exclusively to the ,we! fare and pros-
perity of the Indians. I am, notwithstanding, gratified
that the President and myself, differing unfortunately on
other points, should concur in this as a measure indispen-
sable to the improvement of the condition of the Indians,
and necessary to secure their permanent peace ami happi-
ness. But why this could not have been accomplished-
without the intervention of Congress, I cannot easily con-
ceive. A treaty for the exchange of lands would seem to
me to be as obviously within the compass of Executive
powers, as a treaty for they"//v//^.sr of lands, or any other
object. If the instrument of persuasion is the only admis-
sible one for the attainment of the end, I do not know how
Congress can, by any act of theirs, make that which is
already in the hands of the President, more efficient for
your own purposes. Delay is certain to follow,"and, an
as we are to know our fate, it is delay we deprecate.

The first detachment from the body of the (Jherokees,
moved across the Mississippi, on the naked promise or siig-

festionof Mr. Jefferson ; a majority of the Cherokees would
o so now.

One more instance, if you please, of the unkind and un-
friendly treatment recently received at the hands of the
United States. The President, in the course of the present
session, has considered it his duty to recommend to Con-
gress to make provision for the claims of the Massachusetts

CSAP. IS.] LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 215

militia ; claims which Congress had hitherto refused to
recognize, because, with very few exceptions, that militia,
(in the late war with England, flagrante fiello,} were arrayed
against the constituted authorities of the Federal Govern-
ment.

Georgia, too, has militia claims against the Federal Gov-
ernment, of some 20 or 30 years standing, which have been
constantly urged upon the justice of Congress. I remem-
ber to have introduced them before the Senate, and, so
unexceptionable were they deemed by that enlightened
body, their validity was sanctioned without a dissenting
voice. They would have passed the House of Representa-
tives, also ; but, on their way, they fell into bad company ;
they fell in with the Massachusetts claims, then most
obnoxious, and shared their fate. They were claims for
services faithfully and patriotically rendered in defence of
our frontier against the Indians. They amount to $120,000,
at least. When we press the United States for payment,
the answer is : These claims, and all other claims of
Georgia, were merged in the articles of agreement and ces-
sion ; and, when we go to look for the article in which this
supposed mersion is to be found, we will as readily find it
in that very important one which gives to us the right to ask
the lands of the Indians, and to the Indians the correspond-
ing right to answer no ! as in any other.

I will trouble you no further on this unpleasant subject.
The causes which lead me to the expositions and references
contained in this paper, are not of my seeking. I would
willingly have avoided them. The absolute denial of our
rights, as we understand, and have long understood them,
at the moment when we believed they would have been
most respected, is a subject of mortification and regret.
So far as I participate these feelings with my countrymen,
I assure you, sir, they are not the offspring of this day or
this hour. Smarting under a sense of our wrongs, within
the first hour I set my foot on the floor of the Senate
Chamber, I had occasion to expose the wrongs of Georgia,
and to apprise the Senators that I would never vote for an
Indian treaty, until the claims of Georgia were satisfied.
My convictions and my feelings remain the same to this
day. Nevertheless, my sentiments towards the President
are unchanged. Who can be exempt from error, amidst the
cares and troubles of such an office ? What heart so cal-
lous as not to pardon injuries inflicted by it? We forgive,
but our rights are still our rights. At what time and in

216 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CiiAr. IX.

•what manner they will be asserted, must depend upon the
representatives of the people.

Kespectfully, G. M. TRon*.

The Hon. J. 0. Calhoun,

Secretary of War, Washington.

The Georgia delegation * in Congress were not inatten-
tive to passing events. On the 10th of March, they
addressed a letter to the President, from which we extract
the following :
To the President of the United States :

The Secretary of War has addressed to the gentlemen
composing the Georgia delegation to Congress, copies of
the extraordinary documents furnished liy persons who are
called the Cherokee delegation. As this is believed to lie
the first instance in which a diplomatic correspondence lias
been held with Indian Chiefs, and in which they have bci-n
addressed by the Department of War, in the same 1
with those used to the representation of a $/<>'• , it 'becomes
a subject of inquiry in what light the Cherokecs are at pre-
sent viewed by the government of the United States. If,
as an independent nation, to be treated with all the forms
of diplomatic respect, the negotiation with them should bo
transferred to the Department of State, and will, no doubt,
be preceded by a proper examination into their authority to
speak for the Cherokee tribe, on matters affecting its pros-
perity and existence. If to be viewed as otlx r Indians / as
persons suffered to reside within the territorial limits of the
united States, and subject to every restraint which the
policy and power of the general government require to be
imposed on them, for the interest of the Union, the interest of
a particular State, and their own preservation, it is necessary
that these misguided men should be taught by the Gen-
eral Government that there is no alternative between their
removal beyond the limits of the State of Georgia and their
extinction. The government of the United States will de-
ceive them grossly, if they are led to believe that, at this
day, their consent is necessary to the fulfilment of 'its obli-
gations to the State of Georgia. Their will must yield to
the paramount duties of the general government, to itself
and to each member of the confederacy. The Cherokees
allege^ (if, indeed, the representation is made with their
authority,) that they are resolved neither to leave nor sell

* Col. Tattnall was absent from Indisposition.

CHAP. IX.] REMONSTRANCE OF GEORGIA DELEGATION. 217

the lands on which they reside — lands which belong to the
State of Georgia; over which Georgia did claim sover-
eignty until the adoption of the federal Constitution, and
over which she will exercise her powers whenever any ad-
ministration of the general government resolves to fix per-
manently upon them any persons who are not, and whom
she will never suffer to become her citizens. The doctrines
of the general government, sanctioned by the highest tri-
bunals, vindicate the claim of Georgia to the ownership of
the soil. The Indians are simply occupants — tenants at will
— incapable of transferring even their naked possession,
except through the instrumentality of the United States, to
the State of Georgia. Aware of the tenure by which their
temporary possession is held, their head men have sought, in
many instances, to secure from the United States a title to
the soil itself. Stipulations have been entered into by the
general government, equally contradictory to the rights of
Georgia and the obligations of the United States ; stipu-
lations, however, which show that the general government
have the acknowledged right to transfer the possession of
the Cherokee lands to the State of Georgia. The power
which takes from the Cherokee tribe a portion of soil to
confer it on a Cherokee chief, under a different tenure, can
rightfully take from the Cherokee nation for the benefit of
a State.

It is with deep concern that the necessity is felt, of press-
ing upon the general government the considerations that
are due to its character for good faith in its contracts with
a member of the Union. Since the year 1802, implicit re-
liance has been placed in the general government ; and the
just expectation has been indulged, that, in the execution
of its high duties, the executive administration would care-
fully and steadily pursue the object for which the faith of
the Union was pledged — the peaceable extinguishment, on
reasonable terms, of the Indian title to all the lands Avithin
the territorial limits of Georgia. In 1817, the public decla-
ration of the President to Congress, that an arrangement
had been made, by which, in exchange for lands beyond
the Mississippi, a great part, if not the whole, of the lands
possessed by the Cherokee tribe eastward of that river, in
the States of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, and
in the Territory of Alabama, would be soon acquired, gave
a just expectation that the national pledge given to Georgia
would be redeemed. In the eight years which have succeed-
ed, these anticipations of the President have been realized
28

218 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

everywhere but in Georgia. The successive purchases
made, since that period, have crowded the Cherokees out of
Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama, almost altogether
into Georgia; and the terms upon which they have been
made, have created all the difficulties now encountered
in the peaceful a >, on /•< a . of the land

upon which the Cherokees are now permitted to remain;
difficulties which arc every hour increasing, from the policy
pursued by the general government.

If the Cherokees are unwilling to remove, the <•
that unwillingness arc to be traced to the United State:-.
If a peaceable purchase cannot be made in the ordinary
mode, nothing remains t» be done but to order their re-
moval to a designated territory beyond the limit
Georgia, and give an ample equivalent for the territory left
by them, and an ample support to the tcrritor . ••! to

them. ATI order of this kind will not be disregarded by
the Cherokee tribe, whose interest will be esseniially pro-
moted by a compliance with it, (whatever may be the
effect of it upon a few <•'' :<!er

their own interest as separate and distinct from that of their
brethren,) as it must be obvious that a tranquil and undis-
turbed possession of a permanent .property can alone enable
them to acquire the arts of civilixed life, and to secure to
them its benefits.

Our duty is performed by r&monstrating against the
policy heretofore pursued, by which the interests of Geo
have been disregarded, to the accomplishment of other
objects of general interest ; and a compliance with a solemn
promise postponed, for the acquisition of territory for the
general government; and by insisting, as we do most
earnestly, upon an immediate fulfilment of the obligations of
the articles of cession, concluded in 1 ^<>-2, as the only means
by which justice can be done to the State we represent, and
the character of the general government be vindicated.

JOEL ABBOTT,

•. CAKY,
Tir. W. COBB,
A. CUTHBEBT,

JOHN FOK-YTII,
"WiLKV TIIOY

Washington, 10th March, 18^ Jr.

-Representatives.

CHAP. IX.] REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE. '219

Nothing special seems to have been done in regard to
this matter, during the then session of Congress, except to
refer it in the House to a select committee, of which Mr.
Forsyth was chairman.'- On the 14th of April he made a
long report, which, on his motion, was referred to a Com-
mittee of the Whole on the state of the Union. In regard
to the right of Georgia to sovereignty and soil, the report
said :

" The State of Georgia claimed, on the establishment of
the Independence of the United States, all the lands now
forming the States of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi,
with the exceptions of those portions of the two last States
which formed a part of Florida and Louisiana. This claim
was founded upon the charter of incorporation of the pro-
prietary government ; on the royal commissions issued to
the Governors of the State, after the proprietors had sur-
rendered their charter to the Crown. The claim was
disputed by South Carolina, and by the United States.
The conflicting claims of South Carolina and Georgia were
adjusted by a convention between them, in 1787. The
United States recognized, by the treaty with Spain of the
year 1795, the claim of Georgia, [Journals of old Congress,
vol. 13, pp. 49, 50,] having refused, in 1788, a cession from
the State, on account of the remoteness of the lands, and of
the terms proposed by Georgia. In April, 1798, Congress
passed a law [Laws of United States, vol. 3, p. 39,] in rela-
tion to the western part of the territory of Georgia, with a
reservation of the rights of Georgia to the jurisdiction and
soil. In May, 1800, another act [Laws of United States,
vol. 3, p. 380,] was passed, containing a similar reservation.
In December, 1800, Georgia remonstrated against these
acts, as a violation of her right of sovereignty and soil.
[Reports of Con. : 2d sess., 6th Cong., p. 87.] The compact
of 1802 put an end to the disputes which were likely to
arise out of this collision between the General and State
governments. By this compact, the United States obtained
a surrender of the right of Georgia to the sovereignty and
soil of two States, containing, by estimate, eighty-six mil-
lions of acres of land, for the paltry consideration of the
payment of $1,250,000, out of the proceeds of that land,
and of a promise to extinguish the Indian title to the land
within the territorial limits not ceded to the United States,
as soon as it could be done peaceably and on reasonable

* Tho committee consisted of Messrs. John Forsyth, Alfred Cuthbert and Thomas W.
Cobb, of Georgia, Georgo McDuffie, of South Carolina, and John Long, of North Carolina. — ED.

220 ' LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

f< I- nis. The execution of this compact produced no change
in the right of Georgia to the Sovereignty and soil of 1 1n-
land within her newly defined boundaries. Its only effect
was to throw upon the United States the expense which
might attend the extinguishment of the Indian title, an
expense which, but for this compact, must have been borne
by the State. Nor did this compact, in the slightest cir-
cumstance, add to the title of the Indians; it recognixed
the claim only they, as Indians, were allowed to have,
according to the usages of the States, and the liberal policy
adopted towards them by the general government."

After an able review of the whole subject, the report
said :

" The committee do not, however, believe that any serious
diiliculty now exists to the peaceable extinguishment of the
Indian title, on reasonable terms. An order from the gen-
eral government, for their removal, would be cheerfully
acquiesced in, if accompanied by the necessary preparation
for the prosperity of the tribe, and a just equivalent for the
temporary inconveniences they might suffer."

The report concluded with recommending the following
resolutions :

" Resolved, That the United States arc bound, by their
obligations to Georgia, to take, immediately, the necessary
measures for the removal of the Cherokee Indians beyond
the limits of that State.

" Resolved, That such an arrangement with the State of
Georgia should be made, as may lead to the final adjust-
ment of the claims of that State, under the compact of 181 >_!,
with the least possible inconvenience to the Cherokee and
Creek Indians within the boundary of the State.

"Resolved, That the sum of dollars should be

appropriated for the purposes expressed in the above
resolutions."

[1824] In the U. S. Senate, on the IGth of April, a
communication was received, in the form of a memorial,
from John Ross, George Lowrey, lUajor Uidge and Elijah
Hicks, "delegates from the Cherokee nation of Indians,"
animadverting on the letter of Governor Troup to the
Secretary of War, of 28th February, and the letter of the
Georgia delegation to the President, and in which, speaking
of the emigration of the Cherokees, they said, " such an
event will never take place"

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 221

The memorial having been read,

Mr. Elliott, of Georgia, said he objected to a contest of
this character, in this place, with the Cherokee delegation.
He knew them only as other Indians, and to be treated with
as such. If they claim to represent an independent nation,
why do they address this body directly, and not through
the Department of State ? But, if they seek to be heard in
their real character, they should present their claims to our
consideration through the War Department. The course
now attempted is novel and inadmissible, and he hoped the
communication would lie on the table. It was then ordered
to lie on the table.

As no treaty was made with the Cherokees during the
administration of Governor Troup, and their removal to
the West belongs to that part of the history of Georgia
subsequent to his retirement from the public councils, we
must here dismiss this subject, recurring to it only so far
as it becomes connected with his messages to the Legisla-
ture or his official correspondence. In his first annual
message, the subject is presented prominently, and the
views therein expressed have, in principle, relation as well
to the Creek as the Cherokee Indians.

The running and marking the dividing line between
Georgia and Alabama having been brought to the notice
of the Legislature, a resolution was adopted, at the session
of 1823, for continuing the exertions which had already
been commenced for that purpose ; and early in the year
182-1 Governor Troup opened a correspondence with the
Governor of Alabama and the President of the United
States, on this subject, the result of which will be found in
his annual message.

The General Assembly met on the 1st of November ; on
the second, the Governor sent in his first annual message, as
follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA,

Milledgeville, 2d Nov., 1824.
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate

and House of Representatives :

It is a matter of gratulation, that since the last assembly

002 LIFti OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. IX.

of the Legislature, the United States have continued in a
state of peace with all nations, courting amicahle relations
with all by a just and impartial system, and exhibiting at
the same time the armor necessary to command respect to
our rights everywhere. Connected with such happy aus-
pices, the present year has been made memorable by the
landing of General, late* Marquis, La Fayette, <»n the soil
where the first years of his distinguished life were devoted,
by purse and sword, to defend all that we held sac-red of
political and civil rights. It was due to him to be invited
by the chief magistrate, in the name of the people of the
State, to our bosoms, and it was accordingly done.

When it is said the United States have so far caused
their rights to be respected by all nations, it is by no
means to be understood that such a state of things can be
lasting. The wisest policy — the most pacific dispositions,
will not assure us against a change. At this moment, an
organized confederacy of despots in Kurope, more formida-
ble than ever known before, shake their bloody sceptre at
all nations who contend for freedom and the rights of man.
The United States and Great Britain present the only
barrier to the destruction of liberty, else the spirit which
animates the Greek, in his glorious struggle with the Turk,
would have been extinguished, South America subdued,
and our firesides assailed. So long as the United States
and England are leagued against them, these enemies of
the human race dare not commit themselves to the
Meanwhile, the progress of mind, always seeking liberal
principles, will make the cause of right and justice stronger
every day, until this array of tyrants shall be broken and
scattered, and liberation from thraldom be complete and
universal.

The strongest operative principle of the American insti-
tutions in diffusing blessings of all kinds among savage and
civilized men, is the principle of universal toleration, re-
ligious and political. This principle, having its foundation
in the American constitutions of government, is dispensing
its beneficent influences everywhere, to the uttermost ends
of the earth ; and, in perfect accord and harmony with the
precepts of the gospel, it will make that gospel more and
more active in the reclamation of human nature in regions

* This i.s ron.-istiMit with tin; u^iial accuracy "f <>"V. Trouj). It may n"! I"' :;<'ii'T:illy
remembered, that when, at the period uf her Involution. Ki.->. t i;e|,u]>liean

government, La Fayotto, in 1790, took the onth of fidelity to the constitution, ]\-.<\ in
months before he took the oath, renounced liU hereditary title, which ho never afterwards
resumed. — ED.

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 223

where the rose never blossomed, and where the savage
continues to hunt his fellow-man as the beast of the forest.
In fact, for the spreading of the benign doctrines of Christi-
anity among the idolater and heathen, there is reason
to believe that an All-foreseeing Providence has made this
great, and, I hope, unambitious nation, its chief instru-
ment. If the millennium is to come, American institu-
tions, under the same direction, will bring it to pass.
Then, for the first time, comes the epoch of universal peace.
Before that, it is our business and our duty to be prepared
for war. ~No sovereign State, whatever be its relation to
others, should suffer itself to be wronged or insulted. The
weaker, the more strenuously it should insist on its rights,
the more vigorously defend them. The .Romans never
counted the number of their enemies, and it is better that
all perish than that one tittle of honor be surrendered.
Maintaining, however, with reason, justice and firmness,
those rights which belong to us, we ought to make it our
care scrupulously to respect the rights of others.

I call your attention, therefore, to the state of our Militia
— under a good system, a bulwark — under a bad one, a
rope of sand. It is recommended to you, most earnestly,
to revise your system. Pains have been taken to give it
all the efficacy of which it was susceptible. Wanting an
energetic principle to enforce itself, it would not have been
made available for even a temporary organization, but for
the virtue and patriotism of our citizens. These virtues, in
some degree, supplied the defects of the law, and will en-
able me to make a tolerably satisfactory estimate of the
military power of the State. I cannot, in a message like
this, enter into detail ; but you have accompanying docu-
ments which will suffice to show partially the defects and the
remedies. But suffer me to entreat, that in this revision
you look to a military system purely abstracted from, and
having no connection with, the civil polity. The citizen is
a different being from, the soldier. Carry the civil law in-
to the camp, the latter becomes a fungus upon the State.
Instead of perfect subordination and discipline, which re-
gard his own preservation and the safety of the country,
he looks constantly to his civil privileges — makes the law
for his own government, and decides when he shall look
the enemy in the face — when betake himself to flight. In
no country can such a military system be maintained as a
reliance for defence. Even under the laws of the United
States, when the militia take the field, they are subjected

224 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

to martial law. It is the novelty of this restraint which in
war gives rise to so many difficulties, and causes so many
embarrassments before the militia are qualified for active
service ; and how easy for the citizen to learn that, consult-
ing his own safety anil the safety of the State, the moment
he takes his position in the ranks, hisfirstduty and his first
virtue is obedience, ami how habitually easy in war will be
the practice thus acquired in time <>f peace. It will be
vain to attempt to discipline the militia in times of peace,
unless the strictest subordination and obedience can be com-
manded among all ranks, from the general to the private.
The basis of any good system is organization. Without
permanent organization, it need n..t. he attempted to uni-
form, equip, arm <>r discipline. The organization of the
company is the basis of the whole, and it is ascertained by
sufficient experience that it is extremely difficult to main-
tain a complete organization of companies tinder the present
system. The snpineness and indifference of the people who
elect the company officers in a period of peace, their care-
lessness in attending elections at all, and consequently the
very improper selections which are frequently made, have
had atendeucy to impair the value of the commission, which
ought always to be held honorable. The uncertainly of
preferment, too, which ought to be the sure reward of merit,
deters young men of good character from seeking commis-
sions of the lower grade. In iine, the numerous resigna-
tions constantly occurring, and the disinclination frequently
manifested for this service, show the defect to be radical,
and to require an effectual remedy. A uniform prescribed
for the militia, cheap and equally useful in the ordinary
occupations of life, would have a tendency to diil'use more
generally that military pride so essential to the character
of the soldier. The time, it is hoped, will arrive, when,
under the wise provisions of the act of Congress for this
purpose, the whole body of the militia of the United Si
will be supplied with arms and equipments. In this event,
it will be desirable to establish in each county a central
depot of arms, to be used on field days, and as the public
service may require.

As one of the prominent evils of the existing system is
the habitual non-execution of the sanctions and penalties
prescribed by the laws, you will find it indispensable, a-
well for the enforcement of these, as for the uniform and
regular execution of their general provisions, to provide
for the appointment of an Adjutant-General, with adequate

CHA.P. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 225

rank and emoluments, having his office at the seat of gov-
ernment ; and, if it be thought proper to establish drill
schools for the officers in central points of divisions or bri-
gades, their general superintendence and direction should
be confided to him under the orders of the Commander-in-
Chief. The reports of Major-General Newnan and Brig-
adier-General Harden, merit your attention.

Intimately connected with the defence, is the public
education of the country. Every citizen to be qualified
efficiently to defend his rights and those of his country,
should possess intelligence enough clearly to understand
them ; and this, in the complex relations of our political
system, is at once the more necessary and the more diffi-
cult. The rich and the poor now unite in the acknowledg-
ment of the advantages accruing from an enlarged system
of education, which will qualify them equally for all the
occupations, civil and military, to which the State may call
them. In the front of the higher academic institutions al-
ready organized, you will take pleasure to recognize Frank-
lin College, an ornament, and, under proper endowment, an
institution of first utility to Georgia. Next, the academies
of counties, only requiring a fostering hand to cause them
to nourish and produce fruits worthy of the fathers who
laid the foundations. I recommend to you to give to these
institutions liberally and unsparingly, according to their
wants. But, above all, I recommend that to the poor of our
fellow-citizens you extend a bountiful hand. A poor and
honest man is the noblest work of God. How much more
worthy your care the children, who, under your protecting
auspices, might be the best of men, under your neglect, the
worst. Nothing is more easy than to comprehend all under
the expanded wings spread over these institutions by the
Constitution and the laws, which limit your discretion in
nothing but the duty always imposed upon you to take care
that, of public moneys appropriated to any object, a strict
accountability be exacted. The rule of apportioning, annu-
ally, a specific sum among the different counties, in propor-
tion to representation, as adopted by an act of the last
Legislature, is not only a fair one but of easy execution.

[This paragraph of the message relates to Internal Im-
provement, and has already been copied into the preceding
chapter.]

In calling your attention to the Judiciary, I am only di-
29

F CF.niKiF. M. TROCF. [CHAP. IX.

rectin • it to objects with which it has been familiar. To
brini; justice as near as pos-ihle to the home of every citi-
zen, at the Icasr possible expense, and with the greatest
possible expedition, are maxims of the common law, sound
and salutary. The beat maxims upon paper are of but little
value, unless carried into practical effect In Kngland,
where they have been long disregarded, but whence we de-
rive our models, they have, at this moment, the worst
system* of practical municipal jurisprudence of any conn-
trv on earth, and this, chielly, from the neglect of those
very maxims. The delays and expenses of justice tire ruin-
ous : so much so, that the very best part of their system,
the Hi--! i Court of ('ham-cry, has become a nnisince to the
country. Of whal avail are the best principles of juridical
science to any people, if in practice they are constantly
abused ( In our system there is quite enough of delay and
expense, and these may be diminished by discarding some
silly maxims of ihe common law. l!ut again, it is to be
Considered that justice should not only be rendered cheaply,
expedirionsly and conveniently, it should be rendered also
with uniformity -that is, in all like cases, there should be
like deci-ions. In the; practice under our system, it is im-
p — ible to assure this desirable result, from two ca:
1st. From a number of Judge- acting separately and
apart; 2nd. From a want of time to mature their decisions
in the most important cases. It has, no doubt, fallen with-
in the observation of all of yon, that frequently the most
difficult and complex questions arise before onr judges, and
they have no more, time for the investigation of them than
for the decision of the most plain and simple ones. I advise
yon, therefore, if, for the sake of uniformity, alway- 80 de-
sirable in the administration of justice, you deem it expedi-
ent to organize a Court of Krroi-s — that you so organi/c it
as not to enhance the expense to suitors. It is before such
courts, as commonly organized, that this evil is so sorely
felt by the citizen. The expense is increased. An argu-
ment is admitted : and this is the source of the expense.
The_ argument is good for nothing. The parties before the
* in VH|. 17. ]i. ;n. uf Qeargfr Etopoi : Minikin

••tliis complaint I* weU brought ii:iil.-r Jours' Forms. Ami >o far t'p.iu i-onstniing tin-
Ac) rtrifttly, it du>old be Ubendly interpreted, intend t" facilitate th" noonry

lin.vide.: l.y law fur th- reiln •-< of WTOH i.f il< antliur. tllilt

: Aini'i-i-

can l.;i-.\ RcAmn, Inn ' ; i':ni -mil t cil ii coi.y of II, is Act liuine, iiml it now stamls npnn ti
utcilool; of the llritisli I'arliaincnt as a law of II.. • Jli-alm." Tl. I toil that of

KIT. -to Miiii.lify Lngg ut i..iw," ,-,)• U),i.li Hon. JoJui A. Junes i> tin.

author.— ED.

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 227

court want not the argument — they want the decision.
They will be quite content with the argument of the
judges ; and if the judges, selected for their legal wisdom
specifically to decide questions of law submitted by the
records of the courts below, cannot decide correctly with-
out a labored re-discussion of such questions, not by them-
selves, but by "others who ought not to be their superiors ;
such a court will only be an evil, by the amount of
the unnecessary expense thus incurred.* Otherwise, much
of good might result from it ; more especially, if it be made
the duty of the court to pass finally upon all questions at
the first term.

The compilation and digest of the Statute Law of Eng-
land in force in this country, has been confided, according
to your direction, to William Schley, Esq. And Charles
Harris, Thomas U. P. Charlton and William Davies, Esqrs.,
gentlemen of distinguished eminence at the bar, have been
appointed with supervisory powers to advise, from time to
time, alterations or amendments as the work progressed ;
so that, whilst by this concert and co-operation it will be
rendered more perfect and complete, its final adoption as
part of the code of this State will also be rendered more
certain. In connection with this important subject, may I
be permitted to suggest a like revision and digest of its
companion, the common law ? — or, returning to the dark
ages what belongs to them, would it not be worthy of the
generation in which we live, if Georgia, by embodying the
best parts of the common and statutory law of England, the
Roman civil law, and the Napoleon code, (the last by far
the b'est system extant,) were to supply for herself a code
of Jurisprudential Ethics, which, having their foundations
in reason, justice and common sense, would be alike appli-
cable to all times and all circumstances, and, relieving
Georgia from a dependence on foreign legislation, relieve
her from reflections humiliating to her pride and mortifying
to her self-love ?

The mollified penal code of Georgia had two humane
objects in view — 1st, To spare the life of the criminal

* In these last views of GOT. Troup we cannot concur*. The saving of expense to the
suitor is very desirable ; but that suitor is yet to bo found, who would be willing to submit his
case, involving doubtful facts or intricate questions of law, without the aid of argument from
his counsel. Besides, competent Judges would not undertake such a task. They want the
light of every good argument that can be adduced, even '; by others who ought not to be their
superiors." It is a blot on our present system, that even a synopsis rf the arguments of coun-
sel is excluded from our Reports. If this were the place to suggest law reforms, we might
attempt the showing of another way to save expense to suitors. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTT. |('ii.u'. IX.

whenever it could be done with safety to society ; 2d, To
reform him by confinement and hard labor — a system which
is constantly exhibited in contrast to the bloody one of
England, and which, from its congeniality with the Ameri-
can character and feeling, it would be desirable to per-
petuate. Our code, however, is, in its theoretical detail,
defective, and I have no doubt that our .Indies, who are
most familiar with its virtues and its faults, will pnmuimce
it so. Its mode of execution is at Least equally so. The
remedy of both is within your power, and. to apply it, it
is only necessary to understand clearly what the defects
are. It will be seen, on the most superficial survey, that
we passed at once from the extreme of severity to the ex-
treme of lenity. It was never believed that, under any
tolerable system of criminal jurisprudence, punishment
could be dispensed with, and yet the object of reform ac-
complished. This, however, is our system in practice.
There is not even the appearance of punishment connected
with our Penitentiary establishment, unless the restraint
upon the liberty of roaming at large for the commis>ion of
crime, be considered so. The far greater proportion of the
convicts at all times are better fed, clothed and lo<!
than they have been accustomed to be; and, whilst they
perform the work necessary to keep the body in a healthful
state, they enjoy not merely the benefits of society, but
exactly that description of it, which, -in or out of the estab-
lishment, they would seek and court. The punishment, in
ordinary cases, should be hard labor and solitary confine-
ment— hard labor by day and solitary confinement by night.
The practice of crowding four (»r six convicts in the'same
dormitory, is replete with evils which inevitably and di-
rectly defeat the very end of the institution. .Nut only is
vice rendered more vicious by it, but the hope of reforma-
tion is forever cut off from those who, not hardened in
iniquity, are willing to contemplate, in darkness and soli-
tude, their first offences against the law, and the gloomy
consequences which never fail to follow them. Every
species of association or intercourse between the convicts
ought to be suppressed, unless it be that kind of it which is
indispensably necessary to the performance of the work in
which they are engaged. Some lessons have been taught
by the experience of the oldest institutions in the United
States, which ought not to be lost to us in looking to the
improvement of our own. The oldest and most obdurate
offenders acknowledge that continued solitary confinement
is the severest, the most irksome and most tedious of all

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 229

the punishments they have suffered ; nevertheless, they
continue obdurate and unreclaimed. This fact, whilst it
affords additional proof of the policy which would prevent
association or intercourse between older and younger of-
fenders, and between these and strangers of every descrip-
tion, may show also the expediency of dispensing with
continued solitary confinement in most of the aggravated
cases, and, in place of it, prolonging the time for which
they are committed. The report of the Principal Keeper
of the Penitentiary will disclose some judicious obse'rva-
tions relative to the present state of the police, discipline
and financial economy of the institution, and certain sug-
gestions for reform and improvement in each.

With unfeigned regret I feel myself constrained to expose
the state of the controversy in which Georgia has been
reluctantly involved with the United States. That every
disposition existed originally on the part of this government
to pursue our claims against the general government with
moderation and good temper, is manifest from the pro-
ceeding's themselves. The Executive branch of it unequiv-
ocally disclaims to have been prompted on his part by any
other than the most friendly feelings towards the constituted
authorities of the United States; and he fondly trusts that
whatever of irritation has been engendered, or unkind
sentiments expressed, the cause is to be sought exclusively
in the deep conviction felt by the government of Georgia,
that Georgia was about to suffer flagrant wrong and injustice
by. the course of policy adopted by the United States in
their intercourse with the Indians. Nor were any com-
plaints elicited of this, other than such as were made in the
most decorous and respectful terms, before the delegation
of Georgia found themselves in an attitude of humiliation
at Washington, by the comparison, forced upon them, be-
tween their own relation and that of a certain other
delegation,"" to the Executive government of the United
States, in their intercourse with it. Nor was any measure
resorted to here, of an uncourteous character, until the
President of -the United States, in a message to Congress,
had so treated the claims of Georgia and the rights of the
Indians, as to foreclose the former forever from making any
further claim or demand upon the latter, provided there
should be a recognition by Congress or by Georgia of the
doctrine asserted by that message. The Governor would

* The reference here is to the Cherokee delegation, mentioned in a preceding part of
this chnj/tor, and composed of Ross, Lowrey, Ridgo and Hicks. — ED.

230 LTFE OF GEORGE M. TK01T. [I'HAI-. IX.

have been wanting in duty to the people, whom on that

occasion he represented, if lie liad not seixed the first
moment to protest, in the strongest language, against sueli
doctrines: and whatever may have been otlensive in the
manner of the protest which he interposed, he insists that,
in regard to the matter, truth was in every part of it main-
tained witli the most scrupulous fidelity. The principle
asserted by the message was, essentially, that theCherokees
were now the fee simple proprietors of the soil ihey occupy,
and 6f consequence tliat no .right of territory could lawfully
pass from them without their voluntary ami express consent
— a principle so strange and novel, averted for the first
time in the history of the government, connected as it was
with the declaration just previously obtained from the
same Indians, that they never would consent to part with
another foot of territory, amounted to an absolute denial of
our rights and the destruction of our claims either upon
the United States or upon the Indians now and forever.
It was in contestation of this novel and strange principle,
the Governor of Georgia found it to he his duty to 'address
himself to the Executive government of the I'nited States,
in very plain language. The United Slates government
seemed not to have understood our motto or our emblem,
or, understanding, to have disrespected them. All our
obligations, therefore, to the United States and to ourselves,
our love of peace, of harmony and of union, prompted to
this as the only means of warning the United States gov-
ernment, in due time, that they were precipitating them-
selves upon a crisis, the least deplorable of the results of
which would be the entire ruin and destruction of the
weaker party — results which could not be sought by the
United States, and which we, on our part, had the strongest
motives to avoid. There is yet time to avert them, and it
is confidently believed they will be averted. It is impossi-
ble for the United States, upon a deliberate re-examination
of the subject, ever to persuade themselves that it would bo
possible for the State of Georgia, or any other State pos-
ing even limited sovereignty, to make a tame abandonment
and surrender of indisputable and sacred territorial rights,
to such pretensions as the United States government have
thought proper to urge in behalf of the Oherokees. The
documents having relation to this unpleasant subject, ac-
company this message, and I will add little else to the
matter of them, save a single fact, to show how much the
United States government have deceived themselves by
asserting the principle just adverted to. In the year 1

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 231

the United States concluded a treaty at Hopewell, with the
Cherokees, in the first article of which it is declared, "that
the United States give peace to them and receive them in-
to the favor and protection of the United States," and,
in the fourth article of which it is further declared, that
" the boundary allotted to the Cherokees for their hunting
grounds, shall be" so and so, comprehending these very
lands which we now demand of the United States. And
this concession of even a usufructuary interest is made on
certain conditions stipulated in the treaty, and which, of
course, if violated on the part of the Cherokees, would
cause a forfeiture of even this right of hunting. The
treaties of Galphinton and Shoulderbone, between Georgia
and the Creeks, held in the years '85 and '86, contain
similar stipulations, recognizing the right of soil, sovereignty
and jurisdiction to be in Georgia and the United States,
and the right of hunting only in the Indians, and within
such limits as Georgia and the United States have desig-
nated. You will perceive, therefore, that whatever might
have been tlie kind of tenure by which lands were ac-
knowledged to be holden by the Indians before the treaty
of Hopewell, after that treaty, so far as respects the
Cherokee title to their lands, the tenure was definitively
settled. If the fee simple had been with them before, from
that moment it departed from them, and vested in Georgia.
It could vest nowhere else, because the United States at
that time recognized the paramount claim of Georgia.
Now, it would behoove the United States to show how
Georgia was divested of this title. She could not be
divested but in virtue of her own express consent, and then
it behooves the United States to show the treaty, grant or
concession, in which such consent was given. So far from
the United States being able to do this, we produce the
articles of agreement and cession, to show a confirmation
to us of this same territory thus acquired by the treaty of
Hopewell. Suffer me to add that the United States have,
in theory and practice, uniformly acted upon the principle
of the treaty of Hopewell with regard to all other Indians ;
that is to say, conceding the right of use to the Indians,
they have reserved to themselves the allodial title, with
which are essentially connected jurisdiction and sovereign-
ty ; and that, for some reasons or other altogether unex-
plained, the case of Georgia has been made an exception,
both in theory and practice.

The Commissioners of the United States, in their nego-
tiations at Ghent, asserted the rights of the sovereignty

232 LI^E OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

and soil of all the Indian country within their boundaries,
to be in the United States, and, consequently, that the
Indians were mere tenants at Avill. They asserted, more-
over, what is undoubtedly true, that the system adopted
by the United States towards the aborigines, is more liberal
and humane than that practiced by any other nation beibre
them. The treaty of Ilopewell is the basis of all other
treaties with the Cherokees. Its provisions are conlirmed
expressly by the subseqiien! ones of Philadelphia, in '!'!,
Tellico, in '!>8, and Tellieo in IM>:.. Disregarding the stipu-
lations of these treaties, the United Stall's acknowledge the
fee-simple to be in the Indians. The Indian-, therefore,
may rightfully cede certain portions of territory, in lee-
simple, to private citixens of (Ji-nrgia. Georgia, in the
last resort, is forced to draw the sword against her own
ilesh and blood. The United States will thru be the pri-
mary agent in fomenting civil war between the citixens of
Georgia; and, what will be more unnatural — the citixens of
Georgia resident in the Cherokee country, will appeal to
the government of the I'nited States to vindicate their
supposed rights, against the assaults of their own brothers.
Thus, the United States, by their new doctrine, overthrow
the entire system of polity before established in their inter-
course with the Indians, and will, if they persevere, rod a CO
Georgia to the necessity of re-sorting for redress to measures
depending on herself alone.

As to the guaranties contained in these treaties, they
are guaranties to the Indians of the right of hunting on
the grounds allotted them as securities against the tres-
passes of the whites, who might interfere with that use,
and not guaranties of fee-simple title. How could the
treaties expressly take from the Indians the fee-simple in
one article and guaranty it to them in another? If the
United States have encouraged the Cherokees to make
expensive improvements on the lands of Georgia, and such
improvements are assigned as the reason for not making the
relinquishmcnt, the I'nited States are bound in honor and
justice to pay the full value of them, and to give to the
Cherokees territory of their own elsewhere, corresponding
in extent and fertility with that which they abandon. The
government of Georgia solemnly disavows any intention
to do the least injustice to the Cherokee-, (in the con-
trary, it would respect their rights as it would those of any
other people, and will contribute its full quota at all times,
as it has done in past times, to civilixe, improve and per-
petuate a race of men of great nobleness of spirit, and with

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 233

whom she has generally lived on terras of peace and
friendship : but it can scarcely be expected by the Cher-
okees themselves, that obvious and indisputable rights of
citizens of Georgia should be yielded to any interest of
theirs, whether real or imaginary.

The government of the United States have thought proper
to state an account current'"" with the State of Georgia. In
this account, Georgia is charged with an aggregate of $7,-
735,243, made up of the following items, viz: §1,250,000,
under the articles of agreement and cession — $958,954 paid
in extinguishment of Indian claims — $1.244,137, for 995,-
310 acres of Arkansas land at the minimum price of §1,25
— and $4,282,151 paid to the Yazoo claimants. It is per-
fectly fair and quite consistent with usage, that Georgia, on
her part, should state an account also ; and, taking the rule
adopted by the United States, viz : the present minimum
price of the public lands, the account would stand thus : —
80,000,000 acres ceded to the United States, at $1,25 per
acre, $100,000,000 — from which deducting the above
amount, charged to Georgia by the United States, there will
be left a net balance of $92,264,757, gratuitously presented
by Georgia to the United States. It will be recollected,
however, that from the date of the contract with Georgia,
in 1802, until the 24th day of April, 1820, the minimum
price of public lauds had been fixed at $2 per acre, and
when it is considered that between the two periods no
lands were sold for less, and large quantities were sold for
more, the account can thus be stated: — 80,000,000, at $2
per acre, $160,000,000 ; making the same allowance for
Arkansas lands exchanged with the Cherokees, and giving
credit to the United States for $1,990,620, instead of $1,-
244,137, the balance due to Georgia would be $151,518,274.
The whole revenue of the United States would not pay it
in seven years ; to pay it in one year would involve the
mass of the population of the United States in infinite
distress. The interest would have enabled Georgia to dis-
pense with taxes — to educate all her citizens at the public
expense — to have armed and equipped her militia — to have
made a garden of the face of the country, intersected ev-
erywhere by turnpikes and canals, and studded with the
monuments of art. Foregoing these advantages for the
benefit of the United States, Georgia would have been the
last to remind the United States that sacrifices had been

* Referring to the report of the Secretary of War, of 29th March, 1S24, from which
uro have already extracted, and the account annexed thereto. — ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTTP. [CHAP. IX.

made on their account, if the Federal government, pt.st-
poning the rights and interests of Georgia to the imaginary
rights of the Indians, had not forced upon her a comparison
of what she is, with what she might have been.

l!ut it cannot even be conjectured upon what grounds
Georgia lias been charged with the amount paid to the
>o claimants. Georgia was not consulted in the com-
promise with those claimants. She never, therefore, gave
her assent to the compromise. On the contrary, so far as
she could, she did by her delegation in Congress resist it. —
Georgia, so long as she remained a moral agent, conld n<
assent. The act was. in effect and substance, a formal
decree of the highest authorities known to the constitution
of the United States, in perpetual testimony of the reward
which awaits those who shall in future time successfully
bribe and corrupt the representatives of the people to sell
their country; and, as in this case it was the Legislature of
Georgia which had been so bribed and corrupted, it could
not be expected by the I'nited States that her assent ever
would be given. It would have been equally reasonable,
if the United States had surrendered the whole country to
the claimants, and charged Georgia with the value of it.

No time was lost in transmitting to the President the me-
morial of the last Legislature on the subject of citizens'
claims against the Creek Indians, which had been provided
for by the treaty concluded at the Indian Springs.'- The
answer of the President, communicated through the Secre-
tary of War, is submitted. You will sec that the decision
of which we complained, is considered final, and that no
revisal of it need be expected. The provision of the treaty
was undoubtedly designed to cover the whole amount of
claims of every description and of every date, up to the
year 1SO.J, the justness and fairness of which could be sub-
stantiated by sufficient evidence. Nevertheless, the Presi-
dent has thought proper to reject claims for property taken
and destroyed, only because 'it happened to be destroyed,
although the broad and comprehensive words of the treaty
are ''property taken or destroyed'' ; and he, has moreover
resorted to the rules of Interpretation prescribed by the law
of nations, to expound treaties concluded with savages, by
which a farther considerable amount is deducted from the
claims of Georgia, pre-existing treaties not having, accord-
ing to those rules, specifically provided for them. This con-

* The. reader will not confound this treaty, made in l.sjl, with the .Mi!>se<iuent treaty of
1825.— ED.

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 235

straction is the more unreasonable, as those treaties were
concluded, not by Georgia, but by the United States, who
ought not now to cause the citizens of Georgia to suffer by
their own neglect or omission. Georgia, however, having
improvidently assented to refer those claims to the arbitra-
ment of the President alone, without appeal, whatever
reason she may have to complain of the injustice of the
decision, she is precluded from resorting to any measures of
her own for redress. The Indians well understanding that
the aggregate of the claims amounted to more than $250,-
000, intended that the entire sum should be applied to the
satisfaction of them. According to the rules adopted by
the President, claims to the amount of $100,000 only, have
been admitted. Whether the balance, viz : $150,000, will
be credited to the Indians or will pass into the treasury of
the United States, is not known to me.

I announce to you, with pleasure, that in compliance with
the request contained in the memorial of the last session,
and in fulfilment of the stipulations of the articles of
agreement and cession, a treaty is about to be holden with
the Creeks for the extinguishment of their claims to all the
lands within our limits. May we not flatter ourselves that
this friendly measure is the precursor of the final adjust-
ment, of all differences between the general government
and the State of Georgia ; and that, in a like treaty with
the Cherokees, we may see all difficulties removed — the re-
lations of the two governments restored to what they ought
to be, and an old contract which has contributed so much
to disturb them, carried into complete and final execu-
tion ?

It gives me great pleasure, also, to be able to inform you,
on the authority of our agent, that the claims for militia
services, which have been earnestly and repeatedly pressed
upon the Federal Government for some 20 or 30 years past,
and which have so far remained unsatisfied, will be likely
to find a gracious reception at the ensuing session of Con-
gress. To promote this desirable result, I recommend to
you to continue the services of Col. Hunter on the part of
the State. The justice of these claims is so undoubted, that,
to be universally acknowledged, they need only be under-
stood.

As soon as it was ascertained that Congress had passed an
act authorizing the President to procure the necessary sur-
veys, plans and estimates for roads and canals, &c., I ad-
dressed a letter to the President, requesting that Georgia
should be admitted to a participation of any benefits or

936 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. IX.

advantages which might result to the Union from that act,
and called his attention particularly to the importance of
connecting the waters of the Savannah with those of the
Tennessee, and the waters of the St. Mary's with those of
the Suwancc. IFis answer, given through the Secretary of
War, is transmitted herewith. It was presumed that the
Congress had derived its power to pass the act, from the
provisions of the Constitution which authorize it to regulate
commerce between the different States, and which confide
to it the defence of the country; and that no operations
would 1)0 attempted under it which would be confined ex-
clusively to the limits and jurisdiction of any particular
State.""" Taking this for granted, so far from opposing ob-
stacles to its execution, I thought it my duty to interpose
our claim for that proportion • -ml reuniting from it,

which might rightfully belong to Georgia. And here pei-
mitme, as connected with this subject, to ask vmir attention
to a resolution of the la-t Legislature, which authorizes the
Governor to direct a survey to be made between the, navi-
•gablo waters of the St. Mary's and Suwanec rivers, for the
purpose of connecting them by a canal — a measure of great
interest to Georgia, and unquestionably of iirst importance
to the United States — but certainly one which can be car-
ried into execution by the United States alone. The terri-
tory through which the canal must pass, is the property of
the United States, within their exclusive jurisdiction, and
any survey attempted there, under the orders of the Gov-
ernor of Georgia, would be considered a trespass and per-
haps resented accordingly, Whilst, therefore, I feel the
utmost solicitude that tfiis work should be undertaken
promptly, and believe, too, that the United States cannot
engage in one which will contribute so importantly to the
interests and safety of the whole Union, I humbly submit
to you the reconsideration of the measure referred to, that,
if you concur in opinion with me, the resolution may be
rescinded. Georgia will not voluntarily place herself in
the wrong with the United States, whilst points in contro-
versy of a delicate nature remain unadjusted between
them.

In executing the resolution of the Legislature, relative to
the running of the line between this State and the State of
Alabama, it was discovered from the correspondence

* In the lan<-': | ;„ ],,s v,.to m(..^:,;r ,,f .||l, Min, Ivjj, -,.f gener-

ii.m.t suit,. i,«.n,..nt." BeealM Pi idreto

. of 'JTth M:IV. is:;o._i;i,.

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

between the two governments, that the Executive of the
United States had never been informed of the desire of the
State of Alabama to have the line run. And, for this rea-
son alone, did the United States object to take any agency
in the \vork. It is true they assigned the additional one of
the United States being under no obligation to do so by the
articles of agreement and cession, as the Legislatures of
Georgia and Alabama had believed. Those Legislatures
were mistaken ; but the United States were, nevertheless,
bound by considerations of interest to see that the line,
when run, was truly run and marked. The country coter-
minous with that of Georgia, belongs, as yet, to the United
States, and not to Alabama ; and, when looking to the ul-
timate interests of Alabama, we invited her, in the spirit of
sisterly affection, to unite and co-operate with us, it was not
expected that the principal obstacle to the execution of the
work would be found in the denial by the government of
the United States that Alabama wished it, especially when
it was known here, that, so long ago as January, 1823, the
Legislature of Alabama had come to resolutions expressive
of their utmost solicitude that the line should be speedily
run, and that copies of the same should be transmitted by
the Governor, without delay, to the President of the United
States and to the Governor of Georgia. A copy having
been received in due time at this department, it was pre-
sumed that one had also been received by the Executive of
the United States. It was not for the Governor of Georgia
to inquire whether, in conformity with the requisitions of
the resolutions, a copy had been forwarded to the President
of the United States, or whether, if forwarded, it had been
received. It is sufficient that the United States govern-
ment may now know that the assent of Alabama to the
running of the line is not wanting ; and it only remains for
me to assure the Legislature, that, whenever it becomes
necessary to the interest of the State to cause the line to be
run, such measures as they think proper to adopt, will be
carried into execution effectually and without delay. The
State of Alabama will, of course, be invited to concur, and
both will consider it due to the United States to give them
timely notice. The correspondence on this subject with the
government of the United States and that of Alabama, is
submitted.

It is with great reluctance I feel myself constrained to call
your attention to the general relations between the Federal
and State governments. These relations, instead of being
fixed and permanent as the Constitution itself, are changing

238 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROl'P. [Cnxi\ IX.

every day, although the instrument which defines them
does'not change. There is in all political bodies, however
organized, an instinctive passion tor the accnniulation of
poVer. Those of the Muted States have not been back-
ward in exhibiting this trait, and, as this, like most other
strong passions, acquires strength by indulgence, it is not a
subject of wonder that at this day it should be displayed
with a force and effect calculated to awaken the most fear-
ful apprehen-ions. Under its impulses, if not restrained,
the States will be ultimately stripped of the powers once
considered essential to their sovereignly, and be doomed to
move in the humble and subordinate spheres of corpora-
tions merely municipal. Without referring to the
measures which (derived by latitude of construction)) have
had a tendency to weaken the powers of the >- :d to

strengthen those of the general government, it will he suf-
ficient to advert to those of more recent occurrence, because
of more alarming character. They are the attempted re-
strictions upon the State of Missouri as conditions of her
admission into the Union — the repeated and partially suc-
cessful assertion of absolute and uncontrollable power over
Internal Improvement, — -and, lastly, but least to be ex-
pected, the bold assumption of the power to regulate, at
pleasure, by duties, restraints and prohibitions, the entire
industry of the country, and eventually, of course, to pre-
scribe the direction which the labor of every man shall
take, whatever be his own natural inclination or propensity.
It was confidently believed, before, that if there was any-
one political feeling cherished by the people of the United
States more universally than another, it was that the free-
dom of industry, that is to say, the right of every man to
betake himself to any honest employment whatever, as
best suited his inclinations or interest, was absolutely se-
cured against the possibility of encroachment from any
quarter. The confiding American people no more thought
of guarding this right of freedom of industry against the
invasion of their representatives, than of prohibiting them
from contaminating the purity of the atmosphere they
breathed, or poisoning the fountains of water from which
they drank. Nevertheless, thi- sacred riirht, derived imme-
diately from Deity, and which no human institutions could
take away, did not present even an impediment to the giant
strides of the Federal Government. In thus defying nature
and transcending the limits of the Constitution, what apol-
ogy could be found for poor, frail, misguided man, but the
one which the advocates of this system have sought for

CHAP, IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 239 •

themselves — a refuge in the exploded doctrines of the
sixteenth century — a refuge, indeed, because covered with a
veil of thick darkness? But, to our shame be it written,
the descendants of the very people of Europe who were
enchained for ages by this system, rise up in our day, with
uplifted hands and voices against it. It is this, say they,
which confined our fathers to their work -shops — which cut
off all intercourse between man and man, by which intel-
lect could be improved — wMch made the son to tread in the
footsteps of the father — and which left him no ideas, no
sentiments, no feelings, but what belonged to his family and
to his trade. The American Congress, who ought to be in
the van of everything liberal in politics, in commerce and
in the arts, go back to this era to seek lessons of instruction
for their constituents. As Providence will have it, these
constituents are three hundred years in advance of them ;
and, unless they give lessons to their representatives in turn,
they will find the general government very soon employed
in making roads and digging canals within their own exclu-
sive limits and jurisdiction — levying taxes on one portion
of the community for the single purpose of giving en-
couragement to the industry of another portion of the
same community, and finally passing an act of universal
emancipation, which would undoubtedly be the last. If
the Legislature of a State should resolve to resist such as-,
sumed powers, the United States government would be
reduced to the unpleasant alternative, either of enforcing
them because they were clear, manifest and explicit ones,
or of revoking them, as of equivocal and doubtful character,
and not justifying a recourse to civil war to maintain them.
And it would seem that this single consideration would be
sufficient to deter any wise and prudent administration of
government, under our constitution, from acting upon such
constructive powers at all.

I recommend to you to avoid the unnecessary multiplica-
tion of laws, as well as their frequent alteration and amend-
ment. In framing such as are necessary, too much caution
cannot be observed. Discourage divorces,'" seldom credita-
ble either to those who ask, or to those who grant them,
and always indicating a depraved state of society. Give
the more important elections to the people, and confide to
others the less. Duties ought never to be required of them,

* When will this stain upon the Statute-Book of Georgia — granting divorces for
causes not warranted by the law of God, or agreeable to any enlightened system of
morals — bo wiped out once and forever? — ED.

240 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

which they arc unable or unwilling to perform. If the
people desire to retain the interior and Irs-; important elec-
tions, undoubtedly their wishes ought to be consulted. It
is believed they do not. Of this, however, y»u arc the
best judges. The election by the people should be real, not
nominal. They should have motives sufliciently propulsive
to turn out in their strength, whenever the laws require it.
It is believed that the civil and military elections which
devolve upon the people, wouhl, if they were compelled to
attend them, stop the plough one-fourth part of the year,
bring great distress on families of the poorer class, and
subtract in the same proportion from the product of the
national industry. Our political morality will never be
pure as long as offices are sought; with the avidity and im-
portunity which now distinguish the canvas?- for them in all
the States with the exception of New England. Whenever
it is believed by the, people, that those who seek office with
the m :itly the most unworthy, the

evil will have found its remedy. Merit is Always conspicu-
ous enough, and our people will IK> sufficiently enlightened
to discover and appreciate it. The nomination, therefore,
as well as the election of the candidate, ought to belong to
them. The American historian will blush to record the
scenes in which, within the pa-sing year, candidates for the
first dignity '-"have not disdained to be actors. A practice,
ripened into custom among a whole people, though proved
to be a bad one, is not easily changed or discontinued. It
is known that this must be the work of time, and of the
intelligence and virtue of the people themselves. Whilst
I am disposed to respect, as I ought, long established habits
and opinions, I would reproach myself were I to withhold
a single sentiment, the expression of which it was believed
the interest or honor of the country required.

It will be your duty, under the constitution and laws, to
proceed at an early day to the election of nine Electors of
President and Vice President; and, during the session, to
the election of a Senator f of the I'nited States to succeed
the Hon. John Elliott, whose term of service expires on the

* Tin- iv, . . .Mr. Clay,

Jlr. Crawl',,] i the camlkla! ill "f whirh w

lii-ctiun, in Frhrnary. l*i">, »f Mr. A, lain-, hy tin- ll»: he hail

not received a plurality nf ratal iti Hi
was the . [ici'iili-. — Ki>.

t II, 'M. .Icihn M. I; v. ithoiii opposition. '-Ir. Klliott, ami

Hon. Thomas \V. (',.1,1, in plan- of Mr. Waiv. Mr. (',.1,1. liaviir,' rorigMd hi- Mti in tin- I".

B- HOOM of BeprewnUftiTM, Hon. K. II. \\;: •.on 13th DC,

1824.— KD.

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 241

third of March next — also a Senator to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the death of the Hon. Nicholas Ware, and
three Brigadier Generals, viz : for the first brigade of the
second division, vice Thomas Glascock, resigned — for the
second brigade of the second division, vice John Irwin,
deceased — and for the second brigade of the third division,
vice Elias Beall, removed.

The clauses in the public acts, which authorize free
persons of color to be sold into slavery,* ought to be ex-
punged from them, as repugnant to the constitution and the
laws of God.

The report of the Treasurer will exhibit the state of our
finances. The aggregate of sales of the last fractions
amounted to $262,325,25. The commissioners who super-
intended them, deserve well for the assiduity, fidelity and
integrity with which they discharged the laborious duties.

A statement of the votes taken at the late general elec-
tion, in conformity with a resolution of the Legislature,
with a view of ascertaining the popular will in relation to
the mode of choosing Electors of President and Yice Pres-
ident, is submitted ; from which it appears that a preference
has been given to that by popular election, and by a large
majority.f

[These three paragraphs of the message, being of local
or temporary interest, are omitted.]

A resolution of the Legislature of Ohio, is submitted,
recommending the abolition of slavery. Whilst it affords
evidence that our sister has not interests of her own to
occupy her, and that she manifests very tender concern for
ours, we cannot forbear saying that our property will be
safe in our own keeping for the present. It is mortifying
that our rights of private property should, in violation of
every sentiment of delicacy and propriety, be canvassed
and passed upon by strangers of every description, and in
every possible form of combination and conspiracy. We
must arrest this nuisance, or throw it back upon the ag-
gressors. That self-created societies, prompted by false
conceits of philanthropy and benevolence, should offi-
cially intermeddle in a matter which it is impossible for
them to comprehend because of the dense atmosphere of
prejudice which surrounds them, would be unpardonable,

* A repeal took place, accordingly, on 20th December. — ED.

f An act was passed on ISth December, giving this election to the people; and this
mode of choosing the Electors of President and Vice President has been ever since con-
tinued.— ED.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. IX.

if it were not known that, upon certain subjects and in the
most enlightened communities, there aiv to he found the
greatest enthusiasts and fanatics. But that the enlightened
State of Ohio should assume the prerogative of dictating to
Georgia what disposition she shall make of -her own domes-
tic property, is passing strange. Georgia has never at-
tempted to interfere, directly or indirectly, with the internal
polity, local institutions, or rights of property of any of the
States, and it was hoped that the same delicacy and for-
bearance would have distinguished the conduct of other
States in relation to herself. The respectable State of Ohio
ought to remember that there may be some things, con-
nected with her own institutions and manners, not very
agreeable to the people of Georgia, and that the work of
retaliation is always an easy one. She must learn, too,
that the question which she has taken the liherty to pre-
sent to the Legislature of Georgia, is one which Georgia
will never permit herself to receive at the hands of strangers
— that she will make it for herself whenever it may be
proper to make it at all, and exactly at the time and after
the manner she shall deem best ; and, repulsing all foreign
interference as obtrusive, will take to herself exclusively
the good and the merit, as she will certainly be obliged to
take the evil, which may come of it. Our sister of Ohio
will understand, for the future, that this is a subject. *>//
generis, which only ourselves can comprehend ; that the
efforts of others to better the condition of the negro have
invariably made it woise, and that the negro has never yet
found a sincere friend but his master.

I lay before the Legislature, at the same time, sundry
other resolutions of too States of Ohio, Massachusetts,
Maine, New York and Mississippi.

The returns of the different Hanks in which the State has
an interest, are submitted. Two of them have not been
made in conformity with the terms of the resolution of the
last session, and have been so notified. All of them should
resume specie payments without delay. Whatever may be
the state of debit and credit in the course of trade between
this and other States, producing an unfavorable rate of ex-
change, that exchange will always be augmented in pro-
portion to the real or supposed depreciation of our paper.
And if there exists no cause for the real, the Bank should
furnish no pretence for a constructive, depreciation — a
consequence inevitable from a failure to pay in specie, and
which will be a clear subtraction from the wealth of Geor-
gia, to the amount of that depreciation.

CHAP. IX.] HIS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 243

Finally, I recommend to yon to bring to the considera-
tion of the subjects submitted, calmness of temper, and
more especially a kindly feeling and forbearance towards
each other ; so that, from the measures which follow, we
may be able to render an account of our stewardship,
creditable, if not to our understandings, at least to our
hearts. Unless I deceive myself, you may safely count on
similar feelings predominating here ; and if, from this con-
cert and concurrence, benefits do not ensue, it will be more
our misfortune than our fault. Whatever of error or omis-
sion may result, good intention and the love of country will
atone for. You will see, indeed, indications of unpleasant
feelings, the offspring of our controversy with the United
States. Entertaining, we are bound in honesty to express,
them. The highest considerations and the warmest sym-
pathies attract us to the great centre of our social system.
That centre, however, must revolve on its axis in the place
assigned to it. The primary and secondary bodies must
move, each in its own orbit. It is our duty, in keeping the
even tenor of ours, to contribute to the order and harmony
of the whole, and this duty we will endeavor to fulfil.
That no baleful comet may, in its irregular course, strike
one of them from its place, and, deranging the system,
bring all back to chaos and confusion, is the fervent prayer
of your fellow-citizen,

G. M. TROUP.

The Representatives from Georgia, elected to Congress,
this year, were John Forsyth, Edward F. Tattnall, George
Gary, Wiley Thompson, Alfred Cuthbert, James Meri-
wether,* Charles E. Haynes — the two last in place of Mr.
Cobb and Mr. Abbott, who declined being candidates for
re-election.

A committee of the Senate, to whom had been referred
so much of the Governor's Message as related to the Ohio
resolution on the subject of slavery, made a report, which
passed both houses, and was approved by the Governor on
the 7th December. In their report, the committee, amongst
other things, said :

" While your committee contemplate, with no ordinary
emotions, the ameliorated condition of the slave in the

* Appointed 16th July, 1824, with Duncan G. Campbell, to treat with the Creeks.— ED.

944 LIFE OF GEORGE M- TR«'»1T [CHAP. IX.

Southern country, they view with regret this unnecessary
interference on the part of a sister State, so well calculated
to excite the anticipations and hopes of the slave, and impel
him to those acts, which, instead of bettering his condition,
must augment his misfortunes. Your committee, therefore^
consider the resolution as violative of the true dictates of
humanity; and this idea is supported by a contrast of the
slave population of the South, with the wretched and miser-
able condition of the free people of color who crowd the
houses of punishment and correction in some of our sister
States. If, in the South, they do not revel in liberty, they
are at least supplied with the necessary wants <>t' life."

A resolution, appended to the report, disapproved the
Ohio resolution, and requested the Governor to transmit a
copy of the Georgia resolution to the Governor of each of
the States.

Resolutions were passed, at the >ame session, authorizing
and requesting the Governor to receive General La Fayette,
" in such manner as, in his judgment, may evince the grati-
tude of the people of this State for his distinguished ser-
vices," and authori/ing the Governor to draw on the
contingent fund for such sums of money as might he n<
sary to cany into effect the resolution for reception.

During the session of 1823, a bill was passed to alter and
amend the second section of the second article of the Con-
stitution of the State, so as to make the Governor elect i\ c
by the people. In 1S24-, it was again passed b\ a constitu-
tional majority, in both Houses, and was approved by the
Governor. In the Senate, there were only nine votes against
it — in the House, t> //.

[1824.] In his annual message of 7th December, the
President announced to Congress that Commissioners had
been appointed, and negotiations for a treaty -\vith the
Creek Indians were then pending. The Commissioners
appointed on the part of the I'nited States, were Duncan
G. Campbell and James Meri wether, of Georgia.

The Governor sent in the following ine-age to the Legis-
lature :

CHAP. IX.] THE INDIAN CONTROVERSY. 245

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA,

Milledgeville, \ltJi Dec., 1824.
As a reasonable expectation ought to be indulged that
the treaty now holding with the Creeks, after the negotia-
tion has been thus far protracted, will terminate in a
further acquisition of territory, I recommend to you, before
your adjournment to pass a provisional resolution, requiring
the Governor, in such event, to convene the Legislature,
and at such season as may best comport with your conveni-
ence.

G. M. TROTTP.

Each House, therefore, passed a resolution for the calling
of an extra session in May following.

The preliminaries, for a treaty, to which the Governor
referred, were then being carried on at a place called
Thle-cath-ca, or Broken Arrow, on the Chattahoochee ; but
these negotiations, which were begun early in December,
failed, as will be seen in the sequel. Pending the negoti-
ation, Gov. Troup addressed to the Commissioners, the fol-
lowing letter :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA,

Milledgeville, 9th Dec., 1824.
Gentlemen : — The Legislature will probably adjourn
about the 18th instant ; and, as much anxiety is manifested
to know whether you have any prospects of concluding a
treaty, I have sent an express, that this letter may be safely
delivered into your own hands. If there are no prospects of
bringing your mission to a favorable termination, be so good
as to apprise me of the obstacles you have had to encoun-
ter. If you found yourselves anticipated and forestalled by
the Indian Council held in the Spring, of which we received
the first notice, recently, through an Alabama print, inform
me, if you please, by what authority that council was held ?
— whether with the knowledge, countenance or encourage-
ment of the Agent ?* Was the Agent present at that
council, and what part did he take ? "Who drew up their
state paper ? Were the proceedings of that council made
known by the Agent to his government, without delay, and
was it with a knowledge of these proceedings that you were
appointed ? "Were any allusions made to them in your in-
structions ? You will pardon the trouble I give you. There

* John Crowell, appointed Agent to the Creek Indians early in 1821, in place of Qen.
D. B. Mitchell.— ED.

24:6 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CHAP. IX.

is no absolute right, on my part, to propound these ques-
tions ; no obligation on yours to answer them. Neverthe-
less, you are citizens of Georgia, and, if your negotiations
fail, you will see how necessary for me to receive true and
correct answers to these questions, from such authority as
will enable me to use them in vindication of our rights, to
the best advantage. You will not infer, from any of them,
that hasty inferences have been indulged to the prejudice
of the government of the United States. Hope is still en-
tertained that all will be right ; and in no event will anything
besought to inculpate the government of the United States,
but strict matter of fact.

With great consideration and respect,

G. M. TROI-I-.

The Commissioners, in their reply of the 14th December,
said : " We are not without our difficulties in determining
what shall be our answer to the several inquiries which you
have propounded. These do not arise, however, from any
reluctance to make to you a full disclosure of our proceed-
ings, and the obstacles which we have had to encounter,
but from an apprehension that, by such communication, we
might)/0r the present, weaken the means of which we hope
successfully to avail ourselves." And again : " The pro-
ceedings which you have seen published, as occurring at
Tuckabatchee and Pole Cat Springs, were evidently intend-
ed to forestall us. They have, in a great measure, had the
effect, by spreading alarm throughout the nation, by the
miserable farrago of threats which they contain. For some
time past, the Cherokees have exerted a steady and officious
interference in the affairs of this tribe. That this has de-
rived additional impulse, and that we are now encountering
a daily interference, most active and insidious, we have no
doubt."

Anticipating our narrative a little, it may be proper here
to state that on the llth January, 1825, after the failure at
Broken Arrow, Col. Campbell, one of the commissioners,
submitted to the Secretary of War the following proposi-
tion : " The facts, heretofore disclosed, show a willingness,
on the part of the Indians within the Georgia limits, to cede

CHAP. IX.] THE INDIAN CONTROVERSY. 247

their territory, and to emigrate; but insurmountable ob-
stacles present themselves to the acceptance of a treaty
thus concluded. It is now proposed to re-assemble the
Chiefs of the whole Nation ; to renew the offers al-
ready made ; to obtain the entire Creek country, if prac-
ticable ; but, if this cannot be effected, then to accept a
treaty signed by the Chiefs within the limits of Georgia,
provided such treaty be accompanied by the assent of the
other Chiefs, that the land to be abandoned by the emigra-
ting party shall be immediately subject to the disposition
of the Government." In his reply, of 18th January, the
Secretary of War, after stating that the President had
"deliberately considered" a former "proposition submit-
ted by the commissioners to treat with the Creeks, of
holding a separate treaty with Gen. Mclntosh," &c., &c.,
and that the President's opinion was "that he cannot, with
propriety, authorize the treating with Gen. Mclntosh alone,
as proposed by the Commissioners," &c., &c., yet added :
" the President can see no objection to a renewal of the
negotiation, as proposed in your letter of llth instant, in
order to obtain an arrangement with Gen. Mclntosh, with
the consent of the nation, for the cession of the country in
question ; and you are, accordingly, in conjunction with
Major Meriwether, as commissioners, authorized to renew
the negotiation. You will, however, distinctly perceive,
in the remarks which have been made, that, whatever ar-
rangement may be made with Gen. Mclntosh, for a cession
of territory, must be made by the Creek nation, in the usual
form, and upon the ordinary principles, with which treaties
are held with the Indian tribes."

The Legislature of 1823 having appointed the late Hon.
William Schley * " to compile and digest the statute laws
of England " then " of force in the State of Georgia," and
having authorized the Governor to have the same " exam-

* This gentleman is well and honorably remembered as having been afterwards Judge
of the Superior Courts of the Middle Circuit, a Representative in Congress, and Governor of
Georgia from 1835 to 1837. He died at Augusta, on 20th November, 1858, much esteemed by
all who knew him. — ED.

248 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAr. IX.

ined by a committee of three learned hi the law," after
which he was to "approve or disapprove of the same,"
Governor Troup appointed, as that committee, Messrs.
Charles Harris, William Davies and Thomas U. P. Charlton.
In !SL>I;, the work was approved by the Governor, and it has
since been known to the legal profession and the public as
" Schley's Digest." The following is his letter to Judge
Charlton on the subject. It will be seen that he indulges
in some pleasantry in regard to the compensation which he
was authorized to make to the committee for their services.

VAIDOBTA, Laurens. Il2th April, 1>'JI.

Sir: I received your letter, yesterday, on the subject of
a Compilation and Digest of tlie Statute Law of Kngland
in Ibrce in this State, and com-nr entirely in tlie views you
have taken of it.

I can ea-ily conceive that the work may be either worth-
less or highly valuable. The competency of the hand- to
which its execution lias been contided. is ample security
that the latter result will be attained. There can be no
doubt of the extent of your power- over it — to approve or
disapprove are terms equally applicable to every part as
to the whole; and, as the greater power is always construed
to include the lesser, you are, of course, invested with that
of revision and correction ; and this is in perfect consonance
with what I understand to be Mr. Schley's own views of
your several duties under the resolution; so that you can-
not fail to move harmoniously in the execution of the work,
and make it in the end what you desire it should be.

As to the compensation for your services, all 1 can say at
present, is, that 1 will endeavor to be as liberal as possible ;
but, if in attempting what I wish in this respect, my counige
should fail me, I would turn you over to the Legislature,
backed by as strong a recommendation as any Governor,
elected by the Legislature, dare.

This letter is intended as well for Messrs. Harris and
Davies as for yourself.

Respectfully yours, G. M. TROUP.

Thomas U. P. Charlton, Esq.,
Savannah.

Before proceeding, as we shall in the next and succeed-
ing chapters, to give a somewhat detailed account of the

CHAP. IX.] CHARGES AGAINST COL. CROWELL. 24D

Creek controversy, it is proper to make reference to the
relations subsisting between the Executive of Georgia and
Col. Orowell, whose appointment as Indian Agent has been
already noticed ; and, the more especially, as the inquiries
in Gov. Troup's letter of 9th December, 1824, to the U. S.
Commissioners, implied doubt of the Agent's fidelity to the
interests of Georgia ; and the following extracts of a letter
from the Governor to the President — containing serious
charges against the Agent — will be found so frequently re-
ferred to hereafter, as to make it almost necessary that
portions of it be inserted here.

On the 3d of March, 1817, the eastern part of the Mis-
sissippi Territory was, by act of Congress, made a separate
Territory, called Alabama ; and on the 16th day of Novem-
ber, 1818, Col. John Crowell took his seat in the House of
Representatives, at Washington, as its Delegate. On the
14th December, 1810, Alabama was admitted into the
Union.; and, as already seen, Col. Crowell was, early in
1821, appointed Agent to the Creek Indians.

On the 8th of January, 1824, Rev. William Capers, as
Superintendent of the Creek Indian Mission, and Chairman
of the Missionary Committee of the South Carolina Con-
ference, addressed a long letter (verified by affidavit) to
the Secretary of War, complaining of the Agent, charging
that he could not do justice where religion was concerned ;
that he was believed to be an enemy to the Gospel, abusing
his authority and his influence to oppugn it, &c. This
letter was handed to Governor Troup, for transmission to
Washington ; and, in forwarding it to the Secretary of War,
the Governor wrote as follows :

MILLEDGEVILLE, 16th January, 1824.

Sir: In submitting to you a complaint against an officer

under your authority, it will not be understood that I am

actuated by any other motive than the desire of making you

intimately acquainted with a man who would seem so far to

be an utter stranger to you. You will see, in the sequel,

dark and mysterious things unveiled, and upon such high

authority that no man dare to shut his eyes against them.

The naked statement which I make, will pass for nothing

250 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP- IX.

— it is so intended — but the sacred and solemn appeal which
I know has preceded it, will make an instantaneous and
lasting impression. It comes from a sacred source, where
piety and devotion unite with patriotism to bring culprits
of every kind to justice.

You are IK.) stranger to the virtues of Mr. Capers, who.
blending the finest talents and accomplishments \vith no
ordinary eloquence, stands first among Christian ministers
in this Southern country. I have said tohim, that his oath,
which' he has tendered in support of his memorial, is no
better than his word, and that you will so consider it ; so
of the rest — he is the voucher for them all, and a better
you cannot have.

Mr. Crowell, the Agent, not being an inhabitant of the
State of Georgia, but an officer of the United States, aban-
doning his station, did, for political purposes, repair to the
seat of government of Georgia, with the sole view and
intent to use his influence in behalf of one of the candi'i
at the late election for Governor, and did so use ir in the
most open, public, and grossly indelicate manner; thus
intermeddling in the politieal affairs of a State to which he
ought to have been, as he was, in fact, a stranger and an
alien; and thus compromising the Government, v,
agent he was, in a matter in which the highest interests of
the States were involved ; no less interests than the freedom
and independence of the elective franchise.
Very respectfully, &c., &c.,

G. M. TKOL-I-.
The Hon. J. C. Calhoun,
Secretary of War.

To these things, Col. Crowell replied, on 18th March,
denying what he called " the unfounded and frivolous
charges" of Mr. Capers, and retorting upon the Governor
with considerable acrimony. In noticing the charge of in-
terfering with the political affairs of Georgia, he said:

" That I am no inhabitant of Georgia, is not correct ; the
seat of my agency being within the chartered limits of that
State. That I am an officer of the United States, is true ;
but that I, in a 'grossly indelicate manner,' opposed his
election, I deny. That I <>pr/tl>/ and hold!;/ did so, I admit.
In doing this, I may have acted imprudently, by provoking
his resentment; but how my doing this could compromit
the Government, whose agent I am, in relation to the free

CHAP. IX.] RELATION OF THE CREEKS. 251

and independent exercise of the elective franchise, in Geor-
gia, I confess I have yet to learn. * There
is, certainly, then, no express or implied incompatibility
between the office of Indian Agent and that of opposer to
Governor Troup, in his canvass for public suffrage."

In answer to the letter of Mr. Capers, the Secretary of
War, under date of 30th March, said :

" The President regrets that there should be any mis-
understanding between yourself, and the society of which
you are a member, and the Agent. But, after a careful
examination of the charges, and the reply, he is of opinion
that there is no foundation on which to take any measure
against him, particularly, as his general conduct, in the
discharge of his official duties, has been marked by prompt-
itude and accuracy, as far as they have come within the
knowledge of the Department," &c.

And, in writing to the Agent, on the same day, the Secre-
tary of War said : " You will give a decided countenance
and support to the Methodist Mission, as well as to any other
society that may choose to direct its efforts to improve the
condition of the Creek Indians," &c., &c,

As introductory to what follows in succeeding chapters,
it is proper to present a concise view of the relations exist-
ing between tlie Creek nation of Indians and the United
States, for some time before and at the conclusion of the
treaty of the Indian Springs, in February, 1825.

On the 30th of August, 1813, occurred the terrible mas-
sacre at Fort Mims on the Alabama river. The attacking
party was led by the celebrated Weatherford, instigated by
British agents. Even before this time, the Creeks were
divided into two parties — the peace party, or Friendly In-
dians, supported by Mclntosh and his friends — and the war
party, or Red Sticks, so called from the painted color of
their war clubs. The former — sometimes called Lower
Creeks — resided almost wholly in Georgia ; the latter — or
Upper Creeks — lived almost, if not altogether, in Alabama.
The war which ensued between the Red Sticks and the
United States, and the victories gained by Gen. Floyd, of
Georgia, Gen. Andrew Jackson and others, over these

O " '

hostile Indians, find their appropriate place in the general

252 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTT. [Crur. IX.

history of the country. Vanquished in battle, and broken
in spirit, the hostile Creeks yielded in 1S14, and the treaty
of Fort Jackson, already noticed, was tlu> result. The war
party were a conquered people ; and yet they were after-
wards the almost unyielding enemies of the Georgians and
Alabamiuns.

The brave Mclntosh was ever the friend of Georgia and
the Union. In the subsequent war with the Seminoles of
Florida, who were aided and encouraged by some of the
Red Sticks, Mclntosh commanded a brigade of Friendly
Creeks, and did effective service against the Seminoles and
their allies.

From a report made by .Joseph V. P>evan, Esq., in
October, 1825, to Governor Troup, by appointment of the
Legislature, we make the following extract. Keferring to
a difficulty between the .Indian Agent and .Mclntosh, in
1824, Mr. Be van said :

Somewhat before this period, Mclntosh proposed, in a
Council of the Cherokees, that they, the Creeks, the Chick-
asaws and Choctaws, should emigrate westward of the
Mississippi ; and there that these four nations of Southern
Indians should form one consolidated government. It is
needless to say that these propositions were rejected — this
was not all: Mclntosh, (who had been constituted a Cher-
okee Chief, in consequence of intermarriage with one of
their women,) was degraded, and denounced to his own
countrymen as an enemy to the Red People. These senti-
ments were speedily adopted by the P>ig Warrior,'-' who
assembled a few of the Upper Creek Chiefs at the Pole
Cat Springs, where, with the assistance of his son-in-law,
(who was also sub-agent under Col. Crowell,) those cele-
brated resolutions were passed, which are now held to
justify the murder of all those who signed the treaty. It
was then that parties began really to be distinguished ; the
Upper Creeks or Alabama In'H<inx inclining to the Cher-
okee talks ; the Lower Creeks, or Georgia Indians, to those
of Mclntosh: and it was in this state of things, that Mc-
lntosh came to the determination that ho would .conclude

* This Chief, although not one of the Hod Sticks, belonged to the Upper Towns. lie diod
at Washington city on the 8th of March, 1825.— ED.

CHAP. IX.] MR. SEVAN'S REPORT. 253

the treaty, (as lie and the Little Prince "''had done but four
years before,) without waiting for the consent of those
Towns situated on -the waters of the Coosa and Tallapoosa.
To this measure, it appears that he was strongly influenced
by three considerations:

1. That the Cowetuh Towns, being the oldest in the nation,
were at one time sole owners of the country, and, as such,
by the custom of the nation, have absolute authority with
regard to the disposition of land.

2. At all events, that each town, retaining its original
rights with regard to territory, inviolate, and having never
surrendered them, (such as they were,) to the National
Council, had full authority to dispose of its own domain.

3. That the Upper Towns had forfeited their rights, if
they ever had any, by their treason during the war ; which
had caused the cession or surrender of all the lands men-
tioned in the treaty at Fort Jackson.

There are also three important facts belonging to the
history of this transaction, which it would be as well to take
along with you :

1. That the few friendly Indians among the Upper
Creeks, during the late war, were either in the power or
possession of the hostiles, until relieved by Mclntosh and
his Cowetas.

2. That neither the Big Warrior, the celebrated Hopo-
ithle Yoholo, nor any other Chief of the Upper Creek
Nation, signed the treaty of 1821 — a treaty whose validity
has never been questioned.

3. That at the treaty held by Messrs. Campbell and
Meriwether, the Cussetuhs had already taken the talk of
the Commissioners, before their departure over night, which,
being the Indian mode of accepting a proposition, was held
by Mclntosh as sufficient to justify its formal conclusion
according to the mode of the white people, without obliging
all his heathens to affix the signature of the cross.

* Another celebrated Chief of the Upper Towns, and who w;is after, if not before, the
death of Big Warrior, their head Chief, and who figures largely in subsequent transactions.
His Indian name was Tustennuck Opoyow, or Tustunnuggee Hopoie. He was, by some, re-
garded as " Head Chief of the Nation." — ED.

254: MFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CnAr. X.

CHAPTEE X.

>»!!<•! i"I«l a- ill- ///'• Creek I ml inn*. — Disturbances ;/roin'/i;/

OUt of it. - Murili r of McIntOfh, - dun rii,.,-'* Unijiti'in of

Ijn Fayette. — A'.'/,'-./ N' *simi <>f tin- Legislature. — (i<»-mi>i/-'i<
J/rx.s'm/r . — ///x Recommendations. — 1 '/>/'•* </// Slur,/-!/

— rrni-n iliii'j* i if tin- I,t ,/ixln'iiri . — fi'of /•//"/•'* ('i,,-ri'.

i'-it/i iln President) Oen. Garnet <nnl n/ln ,-*, Ixi/ini, dV., ((V.

The causes of the failure of negotiations at Broken Arrow,
will appear by reference to the documents published in this
chapter. Negotiation- were then transferred to the Indian
Springs, after the f'oll(i\vini^ notification had been ijiven to
the Agent of Indian A flairs.

WA-!II\(;TM\ Crrr, January 12, ls-_':>.

Sir : — The Commissioners, on the part of the United States
have coineto the conclusion of assembling the Chiefs of the
Creek nation, for the purpose of submitting to them mat-
ters of importance to themselves and tin- ( Jovernnicnt. The
day of convention will be the 7th of February next, Mon-
day, at the Indian Springs. We arc; desirous that all the
Chiefs of the nation should attend, who are in the habit of
transacting public business, and of signing treaties. You
will cause the enclosed invitation to be circulated, forthwith,
among the chief--, and broken days issued accordingly. On
my return to Georgia, which will be in a few days 1 shall
probably have occasion to address you further upon the
subject of the negotiation.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

DUNCAN (i. CAMIT.KLL.
Col. John Crowd 1,

Agent Indian Affairs.

The " invitation" or circular, dated the same day, and
signed by Col. Campbell, in behalf of himself and the other
Commissioner, addressed " to the Chiefs of the Creek Na-
tion," was in the following words :

".By the authority of the President of the United States,
you are requested to convene at the Indian Springs, on

CHAP. X.] COUNCIL OF CREEK INDIANS. 255

Monday, the 7th day of February next. Matters of great
consequence to the Nation and t'lie United States, will be
laid before you. We shall expect all to be present, on the
day appointed, who are in the habit of transacting the
business of the Nation, and of signing treaties."

On the 7th of February, the Commissioners met at the
place appointed, but, as few of the Chiefs had arrived, no
business was then done. The Agent was present, and on
the same day addressed a note to the Commissioners, in
which he said : " Having been informed by the War De-
partment of the renewal of the negotiation with the Creek
Indians, for a cession of land, and being instructed to obey
your orders in relation to the negotiation, I now have the
honor to inform you that I will, in compliance with my in-
structions, obey such instructions as I may receive from you
in the fulfilment of your duties under the instructions of
the War Department, and cheerfully co-operate with you
in bringing to a successful termination the present negoti-
ation."

On the 10th, the Commissioners finding that Chiefs and
Head Men, to the number of nearly four hundred, had
convened, a meeting was had, except with the Tuckabatchee
Chiefs, who sent a message " that they were not ready, and
were not disposed to meet in the room prepared for the
council, but were disposed to hold meetings at their own
camp." The Council, nevertheless, proceeded to business,
and after "a long and friendly talk" by the Commissioners
to the Chiefs, a treaty was concluded, and, after being dis-
cussed and explained, was signed, on the 12th, [Feb., 1825,]
."by all the chiefs present, except the delegation from
Tuckabatchee, and one chief from Talladega." In the
mean time, however, a part of the Chiefs of two of the
towns had left, mysteriously, and the only explanation of
this movement, obtained at the time, was that the " order"
for their departure was given by William Hambly, United
States Interpreter, aided by the advice of Stedham, a Chief
of one of the towns.

It is not important, here, to particularize the terms of the

256 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CiiAr. X.

treaty, except to state that, for a consideration named, the
Creeks ceded to the United States "all the lands lying
within the boundaries of the State of Georgia as defined by
the compact" of 1802 between the United States and
Georgia, in exchange for lands of " the like quantity, acre
for acre, westward of the Mississippi :" and that the period
of their removal was not to ''extend beyond the first day
of September, in the year eighteen hundred and twenty-
six." It is important to state that this treaty, signed by
the United States Commissioners, by William Mclntosh.
" Head Chief of Cowetaus," and fifty-one other Chiefs, was
"executed on the day as above written, in presence of

JoilX CUOWKLL, At/* nf for /ndi'lll A (}''! if*"

"Whatever may have been the truth of the char,
brought against this Agent, or the extent of his connection
with the subsequent troubles in the ('reek country, there is
no doubt that, after having been thus present at the council
and the execution of the treaty, and having xiym-d Jiis
name as a witness to it, lie wrote, the very next day, a letter
to the Secretary of War, of which the following is an
extract :

"• Yesterday a treaty was signed by Mclntosh, and his
adherents, alone. Being fully convinced that this treaty is
in direct opposition to the letter and spirit of the instruc-
tions, which 1 have a copy of, I feel it to be my bound en
duty, as the agent of the government, to apprise you of it,
that you may adopt such measures as you may deem ex-
pedient, as to the ratification ; for. if ratified, it may produce
a horrid state of thing- among these unfortunate Indians.
It is proper to remark that, with the exception of Macintosh,
and perhaps two others, the signatures to this treaty are
either chiefs of low grade, or not chiefs at all ; which you
can perceive, by comparing them to those to other treaties,
and to the receipts for the annuity, and these signers are
from eight towns only, when there are fifty-six in the
nat:on."

Now, assuming all these things to be true, the question
is, why did not the Agent decline any participation in the
business ?

Col. Campbell, one of the Commissioners, wrote thus, to
tho Secretary of War, on IGth February :

CHAP. X.] TREATY WITH THE CREEK INDIANS. 257

" On the 13th instant, we had the honor of enclosing to
you, from the Indian Springs, the copy of a treaty which
had been concluded, the day previously, with the Creek
nation of Indians. On Monday morning, the 14th, a sup-
plemental article was added, which has exclusive relation
to two reservations claimed by the Indian chief, General
Mclntosh. I am gratified at the opportunity which I now
make, of transmitting to the Department, by oar Secretary,
Major Hay, the original treaty and the Commissioners'
Journal. On reference to this last document, you will
discover under what circumstances the negotiation was
renewed, and how it progressed and terminated. There is
nothing of singular import in the whole proceeding, except
the sudden and mysterious departure of the Cussetaus, at
night, after solemn assent to a treaty. The explanation
given to this movement, by the report of Col. Williamson,*
at the conclusion of the Journal, I hope will be found sat-
isfactory. The step was far from being voluntary. These
chiefs, doubtless, were deluded by a wily and perfidious
individual in the service of the government, as interpreter.
His opposition to a treaty was notorious. His life and char-
acter have been too much diversified, and too strongly
marked, to make him a fit officer of public trust. The
attendance of the Chiefs was a full one ; much more so
than is usual when Chiefs only are invited. The opposi-
tion was feeble, and seems to have been dictated by the
Big "Warrior. The deathf of this Chief, I conceive, puts
the question at rest. That all opposition will now cease,
and that the dissenting party will now treat and reunite
themselves witli the majority, I have no doubt. To meet
this expected contingency, a portion of the appropriation
has been reserved."

The foregoing extracts show the opinion of the Commis-
sioners, or, at least, one of them, in regard to the fairness
of the treaty ; but events were in progress of maturity and
development, for which neither they nor the public were
then prepared.

Whatever may have been thought of the course of Presi-
dent Monroe with reference to the recent demonstration of

* This gentleman had been employed by tho U. ?. Commissioners to ascertain the
reason of the departure of certain Chiefs from tho treaty ground; and it was upon infor-
mation given him, that Hambly and Stedhaui wore implicated. — ED.

f It has been seen that ho was not then dead. His Indian namo was Tustunniiiwe
Thlucco. — ED.

258 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROITP. [CHAP. X.

the so called " Cherokee delegation," he soon after signal-
ized the close of his administration, in regard to the Indians,
and especially those resident in Georgia, by an admirable
message which he communicated to Congress on the 27'. h
of January, 1825. We make the following extracts:

" For the removal of the tribes within the limits of the
State of Georgia, the motive has been peculiarly strong,
arising from the compact with that State, whereby the
United States are bound to extinguish the Indian title to
the lands within it, whenever it may be done peaceably and
on reasonable conditions. In the fulfilment of this com-
pact, I have thought that the United States should act with
a generous spirit, that they should omit nothing which
should comport with a liberal construction of the instru-
ment, and likewise be in accordance with the just rights of
those tribes. From the view which I have taken of the
subject, I am satisfied that, in the discharge of these im-
portant duties, in regard to both the parties alluded to. the
United States will have to encounter no conflicting inter-
ests with either. On the contrary, that the removal of the
tribes from the territory which they now inhabit, to that
which was designated in the message at the commence-
ment of the session, which would accomplish the object for
Georgia, under a well-digested plan for their government
and civilization, which should be agreeable to themselves,
would not only shield them from impending ruin, but pro-
mote their welfare and happiness. A

negotiation is now depending with the Creek nation, for
the cession of lands held by it within thelimits of Georgia,
and with a reasonable prospect of success. To

give effect to this negotiation, and to the negotiations
which it is proposed to hold with all the other tribes within
the limits of the several States and Territories, on the prin-
ciples and for the purposes stated, it is recommended that
an adequate appropriation be now made by Congress."

The following is the Governor's letter to the Commis-
sioners, on the subject of the message :

EXKCI'TIVK DKl'AUTMKNT, GK< MMilA,

Gentlemen : Within this hour, the mail has brought an
important communication, made by the President to Con-
gress, on the 27th ult., and connected with the objects of
your commission. Fearing a copy may not have reacbed
you, I hasten to forward, by express, a" newspaper which

CHAP. X.] REPLY OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 259

contains it. He can be with you early to-morrow morning.
With consideration and respect,

G. M. TKOUP.
D. G. Campbell, J. Meriwether, Esqrs.,

U. S. Commissioners for holding treaty with the Creeks,
Indian Springs.

The Commissioners replied, on the 9th, from Indian
Springs :

It affords us much pleasure to acknowledge the receipt
of yours of yesterday, enclosing a special message lately
made by the President to the Senate of the United States.
We were aware that such communication was intended to
be made, and had arranged for its transmission to this
place. It had not arrived, however, which makes the
arrival of your express the more acceptable. The Chiefs of
the nation are coming in, in considerable numbers. We
discover distinctly the decided hostility of a large deputa-
tion from Tookaubatchee, but are of opinion that in council
we have the ascendency in numbers and in grade. We
cannot admit the possibility of defeat, yet such may be the
result. Our expectations are founded upon facts which
amount to strongest assurance of success, and we must in-
dulge the gratification, that even " while Troup is Govern-
or," * the policy and obligations of the United States will
be effected, and the rights of Georgia obtained.

The Governor wrote again to the Commissioners :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA, \
MilledgeviUe, IZthFeb., 1825. J

Gentlemen : Accept my thanks for your last letter by
express. A dispatch from Mr. Forsyth has this moment
reached me, and, believing it may be of service to you, I
hasten, by another express, to place you in possession of it.
Our delegation, as was expected, are resolved to do their
duty ; it is known to me you will do yours to all parties,
and I will endeavor not to be wanting in mine. There can
be no doubt of the correctness of the suggestion of Mr.
Forsyth, that a treaty concluded with that portion of the
tribe resident in Georgia, for the cession of all the lands
within our limits, would be approved by Congress.

With great respect and consideration,

G. M. TROUP.

* lleferring to a remark attributed to the Agent, that " Georgia should get. no land
from the Indians while Troup was Governor ;" showing the suspicion of the Agent's hos -
tility to the treaty even before it was signed. — ED.

20,) LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CiiAr. X.

To which the Commissioners replied :

INDIAX SIM:L\«;S, Keh. 13th, 1825.

Sir: Your express has this moment reached us, and
delivered your communication covering the proceedings of
Congress upon the Indian question. Wo arc, liappyto in-
form you that the "long agony is over," and that \ve
.concluded a treaty, yesterday, with what we consider the
Nation, for nearly the whole country. We enclose you a
copy, also dispatches for the Government. These last are
addressed to your care, to secure their certain transmission
by to-morrow's mail. The original Treaty will he conveyed
li\ our Secretary, to Washington City, by thcstaire leaving
Wilkes, on Thursday next. We are still in time for ratiii-
cation by the present Senate, and beg to oiler you our
sincere gratulations upon the more than successful issue of
a negotiation in which you have been an ardent co-worker.
With great consideration and respect,

1)( M A\ ( \. CAMIMIKLL,
.1 AMKS MEEIWETHEB.
His Excellency G. M. Troup.

Soon after the failure of negotiations at Broken Arrow,
Gov. Troup had addressed a letter to the President, dated
23d December, 1824, complaining of the conduct of the
Agent, and in which, speaking of that conduct, he said :
" you had timely and sufficient warning, by a communica-
tion which I had occasion to make the Executive Govern-
ment, some twelve months since, and which was answered
by the confirmation of this same man in office. '

Having received information of the signing of the tre
Gov. Troup addressed the following letters to the Georgia
delegation In Congress :

EXKCUTIVE DKI-AKTMKNT, GKORLIA, /

Gentlemen : From what I have learned, unofficially, of
the late conduct of the Agent at the Indian Springs, his
hostility to the interest of Georgia has suffered no abate-
ment. I can by no means vouch for the accuracy of the
reports connected with it. The Commissioners must know,

* The sub-Agent, Walker, was dismi^cil from his oilier, by t]\<- Sivn-tary of War. i;i
January, 1825, on the ground that, " BO fur fmm criiitrilnitinj,' t> rll'.vt tlir obj<vt of the
government, your influence uas been us.'d in deftatbtg f of the

trenty."— KD.

CHAP. X.] LETTERS TO THE GEORGIA DELEGATION. 261

and, if founded in truth, you will be satisfied, that the
Agent will leave no efforts unessayed to detain the Creeks
in their own country, to the last hour limited by the treaty,
if he be longer continued in office. Mclntosh and all his
people are willing to hurry away — the Agent can retard or
detain them, by the multiplication of obstacles which will
be insuperable to them. We are much concerned in their
speedy removal.

With great consideration and respect,

G. M. TKOUP.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA,
MilledgemUe, Vlth Feb., 1825.
Gentlemen : "What was stated in my letter of the 15th,
in relation to the conduct of the Agent at the Indian
Springs, as rumor, is continued as matter of fact. Profess-
ing good dispositions, and tendering hearty co-operation to
the Commissioners, he was secretly engaged in under-
mining them. The Chiefs were all, the Tookaubatchees
excepted, ready to sign the treaty, and whilst the Commis-
sioners were occupied in the preparation of it, the Agent
ordered a portion of them to depart by night. When the
Commissioners, to their astonishment, discovered this seces-
sion, they dispatched Col. Williamson in pursuit, and to
advise them to return ; but their resolution was fixed, and,
when it was asked why the}7" had thus precipitately turned
their backs upon the Commissioners, on the very eve of the
signature, their answer was, one and all, " by order of the
Agent." You see, therefore, that but for thjs perfidious in-
terference, the treaty would have been concluded by the
entire nation, and with an unanimity almost unexampled.
This last act of the Agent proves that he is yet animated
by the same inveterate hostility to the interests of Georgia,
which signalized his conduct and defeated the treaty at
Broken Arrow. It is the interest of Georgia, as I believe
it is the wish of her people, that the territory be organized
as speedily as possible, consistently with the treaty ; and as,
in expediting the removal of the Indians, much will depend
on the facilities afforded by the Agent, it is presumable
that he will not fail to take the necessary measures to detain
them to the last hour limited by the treaty. I understand,
further, that those of the tribe who refused their assent to
the treaty, threaten injury to Mclntosh and his Chiefs.
Should the execution of these threats be attempted, (the
treaty having been ratified,) I will feel it to be my duty to
punish, in the most summary manner, and with the utmost

Of; 2 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. X.

severity, every such attempt, as an act of hostility commit-
ted within the actual territory and acknowledged jurisdic-
tion of Georgia ; and thus, whether the Agent of the United
States may think proper to deport himself as a neutral or
a partisan.

With great respect and consideration,

G. M. TROTJP.

P. S. Dr. Meriwether, the Secretary to the Commission-
ers, I learn, proceeds to Washington with the treaty. Ho
will, no doubt, be able to give you any information which
you may require touching the proceedings at the Indian
Springs.

G. M. TROUP.

The Hon. Senators and Representatives in
Congress, from Georgia,
Washington City.

The Secretary of the Commission was Major Hay, and
not Dr. William Meriwether, who wn< present, however, and
afterwards made an affidavit, from which the following is an
extract :

"After the whole treaty had been gone through and ex-
plained, it was signed and sealed by the parties. There
was no objection whatever made by Col. Crowell, or the
Interpreter, when called upon to witness the treaty, nor did
this deponent ever hear from Col. Crowell the slightest sug-
gestion that the Chiefs present were not competent to make
a treaty, nor does he believe that any such suggestion was
made."

On the 2Sth of February, 1825, the President sent to the
Senate, " a treaty lately concluded at the Indian Springs,
by Commissioners of the United States, duly authorized,
with the Chiefs of the Creek Nation, assembled in council,
with the documents connected therewith."

So it appears that Col. Crowell's letter, of 13th February,
complaining that the treaty was " in direct opposition to
the letter and spirit of the instructions," had no effect upon
the Executive Government at Washington. On the 3d of
March, the Senate advised and consented to the treaty, and
the same was duly ratified and confirmed by Mr. Adams,
(who had succeeded Mr. Monroe, in the Presidency, on the

CHAP. X.] TEE GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATIONS. 263

fourth of March,) four days afterwards, that is, on the
seventh day of the same month."*

On the 21st of March, the Governor issued his procla-
mation, which, after reciting the ratification of the treaty,
&c., said :

" I have, therefore, thought proper to issue this, my
proclamation, warning all persons, citizens of Georgia and
others, against trespassing or intruding upon the lands oc-
cupied by the Indians, within the limits of this State, either
for the purpose of settlement or otherwise ; as every such
act will be in direct violation of the provisions of the treaty
aforesaid, and will expose the aggressors to the most cer-
tain and summary punishment by the authorities of the
State and of the United States."

A proclamation was also issued by the Governor, on the
18th day of April, reciting the ratification of the treaty,
the importance " that the territory aforesaid should be or-
ganized and settled .with as little delay as may comport
with the provisions of the treaty ; and, to this end, the
assent of the Indians having been obtained, to the running
and survey of the country under the authority of the State"
• — he, therefore, by authority of the Legislative resolve,
called an extra session of the General Assembly, to meet
at Milledgeville on the 23d day of May.

Meanwhile, a storm was gathering, which was soon to
burst on the head of Mclntosh, and to produce scenes of
disorder seldom witnessed amongst civilized or savage men.
With the calmness and foresight for which he was so re-
markable under the most adverse circumstances, Governor
Troup had contemplated the prospect, and, witli his usual
energy, had determined to prevent the threatened outbreak,

* The vote, in tho Senate, on advising and consenting to the treaty, was as follows :
YEAS — Messrs. Barbour,f Bell, Benton, Bouligny, Brown, Clayton, COBB, Dickerson, Katon,
Edwards, ELLIOTT, Findlay, Gaillard, Ilayne, Holmes, of Me., Holmes, of Mississippi. Johnson,
Johnston, Kelly, King, of Ala., Lanman, Lloyd, of Md., Lloyd, of Mass., Lowrio, Mcllvaine,
McLean, Macon, Mills, Parrott, Kuggles, Seymour, Smith, Talbot, Tazewell, Thomas, Van
Burcn, Van Dyke, and Williams, — 38. NAYS — Messrs. Barton, of Missouri, Branch, of North
Carolina, Chandler, of Maine, and Do Wolf, of Rhode Island — 4. — ED.

•(•The same person who, afterwards, whilst Secretary of War, negotiated the second, or "new"
Creek treaty — ED.

2(54 ^IFE OI< GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

if possible. On the 17th February, certain Chiefs of the
friendly Indians met the Governor in his office, and made
an address to him, in which they said :

"We meet you to-day, in your office, to express our
opinion as principal chiefs of Coweta ; which expression
we have considered best to give you in writing, that you
may know when we act contrary to our talk. Kighteen
hundred and thirteen was the beginning of the hostile
party, and General Mclntosh was the iirst red man who
joined the United States, and spilt his blood in her defence ;
at that time we were warriors under General Mclntosh,
and fought for our country ; and, after peace was made,
we were appointed Chiefs by General Mclntosh, not by
Little Prince or the Big Warrior; then-fore we l»ve <a'.d
Mclntosh until death, and will hold last to his talks, because
we know he acts agreeable to our father's talks, and by
him we gain our protection tVom our father the President.
Looking back to 1S1."», we believe that but for the relations
which Mclntosh sustained to the United States. \ve should
have lost our lands without getting a penny for them.

FATIIKU: At the late treaty of the Indian Springs, a go. .d
many hostiles, as usual, objected to it. If that party should
attempt to breed a disturbance with the friendly Indians,
we shall inform you for protection ; and we hope you will
protect us, in case the hostiles should intrude on us. as we
look for protection from you. as we have been tryin.
gratify the wishes of our father, the President. We hope
he loves us as his red children ; and we hope you love us
as friends of justice, as friends of good order and friends of
harmony."

Three days after, they again addressed the Governor,
and, amongst other things, said :

" OTII FATHER: At the treaty of Broken Arrow, the chiefs
got jealous of Mclntosh, and threatened to kill him ; the
charge against him was that he wanted to sell land to the
commissioners of the United States. In 1824, a few chiefs
met at a place called the Pole Cat Springs, and passed a
law that if any person should sell '.;r offer land for sale,
guns and rope should be their end. This law was intended
to prevent General Mclntosh from selling land; but it was
not agreeable to the laws of the nation. If it was intended
to be the national law, it ought to have been read before
the national chiefs, and let them determine it — not collect
a few chiefs to make a law. Could an individual State

CHAP. X.] INDIAN CONFERENCE. 265

pass a law to extend all over the United States, or one
county make and enforce a law for the government of the
whole State ? The guns and rope are taken from the pat-
tern of the Cherokees. Therefore we do not consider it a
law of the nation to be enforced ; it is merely law among
themselves ; but those who signed their names to the pat-
tern of the Cherokees, determine to execute the law. This
is the report from some of our friends. If they determine,
we are ready to defend ourselves, and, with your assistance,
they will find a great difference in numbers. Our charac-
teristic disposition is to treat all mankind as friends, brothers
and relations. We determine never to impose on any man,
but treat all as friends."

It appears, by the Executive Journal of that date, that on
the 19th of February, several of the Chiefs of the Creek
nation, Gen. Mclntosh among them, went to the Executive
chamber to hold a " talk " with the Governor, the sub-
stance of which was that they had consented to give up
their lands and move across the Mississippi — that they
expected, before they left, to encounter difficulties and
privations ; notwithstanding which, they were willing to
listen to the advice of their great father, and give up the
lands ; but, in doing this, offence had been given to some of
their people ; and, as there were bad white men among
them, who were endeavoring to stir up their own people to
do them harm ; and, more especially, as the Agent was
among their worst enemies, and they could expect no pro-
tection or support from him, they wanted to know whether
they could be certain of protection from the government of
the United States, and from that of Georgia, &c., &c. —
that to this the Governor replied, stating the happiness he
felt at their determination to remove, &c., &c. ; that, with
regard to protection against their own people who were
hostile, or against the whites, he had no doubt the Presi-
dent would afford them all the protection their situation
might require ; that, as to the State of Georgia, they should,
so far as depended on him, find protection at all times ;
and, so long as they conducted themselves well, the
people of Georgia would be ready to support him in it, with
all their hearts ; for they had for a long time been the

266 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [Ciur. X.

friends of Georgia in peace and Avar, and that they them-
selves had fought and bled for Georgia in the last war, and
that the Georgians could not forget them, &c., Arc. There
was some further talk not important for insertion here—
the foregoing being generally a substantial, and, for the
most part, a literal, extract in an the Journal referred to.

With commendable promptness, the Governor dispatched
one of his Aids-de-camp, Col. Henry G. Lamar, to the
Creek country, with the following message to the hostile
Indians :

EXECUTIYI; Dl r.\RTM!M. (il-MKLiA, )

M ;iled(jeville,mh Feb., 1825. J

In consequence of the apprehensions expressed in a talk
delivered by the friendly Chiefs of the Creek Nation, on
the l!)th instant, the written communication delivered at
the same time, and another on the 'Jlst, by Etome Tuste-
nn^gee, of the hostile intentions of the unfriendly party in
said Nation, toward Melntosli and his friends, in conse-
quence of the late treaty; arid, in compliance with the
promises given them, that every aid should be afforded
them within the power of this government, it is thought
proper to send a friendly talk to the Chiefs of Tookaubat-
chee and Kussetau, at the same time forewarning them
of the danger to which they will expose themselves by any
outrage committed on Mclntosh, or any of the friendly
Indians, in consequence of said treaty. Accordingly, Col.
Henry G. Lamar is dispatched with a talk to said hostile
Chiefs, in the following words, to wit :
To the Chiefs an<l II< <i<lmen of

Tookaubatchee and Kussetau:

I hear bad things of you. You threaten Mclntosh and
his people, because they listened to their father, the Presi-
dent, and ceded the lands to the Georgians. They acted
like good and dutiful children. You opposed yourselves to
the wishes of your great father, who was doing the best
for the interest of his red people, and would not sign the
treaty. But this you did, as I believe, under the influence
of bad men, who pretended to be your friends, but who
cared nothing about you. Now I tell you, take care and
walk straight. Mclntosh and his people are under my
protection, as well as under the protection of the United
States. If any harm is done by you, or any of your people,
to Mclntosh or his people, I will treat you in the same way

CHAP. X.] INSTRUCTIONS TO COL. LAMAR. 26 7

as if you were to come into our white settlements and do
the like. I will pursue you until I have full satisfaction.
Do not let bad men persuade you that because you live in
and near to Alabama, you will be safe. If you commit one
act of hostility on this side the line, I will follow and punish
you. But I hope there will be no occasion for this, and that
you will take counsel of wise and good men, and so conduct
yourselves for the future, as to receive the approbation and
protection of your father, the President, and that I also
may look upon you as friends and treat you accordingly.
This message will be delivered to you by my Aid-de-camp,
Col. Lamar.

G. M. TROUP,
Governor of Georgia.

In his instructions to Colonel Lamar, the Governor,
amongst other things, said :

From the moment of the ratification, the territory will be
considered as belonging to Georgia, in all respects, excepting
merely the temporary occupancy of the Indians, and any
act of disorder or violence committed there, will be treated
as committed within the actual jurisdiction of the State,
and, of course, the Indians committing it, pursued and
punished wheresoever they may go.

You will meet them with friendly dispositions : say to
them, in accordance with the spirit of the message which
you carry, that it is the settled opinion of all the wise and
good men of the United States, that the Indians, looking to
nothing but their own interest, present and future, ought
to move, without delay, beyond the Mississippi. They al-
ready know this to be the advice of their great father.
They will soon know it to be the advice of his great coun-
cil, the Congress. None but bad men, hostile to their true
interests, will ever advise them to the contrary. You will
take with you the published documents, showing the views of
the President in relation to the conduct of both the Agent*

* In his report, of Sth January, to the War Department, written at Washington City,
Col. Campbell, speaking of the failure of negotiations at Broken Arrow, attributed the failure
to certain unfavorable influences which had been procfuced by (amongst others,) John Ross, a
Cherokee Chief, and Walker, th™ sub-Agent of Indian Affairs These influences caused a meet-
ing of a portion of the Creeks at Tookaubatchee, in May, and at Pole Cat Springs, in November,
1824. At the former, a resolution was passed to " follow the pattern of the Cherokees,
and, on no account whatever, to consent to sell one foot of land, neither by exchange nor
otherwise," and " this meeting was attended exclusively by Chiefs within the Alabama limits."
Referring to the proceedings at these meetings, Col.Campbell said : "Of the existence of these
proceedings, by which the question was prejudged, and the commission forestalled, we had no
knowledge until we obtained it casually on our way to the treaty. Under these disadvantages
the negotiation was commenced ; and the journal of our proceedings, herewith furnished, wil 1

268 UI'H OF GEORGE M. TROIT. [i'nxr. X.

and Cher.ikoes at Broken Arrow, the indignation with
which lie viewed their conduct, and, of course, the indig-
nation with which he will regard the conduct of the Indians
hostile to the treaty, if they do not in future deport them-
selves as men deserving his love and friendship : and
another paper. lc— authentic, but not altogether nnotlicial,
taken from the National .Journal, in which they will
that the Indians west of the ]\Ii»issippi, without foreknow-
ledge of the views or plans of the President, have adopted
the same views, and are concerting the same mea-r.res for
bringing all the Indians together on the west of the M
sippi ; and that soon, very soon, they will all go : BO that a
red man will not be seen between the Mississippi and the
lake-.

Pursuant to his instructions. Col. Lainar proceeded im-
mediately to the Creek country. He \i>ited the towns of
Kussetau and Tookanbatchee, held a talk with the Indian-,
endeavored to compose the excited feelings of the discon-
tented, <fcc., &c. On the loth "f March, he made a report
to the Governor, but we can copy only the concluding part,
as follows :

"My own opinion, which is partly conjectural, and in
part formed from observation and conversations had with
some of the Indians, is this — leave them to themselves — if
they clearly understand what are the wishes of the 1'ivsi-
dent, they will conform to them. 1 speak of them collect-
ively, as a people. They have no correct notion-; of our
government and their relative connection with it. Their
conclusion is, that the powers of the President arc absolute,
and that he has an unquestionable right to coerce obedience.
But, independent of this notion of tear, the unlimited con-
fidence reposed in the wisdom and virtue of the President,

- -how. to Mini'- extent, the manner in whieh i: was pursue.!.

depeiii 1- 'lit solely up. in their own exertions. Th'-v il'-i iveil M.. :ii.l I'mm the principal '
:uul eneoiintorea the perfidious opposition (,f l,is a-istant." On the i:;th January, Mi.c.-il-
noun, the Secretary «f War. writing to Col. Campl.ell. and rcferri telnet of the

-aid : "It wa- n..t douhted l>y tlie Department luit tlmt lie wmiM . iierato

in etVivtin^tlie ul.j.'i-t of tli- iT'iMTiitneiit in aiitlioviziii'.' the trrnty to !«• ):, M. It :.
however. ]>\ tlie reprirt, that the ' •! to inforni yuii i.l' tin- jirevi..!!-: nieetii.

:i "f tli,. Civ. : . !.:uil.:iti'li"<« anil the I'ole Cat Springs, \\lii. h li:i.l -o material

;x l'eariiitL' mi the negotiation : an<l that the C(iiiiiiii--ioiier- had to rely .-. lely upon their own
exertion^, without aid from the A^'ont. >vln> ai-itined a neutral p,i-iti..:1. It :i\-o :ippe.-ir~. from
the journal, that, in the opinion of th" Cumim-ion. r-. the < I -ledl.y

the Ohrtokeei, and . ,-. it is the <'.'

the President, liefoiv 1,,- m ;,,„ ,.,, n,,. ,-,,M,-,u.-t <.!' the A . nt. to he put in fill! JM.-.

D of :,11 the fa.t- ainl rliviiiii-t.-iur, - whi. h may enable him to I'.irm a corivct ..j.inion a~
•ndiiet and motive,, in withholdin .—En.

CHAP. X.] LETTER FROM CHILLY M'INTOSH. 269

is a sure guaranty of the successful accomplishment of his
wishes. In order to destroy the effects of this influence, I
discover that the belief has been imposed upon them, (at
least to some extent,) that the Commissioners, being Geor-
gians, were only subserving the interest and wishes of
Georgia. There are a number of white men settled among
them, who heretofore looked with pleasure on their pros-
pects of enjoying the benefits of a permanent location, who
have acquired their confidence by the connections they have
formed, and I have no doubt that their influence is secretly
exerted to excite discontent, and inculcate opinions adverse
to the interest of Georgia and the policy of the General
Government. There is another prevailing feeling among
them. They indulge the belief, should they move beyond
the Mississippi, that a perpetual warfare with the tribes in-
habiting that country would be the inevitable consequence.
You will discover in my talk to them, with the view to
produce a complete reconciliation, I endeavored to refute
that opinion. If the treaty is ratified, I have no doubt that
all clamor will cease ; for, in proportion as they understand
the wishes of the President, and the course of conduct our
government adopts towards them, in the same degree will
all other influence be diminished. Added to this, what has
been done, was done, no doubt, with the view to prevent
its ratification. The cause, therefore, which produced the
excitement, will cease to exist after that desirable object is
accomplished."

It is proper also to remark that Ho-poth-le-Yoholo and
Little Prince, then the principal men of Tookaubatchee and
Kussetau, both denied to Col. Lamar any hostility to M'Intosh
and the other friendly Indians, for having signed the treaty.

But there were secret and malign influences at work,
which it was not in the power of the Governor to coun-
teract successfully. A week after penning his instructions
to Col. Lamar, he received the following letter :

NEAVNAN, 3d March, 1825.

Governor: I take the authority to inform you, since we
left you we haven't got home in consequence of thehostiles.
I met my friends at Flint Eiver, Mr. Miller and A. Tus-
tunnuggee, and they tell me that they run them off — threat-
ened to kill them — cut their throats and set up their heads
by the road for a show — they are determined to die on their
owrn country, and they have appointed men to kill seven

270 r'IFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

Chiefs, Gen. Mclntosh, myself, Joseph Marshall, Samuel
Hawkins, James Island, Etome Tnstnnnnggee ami Col. Mil-
ler. Since the treaty, the hostile party have been in council
a second time at Broken Arrow, and are now at Took a u -
batchee, holding a council — they have not broke up yet.
We understand they have sent a memorial <>n to the Presi-
dent not to interfere with them or assist us — to let them
settle it among themselves. No doubt they are determined
to destroy us if they can. Myself and father parted at the
Indian Springs, on our way home — since I heard the news,
I have dispatched a runner to him, not to stay one moment
at home, but to meet me at this place. Excuse my hand-
wiiting. This is not half I know, but the bearer of this is
in a hurry.

I remain your son,

Cim.i.v MrI.\Tos:i.
His Excellency G. M. Troup.

It will be remembered that the writer of the above.
Chilly Mclutosh, was the son of General William Mclntosh,
head Chief of the Cowetas and that all the threatened
Chiefs above named, belonged to the Mclntosh or friendly
party — several of them having signed the treaty. The
Governor, in his reply, dated 5th March, said :

" Your letter of the 3d came safe to me this moment.
I am sorry to hear that the hostiles continue to be such
fools and madmen. They will soon be taught better. If
they do not listen to my talks sent by Col. "~ La mar. I will
send a military force to the line, to keep them in order and
punish offenders. Col. Lamar left this I'm- lCu>setau and
Tookaubatchee last Sunday, the 27th February. Hi-
must have arrived at the council before this. It is as I told
yon it would be; the hostiles have been set on by bad
white men. I hope your father will keep out of their way
until they are brought to their senses."

The following letter was written by Gen. Mclntosh to the
Governor :

CIIA.TTAHOOCHEE, 29th March, 18-25.
To His Excellency G. M. Troup :

Sir: I take the liberty of sending Samuel Hawkins to
you, seeing in the newspapers your proclamation stating
that the treaty was ratified by tin; President and Senate.
We see in the papers, also, where Crowell had wrote to the

CHAP. X.] CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEN. M'INTOSH. 271

Department that Chiefs of the lowest grade had signed the
treaty, and we see where he says there will be hostilities
with us if the United States sign the treaty. We are not
any ways in danger until he comes home and commences
hostility, and urges it himself on us. If the treaty is rati-
fied, if you can let Samuel Hawkins have two thousand
dollars, or stand his security in the Bank to that amount,
we will send men on now to look at the country to try to
move away this fall ; the money, if loaned to us, will be
paid back as soon as the money comes on to pay the first
payment of the treaty.

Any information that you can give him will be satisfac-
tory to us.

Your dear friend, &c.,

WILLIAM MC!NTOSH.

The same day, Governor Troup wrote to Mclntosh, as
follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milled geville, 29^ March, 1825.

Dear General : You will have seen by my proclamation
of the 21st inst, that I have resolved, in fulfilment of the
stipulations of the treaty, to maintain inviolate all your
rights reserved by it, so that you suffer no detriment or loss
by the trespasses or intrusions of the whites as long as you
continue to occupy the country.

It is important that the territory acquired by the late
treaty should be organized as speedily as possible, consist-
ently with the provisions of that instrument ; and, not
doubting that your assent will be given to the survey of it
before your removal, I have dispatched a messenger to you,
that your resolution may be communicated to me without
delay. It is not presumed that the least inconvenience can
result to you from this measure. Besides iny own deter-
mination to cause the rights of the Indians to be respected
in their persons and property at all times, there will be a
future and ample security and protection in the selection of
the officers who shall be charged with the duty of running
the lines, who shall be responsible, not only that no depre-
dations are committed by themselves, but that none shall
be committed by others, without their giving prompt notice
to the lawful authorities, so that the offenders may be brought
to justice.

You will understand that there is no intention on my
part to hurry your departure ; the period of this will be

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CiiAi-. X.

left to your considerations of interest and convenience un-
der the treaty ; but as the survey is a work of time, this
time can be saved to us; so that, having completed it, noth-
ing will remain but to occupy and settle the country after
you shall have left it. I wish you by all means to give me
your final answer by this express, that I may know what
measures it will become my duty to adopt.

Your friend,

Gen. William Mclntosh, (i. M. TROIT.

Creek Nation.

The following is the reply to Mclntosh's letter :

K\K<TTI\ r. I)I:I'.\I;TMI-:\ T, )

.)////< •> A/, r //A?, 4th April, 1825. f

Dear General : 1 have received your letter of tin-. ij!»th
ult., by Col. Hawkins. There will be no danger of any
hostility in consequence of the ratification of the treaty.
You will find everything going on peaceably and quietly.
If bad white men intermeddle to stir up strifes and excite
bad passions among the Indians, I will have them punished.
The President will do the same. My agent has reported
that the Indians opposed to the treaty are quite friendly ;
that they think of no mischief; that they love you, and
will do whatever their father, the President-, advises. The
Senate ratified the treaty, without any difficulty, although
the Agent was opposed to it. I write, this morning, to the
United States Commissioners, to furnish you with the ne-
cessary funds to enable your Commissioners to explore the
country west of the Mississippi, so that you may make
your arrangements to move during the next fall. As soon
as I hear from them, you shall know it. I wish you to
inform me, as early as possible, of your resolution about
the running and survey of the country, as mentioned in
my letter by express.

You will have seen, by my proclamation, that I have de-
termined the Indians shall suffer no loss or injury from our
white people, if I can help it. It is intended to guard them
against those people whom they will themselves consider
as trespassers and intruders; and not to prevent, white
people from going into the Xation, with honest intentions,
to make purchase of stock or property of any kind which
you can lawfully dispose of; all such persons will he suifered
to pass and repass without molestation. We will endeavor,
too, to appoint good and honest men for our Surveyors, so

CHAP. X.] CORRESPONDENCE WITH McINTOSH. 273

that they will do no harm themselves, and suffer none done
to the Indians.

Your friend,

Gen. "William Mclntosh, G. M. TEOUP.

Creek Nation.
Mclntosh wrote again, on the 6th, as follows :

ACOKN BLUFF, 6th April, 1825.
Governor Troup :

Dear Sir : I received your letter of the 29th March,
by the hands of your messenger, which gave me plea-
sure to get. On the 10th of this month the Chiefs will
be here, when I will lay your letter before them, after
which I will inform you what we shall agree to without
delay. When this meeting is held, if we agree to the run-
ning of the lands, it is my wisli that the Surveyors should
get their support from the red people.
I am, dear sir,

Yours with respect,

WILLIAM MC!NTOSII.

On the 9th, the Governor again wrote to Mclntosh,
sending an express, the next day, to learn the deliberations
of the Council, and also to inform the General that the
money asked as an advance for the exploration of the
country west of the Mississippi, would be ready whenever
sent for through an authorized agent, &c.

Mclntosh replied, on the 12th of April, to the Governor's
letters of 29th March and ith April. After referring to
the supposed friendly feelings of the Indians who opposed
the treaty, and the danger to which the friendly party
might be exposed, as well as the disposition of the Governor
and the President to protect them, he said :

" I have been, however, at some loss in making up my
mind, and must confess to you the embarrassment I have
labored under. Ever since the President of the United
States has had agents residing among us, we have univer-
sally considered it our duty to consult him on all important
matters that relate to the General Government or the gov-
ernment of any particular State, considering him the legal
and proper organ through whom all official correspondence
should pass, in relation to our interests appertaining to the
treaties made with our nation and the United States.
Some differences existing between the present Agent-of the
35

274: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

Creek nation and myself, and not having any confidence in
his advice, I have determined to act according to the dictates
of my best judgment, which results in the determination to
agree to the request of your Excellency, in giving my con-
sent, and, in behalf of the nation who signed the treaty,
their consent that the land lately ceded to the United
States, at the Indian Springs, may be run off and surveyed
whenever you may, or the General Government, think
proper to do so. If the general government of the United
States have no objection, and the Agent of the Creek na-
tion, with the party he influences, does not make any
objection or opposition to running and surveying the land.
myself and the Chiefs and Indian-, who were in favor of
the late treaty, do not object. We give our consent."

At the same time, Mclntosh wrote to the Governor, send-
ing a memorial of Chiefs to the Legislature, requesting that
it be laid before the General Assembly, &c. It abounded
in expressions of good will, and was called their " la t ami
farewell address." Although too long for transcription, we
cannot omit the following excerpts :

" The country which you now possess, and that which
we now remain on, was by the Great Spirit originally given
to his red children. Our brothers, the white men, vi>ited
us when we were like the trees of the forest. Our fore-
fathers smoked the pipe of peace and friendship with the
forefathers of the white man, and when the white man said,
we wish to live with the red man and inhabit the same
country, we received their presents, and said, welcome ; we
will give you land for yourselves and for your children.
We took the white man by the hand, and held fast to it.
We became neighbors, and the children of the white man
grew up, and the children of the red man grew up in the
same country, and we were brothers. The white men be-
came numerous as the trees of the forest, and the red men
became like the buffalo. Friends and Brothers : You
are like the mighty storm; we are like the tender and
bending tree ; we must bow before you ; you have torn us
UD by the roots, but still you are our brothers and friends.
TLOU have promised to replant us in a better soil, and to
watch over us and nurse us. * The day

is come when we surrender the country of our forefathers —
land of our nativity ; our homes, the places of our youthful
diversions. We surrender it to our brothers and friends,
and our hearts are glad that we are not forced to do so by

CHAP. X.] LETTERS TO McINTOSH. 275

our enemies. We go ; our people will seek new lands ; our
hearts remain with you."

The memorial was signed by Mclntosh and fifteen other
Chiefs.

The Governor replied as follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )
Milledgemlle, \Qth April, 1825. )

Dear General : Your two letters, of the 12th instant,
have lost been received, by which it is made known to me,
that, in council, you have given your consent to the survey
of the lands. 1 our memorial to the Legislature will be
presented, according to your request, and the notice you
wish published, in relation to purchases of property of any
kind, improvements, &c., &c., will, in the same words as
you have written, be printed in our next papers.

I hope that you will meet the Little Prince and council,
in good friendship. I wish to see you all united in brother-
ly affection before you move, and am convinced the Presi-
dent desires the same.

Your friend, G. M. TKOUP.

Gen. William Mclntosh, Creek Nation.

In his letter of 12th April, from which we have already
quoted, Mclntosh had written to the Governor :

" I have this moment received notification from the
Little Prince, inviting me and the chiefs in this quarter, to
attend a meeting of the nation at Broken Arrow, on the
19th instant. My own health will not permit me, probably,
to attend the meeting in person, but all of my Chiefs will go.
I have determined, if my health permits, to accompany the
delegation to the Western country, in our exploring tour,
so soon as we receive the money which we desired you to
obtain for us through the Commissioners."

The following correspondence explains itself:

MILLEDGEVILLE, 18th April, 1825.

Dear General : In one of your late letters, you say some-
thing about the consent of the United States, or if the agent
and the hostiles do not make opposition. Pray, explain to
me your meaning. We have nothing to do with the
United States, or the agent, or the hostiles, in this matter;
all we want is the consent of the friendly Indians who made
the treaty. If we wanted the consent of the United States,
we could ask it.

Your friend, G. M. TEOUP.

Gen. William Mclntosh, Creek Nation.

276 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [C'li.vr. X.

CREEK NATION, 25th April, 1825.

Dear Sir : I received your Excellency's request, yester-
day, dated the 18th inst., and hereby state to yon that my
only meaning was not to act contrary to stipulations made
between our nation and the United States government ;
and we do hereby, absolutely, freely and fully, give <>m-
consent to the State of Georgia, to have the boundary be-
longing to said State surveyed at any time the Legislature
of Georgia may think proper, which was ceded at the late
treaty of the Indian Springs.

Signed in behalf of the Nation, and by the consent of the
Chiefs of the same.

I have the honor to be, sir, with great esteem,

Yours respectfully,

WII.I.IAM Mrl.vrosir.
His Excellency Geo. M. Troup.

The writing of this letter was one of the last acts of
Mclntosh. On the night of the i;l»th or the, morning ot the
30th of April, he was cruelly murdered, at his own house
on the Chattahoochee, by a band of the hostile Indians.
Tome (or Etome) Tustunnuggee, an old chief of Coweta,
shared the same fate ; and Samuel Hawkins, son-in-law of
Mclntosh, perished some hours later. Chilly Mclntosh
escaped, by jumping through a window, and iled, with the
news, to the Governor. Gen. Ware wrote, as follows, to
Gov. Troup :

LINE CREEK, Fayctte County, Ga.,

May 1st, i>

Gov. Troup : The information you have no doubt re-
ceived by Chilly Mclntosh and other Indians, will be
confirmed by the following relation of the circumstances
attending the horrid transaction on the Chattahoochee and
Tallapoosa, in the Creek nation. On the morning of the
30th April, several neighbors of mine who lodged on the
bank of the Chattahoochee, this side of Mclntosh's, about
day-break heard the war-whoop, and they suppose from
two to four hundred guns were tired — the houses were on
fire when they set off. An intelligent Indian, Col. Miller,
who has fled to my house, together with about 150 others,
states that he supposes there are upwards of It MI warriors of
the hostile party embodied on the Chattahoocliec, at Mcln-
tosh's, feasting on all the cattle they can find, hogs, &C.,

CHAP. X.] MURDER OF McINTOSH, &c. 277

belonging to the friendly party — states, also, that they have
taken Macintosh's negroes and all other property they can
find — they, he states, intend marching toward the settle-
ment of the whites in three days. In this I am a little
incredulous ; though, as far as the resources of our country
will afford, I will be prepared. Major Finley Stewart is
collecting some volunteers to go out and reconnoitre the
country ; he will set oif as soon as practicable. He, Col.
Miller, supposes, including numbers long cloaked under
th.3 garb of friendship, who, since the death of Mclntosh,
have joined the hostile party, that the hostile party in the
nation largely exceeds 4000 warriors, and that the friendly
party amounts now to only 500. They implore protection
— they need it — they are constantly coming in — say the
road is covered with others.

Yours respectfully, ALEXANDER WAKE.

Some provision ought to be made to supply those ref-
ugees with food. A. W.

Governor Troup addressed the following letter to the
President :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milledgeville, 3d May, 1825.

Sir: Yesterday, Chilly Mclntosh, son of the General,
and bearer of this, came with other Chiefs to announce the
death of his father. On the night of the 29th ult, whilst
reposing in his bed, the savages hostile to the treaty, in
great numbers beset and fired his house, and this chieftain,
whose virtues would have honored any country, perished
by the flames or tomahawk. The old Chief of Coweta,
who was pursued with the same vengeance,* and for the
same objects, perished with him. The crime of Mclntosh
and Tustunnuggee is to be sought in the wise and magnani-
mous conduct which, at the Indian Springs, produced the
treaty of the 12th of February, and which, in making a
concession of their whole country, satisfied the just claims
of Georgia, reconciled the State to the Federal Government,
and made happy, at least in prospect, the condition of the
Creeks. When, by the last of his generous actions, he had

* Those who desire to gee a detailed statement of these murders, are referred to the letter
of Col. A. J. Pickett, of Alabama, in White's Historical Collections, pp. 170, 171, 172, and
173. It seems that the body of Mclntosh was not burned, but that his scalp, " which was
suspended upon a pole in the public square of Ocfuskee, (a Creek Town on the Tallapoosa
River,) was the spectacle of old and young, who danced around it, with shouts of joy"; and
. that Tustunnuggee and Hawkins were also scalped, and their scalps carried to the Talla-
poosa.— ED.

278 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

irivon his consent, in union with his Council, to the survey
and appropriation of the country, only to gratify the wishes
of the Georgians, and was on the eve of departure to ex-
plore the new home, where the future fortunes of all were
to abide, he met the stroke of the assassin, and the bravest
of his race fell by the hands of the most treacherous and
cowardly. The guilty authors of this mas-acre it will be
for you to detect and punish. I have done my duty.

You will soon read, in my official correspondence with
your government, the Indians and the Commissioners, the
beginning, the progress, and the end of this frightful
tragedy, in which the catastrophe -was foreseen, of which,
ever and anon, the goyernment of the I'uited States was
distinctly forewarned, which by the breath of its nostrils
might have been averted, but trhieh WM not averted. In
despite of every thing attempted to the contrary, I had
before succeeded in maintaining peace. K\en now, at the
very moment I write, a IIM • :' which you have a

copy, is dispatched to the surviving Chiefs to forbear hos-
tility. I believe the advice will be; taken as an order; but,
it is my duty to inform you, that to keep this peace !<•
than I can hear from you, will be impo»ible to any
efforts of yours or mine, unless the most ample satisfaction
and atonement shall be made promptly for the death of
Mclntosh and his friend."-" The Legislature will convene
in a lew days, and on this account I have deferred any
measures, either of retaliation or protection,
With great respect and consideration,

G. M. TUMI I'.

The President of the United States,
Washington City.

The following is the "Message to the surviving Chiefs,"
referred to in the preceding letter :

K.XIKTTIVK Dl.PAKTMI NT, )

Mlllottje.ville, 3d May, 1825. j

Friend : I heard with sorrow, yesterday, of the death of
our common friend, Mclntosh. All good hearts among the
M-hites deplore it as much as you. Satisfaction will be de-
manded, and satisfaction shall be had— but we must not be
hasty about it. We will be cool and deliberate in the

* It i* ;i|>|i:irrut from llii- :iii'l otli. : in ||,<> li-tt.-r. tlmt tin- <o.v,-nior li:i.l not

th-n liMir.I of tlir <l<'atli of H;iwkin<— Chilly Mdntc.-li li.-ivin- l.-tt l>.-r..n- tli-t t..,,U ].!..
'•von )i(.f,iri- the IIIHIUHT of M th WM liimun. i! K-in:; i-li-ir tliat

noitlipr uf tin-in ili.'il l.y •• l\ ;;i\vk."— Ki>.

CHAP, x.] MILITARY PREPARATION. 279

measures we take, and then we will be certain to be right.
You be peaceable and quiet until you hear from me, in the
same manner as if nothing had happened to Mclntosh or
Tustunnuggee ; but depend on it, my revenge I will have
• — it will be such as we have reason to believe the Great
Spirit would require — such as our Christ would not think
too much, and yet so much that I trust all red and white
men will be content with. Mind what I say to you until
you hear from me.

G. M. TKOUP.
Col. Joseph Marshall,

Creek Nation.
The following orders were promulged on the 5th :

HEAD QUARTERS, Milledgeville, 5th May, 1825.
ORDERS.

The Commander-in-Chief having received information of
the existence among the Creeks of the most frightful an-
archy and disorder, and of the recent massacre of General
Mclntosh and the old Chief of Coweta, within the actual
limits of Georgia, has thought proper to adopt precaution-
ary measures without delay, so that if the United States,
bound, by the Constitution and the treaty, to repress and
punish hostility among the Indians and maintain peace
upon our borders, shall, by any means, fail in their duty in
these respects, a competent force may be held in readiness
to march at a moment's warning, either to repel invasion,
suppress insurrection among the Indians within our own
territory, or give protection to the friendly Creeks, and
avenge the death of Mclntosh, who, always a firm friend
to Georgia, fell a sacrifice in her cause :

Ordered, That Major-General Wimberly, Major-General
Shorter, and Major-General Miller, of the 5th, 6th and 7th
Divisions, forthwith proceed to take the necessary measures
to hold in readiness their respective Divisions, to march at
a moment's warning, either by detachments or otherwise,
as they may be commanded by authority of the Legislature,
or of the Commander-in-Chief.

By the Commander-in-Chief:

SEABORN JONES,

Aid-de-Camp.

In his orders, of same date, to each of the above named
Generals, he said :

In carrying into effect the enclosed General Orders, you

tlFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

will keep a watchful eye to the frontier of our white settle-
ments, so that YOU may be able, without communicating
with me, to repress, on its first occurrence, any commotion
which may happen there in consequence of the state of
things prevailing in the nation. These infuriated ami mis-
guided people may have the temerity, before the Gene ml
Government can interpose, to pursue the Indians within
our organized limits. You will, therefore, in the spirit of
these instructions. give yourorders corresponding with them
to your most confidential officers resident near the frontiers,
who, on any sudden emergency of this cliaraeter, may,
without consulting you, proceed instantly to their execution.
A copy of General Ware's letter, received after my general
orders were issued, will assure you of the nature and extent
of the danger to be apprehended, and of the promptitude
with which they are to be carried into effect.

To Brigadier-General Ware he wrote, as follows, on the
same day :

I have this moment received yonr letter, and at the very
time when I had issued orders to Major-Generals Shorter
and Wimherly, with corresponding instructions to meet the
very exigencies which, from your information, you have
reason to anticipate. They will have the contents of yonr
letter communicated to them, that their orders may be dis-
patched with the least possible delay. I wish yon to take
measures, and the best yon can, for the comfortable main-
tenance of our unhappy friends, whilst they seek refuse
among us and are protected by our arms. Additional or-
ders will be immediately given to Major-General Miller to
hold his Division in readiness. The expense of supporting
the Indians will be incurred by the State, in the first in-
stance, and reimbursed to her from the first instalment pay-
aide to them by the United States. You will, therefore,
hold me responsible for any contract you may make on
this account, whilst, at the same time, I ask the favor of
you to cause them to be made on the best possible terms.

I sincerely trust, if these infuriated monsters shall have
the temerity to set foot within our settled limits, you may
have the opportunity to give them the bayonet freely, the
instrument which they most dread, and which is most ap-
propriate to the occasion.

The same day he wrote to the War Department, as fol-
lows:

CHAP. X.] LETTERS ON INDIAN AFFAIRS. 281

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, 1
Milledgeville, 5th May, 1825. )

Sir : I lose no time in communicating, for the informa-
tion of the President, a copy of a letter received this (
morning from Brigadier General Ware, commanding the
second brigade of the 5th division of the militia of this
State, and to advise you that measures have been adopted
for the adequate protection of the frontiers, and for the
safety of the friendly Indians seeking refuge within our
limits, until the authority of the United States can be
effectually interposed for these purposes ; and that, there-
fore, the expenses incurred in the mean time will be con-
sidered chargeable to the United States. In due time the
measures referred to will be laid before you in extenso.

With great consideration and respect,
The Secretary of War. G. M. TKOUP.

Col. Hawkins, the interpreter, and friend of Mclntosh,
has shared his fate.

Brigadier-General Charles J. McDonald having written
the Governor a letter, dated 6th May, referring to the
" disturbances among the Creek Indians," and especially
the supposed danger to Col. Crowell, the Agent, from the
alleged hostility to him of " those friendly and those hostile
to the treaty," the Governor wrote him as follows, on 7th
May:

"Your letter of the 6th instant, by express, is this
moment received. I am happy to learn from him that he
bore to you orders from Gen. Wimberly, in consequence of
my general orders to him. You are, therefore, already on
your guard, and you will not hesitate a moment to take the
necessary measures, first to make safe the frontier, and then
to give to the Agent any protection which, according to the
evidence before you, his safety shall demand ; and of
which, from your proximate situation to him, you will be
the exclusive judge. I hope that no harm has befallen
him ; and, if not, you may assure him that any force which
may be necessary to reduce to order and obedience any
militant tribes of the Creeks within our limits, shall be
furnished promptly, under the command of a trusty officer,
who will be charged with full power to act efficiently,
under any exigencies that may arise.

I thank you for the promptitude with which you have com-
municated this new information — at the same time I indulge
36

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

hope that the cause of alarm has been exaggerated. It
is scarcely to be believed that the Agent, from whom
nothing has been heard, well knowing the contentions which
agitate the country, and the imminent perils which stir-
round him, should not have dispatched runners to make
known to this government, officially, and without delay,
the circumstances which your letter discloses upon the
authority of a respectable traveler. The express which
brought it, carries the answer."1

The Governor's surmises were ri^ht in regard to the
" cause of alarm." He therefore, on the 10th of May wrote
to Gen. McDonald, and, after referring to a letter from the
third party, said :

"You will immediately, therefore, on the receipt he1
arrest the progress of any measures you may have devised
for the security of the Agent, and return to the position in
which you found yourself before you received my last in-
structions. You will, however, under the general order,
received through Major-General Wimberly, still continue to
hold your brigade in readiness to march to any point of the
frontier, at short notice, lest we may be deceived by ap-
pearances, and surprised."

In his letter of 9th May, to the Secretary of War,
forwarding a copy of Gen. McDonald's letter and his reply,
the Governor said :

"The friendly Indians continue to desert their homes,
and seek protection within our limits. Our arms are open
to receive them at all points, and the necessary measures
taken for their maintenance; the expense of which will
devolve on the United States, or the Indians ; it is hoped,
on the former."

In a postscript, he added : " Up to this time not a word
has been received from the Agent.

We have been thus minute in details regarding the sud-
den emergency which arose, not only for the purpose of
exhibiting the patriotic promptness of Gov. Troup on an
occasion of great interest to the country, but also to explain
the sequel of a controversy in which it is proper that the
course of the Governor, especially towards the Indian
Agent, may be fully borne out by the record. That unjust
suspicions rested upon this Agent, in regard to some matters,

CHAP. X.] . NOTICES OF McINTOSH. 283

may be conceded ; but it is also believed that an impartial
survey of the whole ground would lead to the irresistible
conclusion that he was not the man for the station, and
that, in compliance with the request of the Governor, his
commission should have been revoked.

The murder of Mclntosh and his friends, was made the
subject of a special presentment by the Grand Jury of the
U. S. Sixth Circuit Court at Milledgeville, May term, 1825 ;
but we have not space for extracts from it.

It would be useless to attempt a notice of all the pro-
ceedings, official and unofficial, which grew out of the
excitement in the Indian country. The messages of Gov.
Troup and the official letters to and from him, on this
subject, would fill a considerable volume ; and it shall be
our duty, in succeeding pages, to make such extracts from
them as will illustrate his history in respect to this Indian
controversy.

The following tribute to Mclntosh and his friends, taken
from an article (in White's Statistics of Georgia, pp. 555,
556,) from the pen of the late Hon. Joseph W. Jackson,
deserves a place here :

"This brave warrior and the other treaty-making Indians
had borne arms for the United States ; those opposed to the
treaty had been hostile in the war with Great Britain in
1812J '13, '14 and '15. So faithful had he been to us, that
British blandishments had failed to affect his attachments ;
and, as a just reward for his fidelity and bravery, a briga-
dier-general's commission had, in that war, been sent to
him from Washington. Again, in 1817 and 1818, he
served under Gen. Andrew Jackson, against the Indians of
Florida. The Indians friendly to the treaty were the same
who had made previous cessions, against their power to
make which no word had been uttered. They were the
proprietors and occupants of the ceded lands, and in battle
had conquered, in times past, the recusant Indians : those op-
posed were inhabitants of the interior country, altogether in
Alabama, and little concerned with the question. But a few
years before, General Jackson had treated the latter as a
conquered people, and had prescribed to them their bounds."

On the 18th of May, a committee of the chiefs and head-
men of the friendly Creeks addressed a communication to

•

284: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

Gov. Troup, enclosing an address, which they desired him
to publish, the principal object of which seems to have
been a denial of certain statements said to have been made
by the Agent, in a letter published in a Macon paper, one
of which was, " that the party of Indians friendly to Gen.
Mclntosh had threatened his life." The address further
said : "We also see, in the same paper, information derived
from the Agency, that the killing of Mclntosh, Tome Tus-
tunnuggee, and the two Hawkins, was not intended as
hostilities against the whites ; that it was only a fulfilment
of their own laws, and a law which Gen. Mclntosh himself
had signed, and declared in the square at Broken Arrow?
during the late treaty at that place. This law was, that if
any Indian Chief should sign a treaty of any lands to the
whites, that he should certainly suffer death. This state-
ment is positively false ; and it is only made use of as a
pretext for the cruel murders which have been committed."

The Governor replied as follows :

F.\i:< ITIVE DEPARTMENT, )
Mittedgeville, 21*2 May, 1825. j

My Friends : I have this moment received your letter,
with the paper which it enclosed, and will, as you request,
cause them to be published in the next papers. I hope
now that the worst is over. 'T is true that Mclntosh and
his friends, who have been so cruelly murdered, cannot be
restored to life — but the Great Spirit, who is also good and
merciful, will look down upon your sufferings with pity
and compassion — he will wipe the tears from your eyes,
and soften the hearts of even your enemies among the
whites — so that, if your great father should turn his ear
from your complaints, or shall fail to punish the white
men, who in his name have disturbed your peace, and
brought the heaviest afflictions upon you, he will have to
answer for it, both to his white children and the Great
Spirit. It cannot be doubted, therefore, that all will yet
be right. In the mean time, continue to do as I have
advised you, and until you hear from me. My officers
everywhere are ordered to take care of you and make
you comfortable. As soon as Chilly returns, you shall
know it Your friend,

The Chiefs and Headmen of G. M. TEOUP.

the Friendly Creeks.

CHAP. X.] THE CHEROKEES— AGAIN. 285

[1825.] Independently of their complicity with the
hostile Creeks, the Cherokees were again disposed to give
trouble on their own account. On 24rth March, Mr. For-
syth wrote a letter to the Governor, enclosing the copy of
the letter which the former had " written to the Secretary
of War since the adjournment of Congress, on the subject
of the execution of the recent treaty with the Creek Indians,
and the formation of a treaty with the Cherokees," &c.,
with the Secretary's answer and several papers received
with it. In his letter to the Secretary, dated 9th March,
Mr. Forsyth urged the removal of the Creeks without
unnecessary delay ; and, in regard to the Agent, he said :
" The conduct of the Creek Agent, who has spared no pains
to prevent the formation and ratification of the treaty,
justifies an apprehension that he will not fail to obstruct,
as far as is in his power, the accomplishment of the wishes
of the State. Under this conviction, a request that the
conduct of the Agent may be watched, and that no con-
fidence shall be reposed in him that can be consistently
withheld, is dictated by the interests of Georgia, the
wishes of the Creek tribe, and the honor of the General
Government." Eeferring to the Cherokees, he said, after
a brief but interesting examination of their relations to
Georgia, " my own opinion is, that the President may,
without injustice to the Indians, without violating either
principle or usage, cause a purchase to be made of the
Cherokees residing in Georgia, of the lands lying in Geor-
gia ;" and he concluded with expressing " the hope that
a new effort with the Cherokees will have as fortunate a
termination as the recent effort with the Creeks."

Mr. Barbour, the new Secretary of War, replied, on 23d
March. He said, after acknowledging the receipt of Mr.
Forsyth's letter, &c. :

" The treaty of the Indian Springs having Been ratified,
will be carried into effect ; measures having been already
taken in conformity to its provisions. Upon the second
subject referred to in yours, I have the honor to state, in
reply, that the President, as well from inclination as a

286 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

sense of duty, is disposed to carry into effect the conditions
of the compact of Georgia, whenever that can be done
consistently with its provisions. In this spirit, and in con-
formity to your suggestion, a letter was addressed from the
Department to the delegation of the Cherokees in this
place, a copy of which, marked A, is herewith enclosed ;
also, a copy of their answer, marked B, to which is added
a copy of a communication, marked C, addressed by the
Cherokee chiefs to the President. You will readily per-
ceive, from this correspondence, the determined opposition
of the Cherokees at this time to the cession of their lands.
I am directed by the President to state, that lie entirely
accords in the policy recommended by Mr. Monroe to
Congress, at their last session, on the subject of the general
removal of the Indians to the west of the Mississippi — a
policy believed to be alike advantageous to the citizens of
the United States, in their neighborhood, and the Indians
themselves. This object, as far as it lies within the sphere
of his power, will be promoted, and on every suitable oc-
casion its beneficent effects will be particularly inculcated
on the Cherokee nation."

It is not important to refer specially to the documents
accompanying the letter. Ross, Lowrey and Hicks, " the
delegation of the Cherokees," declared their sentiments in
regard to a cesssion of lands to be the same as those
formerly expressed to Mr. Calhoun, and that they were
" unchangeable ;" and, in an insolent letter to the President,
hoped that measures might be "adopted by the United
States and the State of Georgia, so as to close their com-
pact without teasing the Cherokees any more for the lands."

The following is the Governor's reply, which, although
addressed to Mr. Forsyth, was, as will be seen, intended for
the Secretary of War :

EXECUTIVE DEPAKTMKNT, GEORGIA, )
Milledgemtte, Mh April, 1825. J

Sir : Your letter, of the 24th ult., covering a cor-
respondence between yourself and the Secretary of War,
and other papers connected with the fulfilment of the
stipulations of the Articles of Agreement and Cession, was
received yesterday. Accept my thanks for your unre-
mitted attention to the interest of the State. They are
due, from the people, to you and the rest of the delegation,
for your generous and patriotic devotion to their rights,

CHAP. X.] LETTER TO MR. FORSYTH. 287

and for the firmness and dignity with which, on every
occasion, you have supported them. On the opening of a
new administration of the General Government, soon after
one important concession had been made to our just de-
mands, it is scarcely necessary to inform you how eagerly
I sought repose from the painful altercation which it had
been my imperious duty to wage with the constituted au-
thorities of the Union, and with how much of hope and
anxiety I looked forward to the future, trusting that, in
better and improved relations, we would find a kindly and
conciliatory spirit succeeded to troubled feelings ; the sense
of wrong on either side consigned to forge tfulness ; and the
claims of Georgia recognized in all the extent which reason,
justice and good faith would warrant. I trust that for
these, more has not been asked — that less will not be re-
ceived.

It cannot be dissembled, however, that in the answer
given by the Secretary of War to your communication of
the 9th ult., presupposing the best disposition to do right,
a course of policy is indicated which must infallibly termi-
nate in wrong. It is of kindred spirit with that, which, for
a time, kept us in abeyance with the Creeks, and held the
State suspended between the most fearful alternatives. On
the 12th of March, the delegation of Cherokees at Wash-
ington, laid before the President their customary annual
protest against a cession of lands on any terms, now or
hereafter. On the same day, they are asked, by order of
the Secretary of War, if they will sell lands ; they answer,
no, and this answer is echoed by the Secretary of War to
you. I hope it is not considered, as it purports to be, final.
Should the proposition be renewed, another and very dif-
ferent character must be given to it. The Cherokees must
be told, in plain language, that the lands they occupy be-
long to Georgia ; that sooner or later the Georgians must
have them ; that every day, nay, every hour, of postpone-
ment of the rights of Georgia, makes the more strongly for
Georgia, and against both the United States and the Cher-
okees. Why conceal from this misguided race the destiny
which is fixed and unchangeable ? Why conceal from them
the fact that every advance in the improvement of the
country is to enure to the benefit of Georgia ; that every
fixture will pass with the soil into our hands, sooner or
later, for which the United States must pay an equivalent
or not, to the Indians, according to their discretion ? The
United States are bound, injustice to themselves, instantly
to arrest the progress of improvement in the Cherokee

288 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

country ; it is the reason constantly assigned by the Chero-
kees for their refusal to abandon the country. The force
of the argument, therefore, if good now, increases with the
progress of improvement ; the progress of improvement
will be accelerated by the irresistible force of the argu-
ment. Thus, by a double ratio of geometrical progression,
known only to the logicians of modern times, Georgia will
find herself in a predicament, in which, whatever may
have been the aggravation of her wrongs, she never before
stood — disseized of both the argument and the lands. Why
not, therefore, in common honesty and plain dealing, say
to the Indians, remove now, or stay the nand of improve-
ment forever ; now we will give you the full value of im-
provement; hereafter we will give nothing, because we
cannot afford to pay for improvements from which no ben-
efit will result to us, which will belong to the Georgians,
and which you were forewarned, in good time, not to make ?
Let them say, now is the appointed time ; we offer you acre
for acre, and we change your tenancy at will into a fee
simple, which will descend to your posterity forever. If
you accept, well and good ; if you refuse, we are not bound
to make you the same offer again. You were once without
a country ;* you sought refuge among the Creeks ; they
received you with open arms, and gave you the lands you
now occupy ; take care that you are not without a country
again — you may find no more Creeks — no more lands.

Is it to be conceived that such an argument would be
wasted on the Cherokees ? What motive would be left
them to continue in a state so precarious, when, every in-
centive to human industry being destroyed, the barn, the
dwelling, the out-houses, the fencing, falling into decay and
ruin, the wretched Indian scatters upon an impoverished
and exhausted soil the seed from which it is even doubtful
if he is permitted by the impatient white man to reap the
scanty harvest ?

Is it forbidden to speak the Language of truth and frank-
ness ? It may be that all will avail nothing. If all should,
it will be because the Cherokees distrust the sincerity of
the United States. That they have reason for distrust, even

* Having doubts as to the reference in this part of Gov. Troup's letter, tho Editor applied
to Gov. Gilmer, who, in a note dated 27th Feb., 1859, says : " I suppose that the Churokees had
occupied, for an unknown time, tho tcrritniy which they possessed In tho upper parts of
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, when they become known to the Colonists," Ac.
And again: "Gov. Tronp's expression, which you quote, refers, I suppose, to that part of tlio
Cherokee territory which had, at one tune, bceu occupied by the Crocks."— ED.

CHIP. X.] LETTER TO MR. FORSYTE. 289

in the conduct of the United States towards themselves, is
undoubted. When they were willing to cede lands, the
United States would not take them. In the conduct of the
United States towards the Creeks, they think they see
abundant proof of the lukewarmness and indifference of
the General Government in carrying into practical effect,
so far as concerns Georgia, the plans which they devised
for the removal of the Indians. It is of no consequence
that the Indians are deceived by appearances — the appear-
ances would deceive any body. They see the Agent for the
Creeks, well knowing the officially expressed will of the
Government, opposing himself to that will, holding coun-
cils of the Indians for the very purpose of anticipating and
forestalling the Commissioners of the United States, by
inconsiderate and violent resolves, the same as those of the
Cherokees themselves. When the treaty is holden at
Broken Arrow, the Cherokees are present, by their emis-
saries, under the eye of the Agent, busied to defeat, by the
most wily machinations and contrivances, the objects of
the treaty. They witness the failure of the treaty, and by
these means. Is such a case explicable before the Indians?
— the servant setting at naught the will of the master, and
the master countenancing the servant in defying that will :
the government itself, when asked for the resolution of
these mysterious things, resolves them into a misconception
of duty. On the renewal of the treaty at the Indian
Springs, the like scenes are presented both to whites and
Indians — the Agent professedly aiding the Commissioners,
secretly undermining them, dismissing in the dead of night
the Chiefs who had agreed to sign the treaty ; protesting
the treaty, after having affixed his own signature to it as a
witness, on the ground that these very same Chiefs did
not subscribe to it ; announcing to his government that
the treaty was in direct violation of its own instructions ;
insinuating very strongly that improper means had been
adopted to procure it, and denouncing the hostility of the
Indians in the event of its ratification.

The poor Cherokees knew, as well as the most enlight-
ened member of the Cabinet, that if a foreign minister of
the h'rst grade had dared the one-half of this, he would
have been dismissed with disgrace. Yet the Agent, oppos-
ing himself to his government, as it would seem, certainly
opposing himself to the Commissioners appointed by that
government, passing on to Washington for the avowed pur-
pose of preventing the ratification of the treaty, meets a

290 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

cordial greeting of his employers there, and -when the Pres-
ident, discrediting every word of the Agent, had submitted
the treaty to the Senate — when the Senate, in like manner,
trusting nothing to the Agent, and reposing confidence in
the declarations of the Commissioners, had ratified it, he is
permitted to depart for his Agency, if not with new demon-
strations of affection, without, so far as I know, the slight-
est reprehension or blame ; and, what is worse than all,
after having placed himself at the head of a party adverse
to that which, is now dominant, and which had recently
ceded the country to us, he is appointed the guardian of
the whole, to conduct to their new and distant home this
hapless race ; to command their destinies through untried
and checkered scenes, and to make his distance from the
controlling power an absolute security against all scrutiny
and responsibility. The only apology attempted by the
Agent for any allegation of misconduct or aberration from
duty, in these respects, has been — 't was not I, 't was the
sub-Agent — 't was not I, 't was the Interpreter. The United
States might possibly be the voluntary dupe of such shallow
pretences ; certainly not the Cherokees or the Georgians.
Ask the Commissioners, if, but for the interference of the
Agent, there would have been serious difficulty at Broken
Arrow. Ask them, if, at the Indian Springs, an almost
unanimous concurrence of the Chiefs might not have been
commanded, but for the counterplots and under workings of
the Agent. Ask any member of the cabinet, notwithstand-
ing the farrago of resolves and protestations to the contrary,
if he may not command a treaty, on a given day, upon just
and reasonable terms, for a cession of all the lands claimed
by the Cherokees.

Be pleased to present a copy of this note to the Secretary
of War. Upon the general subject, everything has been
heretofore said which it was proper or becoming to say ; and
I had resolved not to resume it, unless invited on the part
of the Federal Government, or commanded by the Legis-
lature of the State. The more recent events may not have
been portrayed, before the present Cabinet, in the same light
in which you and myself cannot fail to regard them. The
gentlemen who have recently"' come into it, I know person-

* The new members then recently appointed by Mr. Adams to places in his Cabinet.
Henry Clay, Secretary of State, Richard Rush, Secretary of the Treasury, and James Harbour,

:--iry of War. Mr. Southard nnd Mr. "\Virt, the other members of the Cabi>
appointed Secretary of the Navy and Attorney-Genen.'. ; »P, and

•were continued in office by President Adams. lion. John McLean, also appointed under the
previous administration, was continued as Post-Master-General ; but that officer was not then
one of the Cabinet.— ED.

CHAP. X. RECEPTION OP LA FAYETTE. 291

ally, and will be very much deceived if they are not de-
serving our highest confidence, as intelligent, upright and
patriotic men. If they understand this matter correctly,
they will see that it is not a question about some five or six
millions of acres of land ; it is one of principle and of
character, connected with the honor of the government, and
therefore above all price.

The people of the United States, content with their po-
litical institutions, ask nothing of their rulers but purity
in the administration of their affairs — disinteredness, single-
ness of purpose, for the public weal, sincerity and plain
dealing on the part of all the functionaries, from the high-
est to the lowest, fidelity to every trust, and strict accounta-
bility in the fulfilment of every duty, to the exclusion of
selfishness, intrigues, tricks, and devices of low cunning, to
gratify party passions and subserve sordid interests, huck-
sterings and barterings, and all the rest, which they will
cheerfully leave to the mountebanks and jugglers to whom
they appropriately belong.

With great consideration and respect,

G. M. TEOUP.
The Hon. John Forsyth,

Washington City.

It is time, now, to turn from scenes of agitation and strife,
to contemplate, for a moment, one of a different sort — a
holiday scene — a pageant never to be forgotten in the his-
tory of Georgia or of the Union ; we mean the visit and
welcome of the great and good La Fayette to our shores.
Returning, after a period of nearly half a century, to the
country which he had largely contributed by his valor to
rescue from the grasp of oppression, and to set up and es-
tablish as an independent nation, he was everywhere re-
ceived with acclamations, amidst the booming of cannon
and themostlively demonstrations of joy. Slowly pursuing
his journey through the North, he turned his face toward
the plains and cities of the South, and, on the 19th day
of March, 1825, reached Savannah and stood upon the
soil of Georgia. Pursuant to a joint resolution of the
General Assembly, Governor Troup was there to welcome
him as the guest of the State. As the General reached tin)

292 I'IFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

top of the bluff at the eastern end of the city, he was wel-
comed by the Governor in the following eloquent strains:

"Welcome, La Fayette I

General: T is little more than ninety years since the
Founder of this State first set foot upon the bank on which
you stand. Now, four hundred thousand people open their
arms to receive you. Thanks to a kina Providence, it
called you to the standard of Liberty in the helplessness of
our early revolution — it has preserved you, that, in your
latter days, the glory of a great empire might bo reflected
back upon you, amid the acclamations of millions.

The scenes which are to come, will be, for you, compara-
tively tranquil and placid — there will be no more of dun-
geons— no more of frowns of tyrants. Oh, sir, what a
consolation for a man. who has passed through such seas
of trouble, that the million of bayonets which guard the
blessings we enjoy, stand between you and them !

But, enough — welcome, General ! welcome — thrice wel-
come to the State of Georgia !

During his stay in Savannah, Governor Troup joined in
the festivities of the occasion, and reviewed the squadron
of cavalry.

He was also selected to deliver to the Colonel of the
first Regiment, a stand of colors wrought for it by the lady
of the Brigadier-General. The following was the address,
delivered in presence of General La Fayette, the military,
and a vast concourse of citizens :

Colonel : I present to you, by command of Mrs. Harden,
a Standard of Colors for the first Regiment, worked by her
own hands. It is a fine offering from the fair to the brave, in
the presence of the veteran hero whom all hearts delight to
honor. I am happy to be the instrument of unfurling them
for the first time before the Regiment. They are conse-
crated by the fair donor and the presence of the Nation's
guest. The hand which executed this beautiful work,
has painted, in indelible colors, the emblems'"" which will
guard them. Look on this picture, or on that — this re-
pels dishonor, that animates to patriotism and to deeds of

« Tho principal emblems were, oa ono side, the arms of the Sta' -itional arch

being supported by three female figures representing '• Wisdom, Justice and Moderat inn" ; and,
on thorcTerso, a bust of La Fayette, (in the old Continental uniform,) and which is being
crowned with o laurel wreath l>y the American Eagle. — ED.

CHAP. X.] MESSAGE AT THE EXTRA SESSION. 293

valor. They cannot be tarnished. Death before their in-
glorious surrender.*

[1825.] Pursuant to the Governor's proclamation, the
General Assembly convened, in extra session, at Milledge-
ville, on Monday, the 23d day of May. There being a
quorum of both Houses present, the Governor, on the same
day, sent in the following message, which we cannot con-
sent to abridge :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. Ga.,

Miliedgeville, 23d May, 1825.
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate

and House of Representatives :

In ^calling you together, I have not been unmindful
of the personal inconvenience and of the public expense
which attend it. Consulting both, little will be submitted
to your consideration disconnected with the main subject
of your deliberation.

The recent acquisition of our vacant territory in the
occupation of the Creeks, is that subject, and the survey
and appropriation the objects, which will claim your
attention. For the first, we are chiefly indebted to the
Commissioners of the United States, Colonel Campbell and
Major Meriwether. Too much praise cannot be given to
these gentlemen, for the firmness and intrepidity with which
they met the most formidable obstacles, and for the untir-
ing zeal and patient labor, with which they conquered them.
That of this praise there can be no waste or misapplication,
you will read in the various documents and correspondence
connected with it, and which are submitted. You will
distinctly see that the principal difficulties which embar-
rassed them from beginning to end — which defeated the
first treaty at Broken Arrow, and which were well nigh
producing a rupture of the last, at the Indian Springs,
proceeded from a quarter, the least of all to be expected — •
from officers in the pay and confidence of the Federal
Government, who, instead of rendering to the Commis-
sioners the most cordial co-operation, nad organized an
opposition, thereby exposing to suspicion their own Gov-
ernment, which, in justification of itself, was finally obliged

* Gov. Troup accompanied La Fayette to Augusta; and, at Millodgeville, entertained him,
at the Executive Mansion, as the guest of the State. At the public dinner to La Fayette at
the latter place, Gov. Troup gave the following toast : " A union of all hearts to honor the
Nation's guest — a union of all heada for our^country's good." — ED.

294: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciup. X.

to avow that the perfidious plots and devices contrived by
it, were unknown and unauthorized at Washington, at the
same time the authors and contrivers were permitted to
escape but with little observation, and certainly without
merited punishment.

The Delegation in Congress, always faithful to their trust,
have seconded, by active and incessant labor, the measures
taken by this Government to support not only this impor-
tant right, but all other rights and interests of the State ;
and, in the delicate and critical relations which these
involved, have so deported themselves as to command the
confidence of ourselves, and the respect of all who know
them.

In disposing of the territory thus acquired, it is recom-
mended to you to consult the will of your constituents, so
far as that will can be distinctly ascertained. The lands
belong to them in joint and several property, and none but
themselves or their immediate representatives can right-
fully dispose of them. Recognizing this as a fundamental
principle, you have, in the exercise of a sound discretion,
to look as well to ulterior and remote, us to immediate
interests ; interests which the people themselves cannot
fail to appreciate and cherish, because they directly and
equally concern each and every of them now, and their
posterity hereafter. They are those of Public Education;
of Internal Improvement ; of relief from taxation, when
taxation would be most required and most bur thensome ;
the efficiency of a military system for defence, in providing
arms and arsenals and all the materiel of war, for which
no State ought to be dependent on another, and indeed
every subject, which, in peace or war, can conduce to the
safety or prosperity of the State, and requiring for its most
useful and energetic application, the propulsive instrument,
money. To dilate upon these topics, would be to consume
your time uselessly. Your own wisdom will better supply
the argument in support of each. Suffice it to say, that the
accumulation of a fund for internal improvement on an
extended scale, will, by its judicious application, so mul-
tiply your resources, and augment your income, as to enable
you, eventually, to replace that fund ; provide abundantly
for all the wants of the State; dispense with taxation ; and
place you, in all these respects, on a footing with the most
favored of your sister States, who, with less means, have
accomplished more.

These are no idle speculations. The results are about to be
realized in an illustrious instance, where a great member of

CH AP. X,] MESSAGE— CONTINUED. 295

the Confederacy has made herself greatest by perfecting
what nature had roughly sketched, and thus fulfilling, by
a no very complicated process, the highest duties to herself
and to God. Our physical advantages are scarcely inferior ;
and, when it is believed to be quite practicable to divide
with her the trade of the Western world, our temptations
cannot be less. Pre-supposing, therefore, that the system
hitherto adopted, for the settlement of our territory, will
be pursued, I advise that the fee upon the grant be fixed
at a rate' which, whilst it makes the grant essentially
a donation, and takes nothing from the pockets of the
poorest of our citizens, but what will be paid without in-
convenience or complaint, will, at the same time, bring
something into the Treasury, in aid of the general fund
appropriated to these objects. To this the proceeds of the
fractions and of any reservations you may think proper to
make, will importantly contribute.

Having advocated the present system from the beginning,
there has been no reason to change any opinion formed of
it. Men and the soil constitute the strength and wealth of
nations : and the faster you plant the men, the sooner you
can draw on both. No new country has been peopled faster
than the territory acquired from time to time by Georgia ;
none more rapidly improved with the same established
modes and customs of improvement. The speculations by
which its principle has been vitiated, it is our bounden duty
to discourage and repress ; they defeat the very end of it,
because, whilst you contemplate the advantage of the
poor, the speculator preys upon the poor, and fattens on it.

Having foreseen that troubles might arise in the Indian
country from the proceedings at Broken Arrow, and the In-
dian Springs, I sought an early opportunity, after the first in-
dications of them, to dispatch my Aid-de-camp, Col. Lamar,
into the nation, with a talk for that portion of the tribe which
had menaced Mclntosh and his friends with injury. This
duty was performed entirely to my satisfaction, as you will
perceive by the report of Col. Lamar. They professed the
most friendly sentiments, both toward the whites and
toward Mclntosh, and gave assurances that they were
meditating harm to neither. It is believed, from recent
information, that they acted in perfect sincerity and good
faith, and that the subsequent departure from it was the
result of the active and malignant interference of white
men. In my solicitude for the peace and happiness of this
afflicted race, who were about to leave us to try new for-
tunes in a distant land, I issued the Proclamation of the

296 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

21st of March, which immediately followed the ratification
of the treaty, and thus transcended the obligations enjoined
by strict duty.

Having their own pledge that the peace should be kept
among themselves, I wished to see no interruption of it by
the Georgians ; and, honorably for them, there has been
none. I verily believe, that but for the insidious practices
of evil-minded white men, the entire nation would have
moved harmoniously across the Mississippi. The massacre
of Mclntosh and his friends is to be attributed to them
alone. That chieftain, whose whole life had been devoted
to Georgia as faithfully as to his own tribe, fell beneath the
blows of the assassins, when reposing in the bosom of his
family, upon the soil of Georgia; the soil which he had
defended against a common enemy and against his own
blood; which he had relinquished forever to our just de-
mands ; and which he had abandoned to our present use,
only because we asked it. So foul a murder, perpetrated
by a foreign force upon our territory, and within our juris-
diction, called aloud for vengeance. It was my settled
purpose, having first consulted the Government at Wash-
ington, to have dealt out the full measure of that, vengeance ;
so that honor, humanity, justice, being satisfied, whatever
stain may have been left upon our soil, none should upon
the page of our history.

But the Representatives of the people were about to as-
semble, who would bring with them feelings and sentiments
corresponding to the occasion, tempered by a deliberate
wisdom and a sound discretion ; the task is cheerfully re-
signed to them, and whatever in the last resort they will —
that will be done.

The consternation and alarm which immediately followed
the death of Mclntosh, rendered necessary measures of
precaution, as well for the security of the frontier as for the
protection of the friendly Indians, who, deserting their
homes, fled, with their wives and children, before the hostile
party, and presenting themselves destitute and defenc
at various points of the frontiers, asked bread of our hu-
manity, and protection of our arms. The Quarter-Masters
were directed to supply the one, and our Generals ordered
to afford the other ; and both at the expense of the United
States, of which they had due notice. The orders and in-
structions to Major-Generals Wimberly, Miller and Shorter,
with the correspondence, &c., are laid before you.

The United States Government has been again advised of
the earnest desire of the Government of Georgia, that the

CHAP. X.] MESSAGE AT EXTRA SESSION. 297

line between this State and the State of Alabama should
be run and marked. The United States answer to this last
request, that it is a concern of the two States exclusively,
in which the United States will not interfere. On the former
occasion, as you will remember, the General Government
declined a participation, and upon the allegation singly
that the State of Alabama had not given her assent. The
State of Alabama had, in fact, given her assent, and had
sought, with much solicitude, the concurrence of Georgia.
Very recently, her former resolutions upon this subject
have been rescinded, and Georgia is left free to run the line
with or without her co-operation, as she may deem best.
The correspondence with the General Government, and the
letter of the Governor of Alabama, are submitted.

Our claims to the lands occupied by the Cherokees with-
in our limits, as well as those on account of Indian depre-
dations, provided for by the first treaty at the Indian
Springs, are aclverted to only to inform you of the actual
state of those interests, and for this purpose the various
papers connected with them are laid before you.

Since you were last in session, much anxiety and con-
cern have been manifested for all the interests connected
with the Bank of Darien. The origin of the excitement,
and consequent depreciation of the paper of that institution,
may be considered fit subjects of investigation. The report
of a committee appointed to examine the state of its affairs,
having been reviewed and adopted by you, left at the close
of the session the solvency of the Bank indisputable. When,
on a subsequent occasion, it became necessary for the Ex-
ecutive to pass an order connected with this depreciation,
and the administration of the finances, I did not hesitate so
to act as to conform the order both to your expressed opin-
ion and the practice of the Treasury. As no change had
been made in the condition of the institution, I would
suffer none to be made in the payments and receipts of its
bills at the Treasury, until you should order otherwise ; and,
whilst I would not permit any measure to be taken which
would be construed into depreciation at the Treasury, I
would suffer none that would have the least effect to em-
barrass the operations of the other institutions ; and this
was the more proper, because the difficulties of the one
institution might be ascribable, in some degree, to remiss-
ness or indiscretion in the management, for which it was
certainly not entitled to favor, whilst the operation at the
Treasury still continued favorable to it, inasmuch as, the
38

298 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. X.

receipts and payments being confined to Darien bills, and
the receipts exceeding the payments, there would be a con-
stant accumulation of such bills, and consequently a sub-
traction, to that amount, from the circulation of the country.

In every other State of the Union, where bank credit has
been sustained, these institutions mutually aid and assist
each other, and by harmonious co-operation maintain un-
impaired the circulating medium of that State. Those of
Georgia must profit of this wise example. Interest and
credit are not to be found in rivalry and discord, and
it is sincerely hoped and believed that, in this instance,
conflicting opinions have been the result of misapprehension
or mistake. The great institution of the United States
keeps them all in check, and should, at the same time, keep
them all in union.

The expenses incurred by the reception of General
Lafayette, amount to $7,198 32, as you will see by the
accounts and vouchers which are exhibited.' The Execu-
tive had, in this instance, received an unlimited power over
the public treasure, which ou^ht never to be confided but
upon very extraordinary occasions. It is due to the public,
as well as to the officer charged with the disbursement, to
institute a strict inquiry into the expenditure ; thus ex-
acting, as far as practicable after the expenditure, that
accountability which, in ordinary cases, ought to be secured
before. The orders given to my Aids-de-Camp, who
were charged with their execution, enjoined on them the
strictest economy : and, all circumstances considered, they
have not disappointed my expectations.

Since your last meeting, our feelings have been again out-
raged by officious and impertinent intermeddlings with our
domestic concerns. Besides the resolution presented for
the consideration of the Senate, by Mr. King, of New York,
it is understood that the Attorney-General of the United
States, who may be presumed to represent his Government
faithfully, and to speak as its mouth-piece, has recently
maintained, before the Supreme Court, doctrines on this
subject, which, if sanctioned by that tribunal, will make it
quite easy for the Congress, by a short decree, to divest
this entire interest, without cost to themselves of one dollar,
or of one acre of public land. This is the uniform prac-
tice of the Government of the United States ; if it wishes
a principle established which it dare not establish for
itself, a case is made before the Supreme Court, and, the
principle once settled, the act of Congress follows of
course. Soon, very soon, therefore, the United States

CHAP. X.] EFFECT OP THE MESSAGE. 299

Government, discarding the mask, will openly lend itself
to a combination of fanatics for the destruction of every-
thing valuable in the Southern country. One movement of
the Congress unresisted by you, and all is lost. Temporize
no longer — make known your resolution that this subject
shall not be touched by them, but at their peril. But for
its sacred guaranty by the Constitution, we never would
have become parties to that instrument ; at this moment
you would not make yourself parties to any Constitution
without it ; of course, you will not be a party to it from
the moment the General Government shall make that
movement.

If this matter be an evil, it is our own — if it be a sin,
we can implore the forgiveness of it — to remove it, we ask
not either their sympathy or assistance: it may be our
physical weakness — it is our moral strength. If, like the
Greeks and Romans, the moment we cease to be masters,
we are slaves — we thenceforth minister, like the modern
Italians, to the luxury and pleasures of our masters — poets,
painters, musicians and sculptors we may be — the moral
qualities, however, which would make us fair partakers of
the grandeur of a great empire, would be gone. We would
stand stripped ancT desolate, under a fervid sun and upon a
generous soil, a mockery to ourselves, and the very con-
trast of what, with a little firmness and foresight, we might
have been. I entreat you, therefore, most earnestly, now
that it is not too late, to step forth, and, having exhausted
the argument, to stand by your arms.

Your fellow- citizen,

G. M. TEOUP.

The reading of this document produced a profound sen-
sation in both Houses ; and the message became at once an
important topic of comment in and out of the State. It
was not to be expected that the political party opposed to
the Governor would say much in its praise ; whilst, with his
friends, it served to increase, if possible, their admiration
for the man and the magistrate. It was freely and un-
sparingly commented on by Northern journals, the conduc-
tors of some of which professed to regard its author as the
mad Governor of Georgia.

The portion of the message which produced most excite-
ment out of the State, was that which related to the ques-

300 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CHAP. X.

tion of slavery ; and it is due to the Governor and the then
Attorney-General of the United States, that some special
reference be here made to it. On the 18th of February,
1825, Hon. Rufus King, of New York, laid on the table of
the U. S. Senate, for "future consideration," the following
resolution :

"Resolvedly the Senate of the United States of America,
That, as soon as the portion of the existing funded debt of
the United States, for the payment of which the public
land of the United States is pledged, shall have been paid
off, then and thenceforth, the whole of the public land of
the United States, with the net proceeds of all future sales
thereof, shall constitute and form a fund, which is hereby
appropriated, and the faith of the United States is pledged,
that the said fund shall be inviolably applied to aid the
emancipation of such slaves, within any of the United
States, and to aid the removal of such slaves, and the re-
moval of such free persons of color, in any of the said
States, as, by the laws of the States, respectively, may be
allowed to be emancipated, or removed to any territory or
country without the limits of the United States of Amer-
ica."

This, although not the origin of the slavery agitation,
was certainly a bold movement in support of the fanaticism
which has ever since disturbed the peace and threatened
the integrity of the Union ; and fully justified the withering
denunciation and haughty defiance of Governor Troup.

The House of Representatives having requested the
Governor to lay before it " the evidence on which he founds
his remarks, in his message relative to the interference of
the United States government with our domestic affairs,"
he returned the following message :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )
M/U<-<Ifj<-i>ifl<', 1th June, 1825. )

I had hoped that in submitting to the Legislature the reso-
lution of Mr. King, the abstract from the government paper,
the several resolutions of the legislatures of certain States,
and the reference to the doctrines maintained by the
Attorney-General before the Supreme Court at Washing-
ton, in cases involving the question of slavery or no slavery,
and had expressed my own opinions upon them, I had done

CHAP. X.] SPECIAL MESSAGE. 301

enough. In cheerful compliance, however, with the ex-
pressed wishes of the House of Representatives, I make
this further communication.

Even from the moment we became parties to the Union,
notwithstanding the guaranties of this interest by the
Constitution, efforts have been made to render unavailing
those guaranties, to make inroads upon the subject of them,
in various modes, sometimes by open assaults, sometimes
by covert acts, equally injurious to the interests involved
as disgraceful to the parties inflicting the injury. Through-
out this period and to the present moment, we have
defended ourselves by memorial, remonstrance, resolutions,
supplications, &c. All reflecting men had foreseen that
these might serve the purposes of the times, because, as
God would have it, for those times the strength and
courage were with us. Now, the times are changed. The
strength has departed, and they would destroy the interest,
that they might destroy the moral principle which sustains
it. The spirit which animates these disturbers of our
peace, is of no ordinary kind — it is the same as that which
rallied under the banner of the cross, and propagated
religion by the sword — it sticks at no measures, it weeps
over no distress ; but, believing all means justifiable and
holy and consecrated, marches to its object without regard
to age or sex, and wars even with the sleep of the cradle.
This is the very spirit of fanaticism. But the other day, I
sent you the resolution of the State of Delaware, formerly
with us — now against us. Maryland, losing her interest,
will soon follow her example. The resolution of Mr. King,
preposterous as it is, is just as likely to succeed as any other
silly thing.

Mr. King, certainly one of the most able men in council
that his country has produced, proposes to buy out our inter-
est with our own property. Mr. King, in token of the high
value set upon this special service, is sent Ambassador to
England, to refresh his memory there with the law in Som-
erset's case, * which is.ulso a favorite one with our learned
Attorney-General. The government paper at Washington,
daring more than had ever been dared, announces that this

* Reported as Somerset v?. Stewart, in Lofft's Rep., 1. Chancellor Kent says of it: "In
the case of Somerset, in 1772, who was a negro slave, carried by his master from America
to England, and there confinec', in order to be sent to the West Indies, he was discharged
by the K. B., upon habeas cormts, after a very elaborate discussion, and npon the ground that
slavery did not and could not exist in England, under the English law." 2 Kent's Com : 248.
—En.

302 LIFE OP GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciup. X.

is the appointed time.* The Attorney-General, represent-
ing the United States, says before the Supremo Court,
in a ripe and splendid argument, that slavery, being
inconsistent with the laws of God and nature, cannot exist.
Do we want more, or shall we wait until, the principle
being decided against us, the execution issues, and the
entire property, put up at public auction, is bought in
from the proceeds of our public lands ? This is left to your de-
cision. The United States can choose between our enmity
and our love; and, when you offer them the choice, you
perform the last gnd holiest of duties. They have nilnpu-il
a conceit, and, if they love that more than they love us, they
will cling to it and throw us off. But it will be written in
your history, that you did not separate from the household
without adopting the fraternal language — choose ye, this
day, between our friendship and that worthless idol you
have set up and worshipped.

G. M. TKOIP.

Accompanying this message, was a correspondence be-
tween the Governor and Col. Seaborn Jones. In his letter
to Col. Jones, dated Oth June, Gov. Troup said :

" Be pleased to state if you were not present at "Washing-
ton, during the late session of the Supreme Court, and if,
in a cause or causes depending therein, and involving the
question of slavery or no slavery, you did not understand
the Attorney-General to assume and maintain the general
doctrine that slavery could not exist consistently with the
laws of God and nature, &c."

In his reply, Col. Jones said :

"I have just received your note of to-day, inquiring for
what I heard from the Attorney-General of tne United
States^ on the subject of slavery. I regretted very much,
at the time the argument was made by Mr. Wirt, in an
African case, involving the question of slavery, that I did

* The National Journal, a paper then recently t -tabliBhcd, and understood to bo the
organ of Mr. Adams, had, a short time before, said : '• The sovereignty of St. Domingo in
the possession of the blacks, tin- freed. >m arcurdrd to that lescription of persons in various
parts of South America, the incipient measured adopted by tlio Knglish Government f
liberty of the slaves in the Bri' i:id tha sympathy felt by all

Christendom for the sufferings of that unfortunate race of beings, can only terminate in
their liberation from bondage. Such an evriii, whirli will but nnui.tuly flffuct the prijo. :i:i.l
not at all the safety, of th'- . • ii y liavo a powerful influence on

the feelings r.nd welfare of the United St.itc.-s. // is time, tkcr< fort, to look seriously to this
matter, and to come to some. d>\tln<tt resolution ai to the cortinuance or total abolition of
slavery among tw," <fc., dx. — JiD.

CHAP. X.] GOV. TROUP AND JUDGE BERRIEN. 303

not hear the whole of it. It was my good fortune only
to hear a part of his argument, and I cannot say definitely
and certainly that, in the part of the argument I heard, he
did advance and maintain the position that slavery was
contrary to the laws of God and nature. After his ar-
gument was over, I certainly heard, in general conversation,
that he had assumed such a position ; and, on the next day,
when Mr. Ingersoll, of Philadelphia, argued the Portuguese
claim for the claimants, he made his argument an answer
to the one the Attorney-General had made in the Spanish
claim, (on the part of the United States,) he distinctly
stated that Mr. Wirt had laid down such a doctrine, and
he proceeded to combat it. Whether Mr. Wirt did or did
not do so, I am unable positively to state — but he was
present when Mr. Ingersoll stated it, and did not object to
the statement. I have the more distinct recollection on
the subject, as I then thought that the Virginian and
Pennsylvanian had changed sides."

Besides the foregoing, the Governor stated, substantially :
That a few days before the meeting of the Legislature,
he conversed with the Hon. J. M. Berrien, Senator in the
Congress of the United States, on the subject of our slave
property, and the danger to which it was exposed by the
repeated attacks of other States and of the United States :
lie said the crisis was an awful one, and that no time was
to be lost in taking measures of defence ; he had very
recently the best opportunity to understand the views of
the General Government in relation to it ; that the doc-
trines delivered by the Attorney-General, before the
Supreme Court, were extreme, and of the most alarming
character — neither more nor less than that slavery could
not exist, being contrary to the laws of God and nature,
&c. ; that he was engaged as counsel in one or more of the
cases involving this doctrine, and that he regretted exceed-
ingly that the reply had not been allowed him — he said
the Legislature should take up the subject seriously; that
he (the Governor,) answered that he was determined to
present it in the strongest light, &c., &c. : that Judge Ber-
rien adverted particularly to the great excitement against
us, produced by these appeals both to the court and auditory.

Mr. Wirt having afterwards denied that he uttered the
sentiments imputed to him, it is, perhaps, due to the mem-

304: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

ory of Judge Berrien and that of Gov. Troup, that the fol-
lowing correspondence should appear in the biography of
the latter. It occurred before the publication of Mr. Wirt's
denial, but was not made public until afterwards.

SAVANNAU, 28th June, I;M;.\

My Dear Sir : I have seen, in the Georgia Patriot of the
14th inst, an article, purporting to be a statement made by
you to the Legislature, of a conversation between you and
myself, which occurred during my last visit to Milledge-
ville, and cannot avoid expressing to you the surprise and
regret it has excited. When I saw, in your first communi-
cation, the manner in which you had noticed the subject of
the interference of other States in our domestic concerns,
I was struck with the singularity of your having transferred
(what I presumed you believed to be,) the substance of a
private, unofficial conversation, to a public, official docu-
ment, without consulting me to know whether your recol-
lection of that conversation was accurate — whether I would
consent to be brought before the Legislature in that manner
— or, in fact, giving me the slightest intimation of your
intention thus to present me to the public. When, subse-
quently, a call for information was made on me by the
Chairman of a committee of the House of Representatives,
I was forced to the conclusion that you had given my name
to that committee ; and, in my reply, written at the instant,
after mentioning this impression, I proceeded to make a
brief statement of what I had said. If that letter was
shown to you, as, from reference to some circumstances, it
seems may have been the fact, before your statement, of
the 6th June, was made, I have then to complain that you
should have persevered in that statement, after my explan-
ation to Mr. Lumpkin ; and with the disposition, in relation
to me, which such a measure would manifest on your part,
I should, of course, be relieved from the feeling towards
you which now embarrasses me. I prefer to adopt the
contrary conclusion. I am unwilling, perhaps unable, at
the moment, to shake off the feelings springing from a
friendship of more than twenty years ; and I cannot forget
that, under the operation of these, and from a belief that
the public interest would be promoted by your success, I
omitted no honorable exertion to aid your election to the
office which you now fill. Under the combined influence
of these considerations, I am extremely unwilling to do any
thing of which your enemies might avail themselves to your

CHAP. X.] LETTER OF JUDGE BERRIEX. 305

injury. But the situation in which I am placed before the
public, by your communication, and subsequent statement,
is one in which I cannot consent to remain. I have made
no such assertions as may be inferred from that statement.
On the contrary, you have misunderstood both the tenor
and object of my observations. The African case, in which
I am of counsel with the State, having been the subject of
conversation between us, I was naturally led to advert to
the disposition to interfere with our domestic concerns of
that port, which I thought had been manifested during the
last winter at Washington. I considered the resolution of
Mr. King as strongly evincing such a disposition, and I
thought that the sentiments which I heard expressed, and
those which I understood were expressed in the case of the
Ramirez,* and the conversations out of doors, to which the
argument of that case gave rise, were calculated to excite
a restlessness among our colored population, which might
be productive of the most awful consequences. I, there-
fore, suggested to you, as I had done to others, my opinion
that these consequences ought to be met, and would be
most effectually averted, by concurrent resolutions of the
Legislatures of the Southern States, declaring this subject
to be exclusively within their own particular cognizance,
and asking Congress to abstain from intermeddling with it.
I spoke to you of the purport of the arguments of counsel, so
far as I had heard them, and of those which had been ascribed
to counsel whom I did not hear. I told you that I consid-
ered the doctrines advanced, as alarming, and that, with the
feeling which, as a Southern man, they excited in me, I
should have been glad of an opportunity of replying, which
the order of the discussion did not allow to me ; but I told
you, also, that I was not present when the argument of the
Attorney-General was delivered ; that the Supreme Comt
did not sustain these doctrines ; and I expressed to you no
opinion that the government of the United States had any
concern in urging this discussion. I could entertain no
such opinion, as I had been informed that the Attorney-
General had, at a previous term, given up the case on the
part of the government, and that it was retained at the in-
stance of a member of the Colonization Society. I had not
the most distant conception that any observation of mine
could have led you to think of intimating to the Legisla-
ture that an appeal to arms might become necessary. I

* Reported as the Antelope, in Wheaton's Reports of tue decisions of the U. S. Supremo
Court, vol. 10, beginning at page C6. — ED.

306 L*rE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

had in view, simply, a decisive, but temperate, expression
by the Legislatures of the Southern States, of their feelings
on this subject ; and, so little did I anticipate such a course,
that when you suggested the inquiry, whether you ought
not to communicate the subject to the Legislature, at their
extra session, I told you I thought it was unnecessary, as
the regular session would occur before the meeting of
Congress, and the Legislatures of other States would then
be convened.

With this view of the conversation which I had with
you, and without insisting, as I think I might do, that you
should not have drawn me before the public, unless with
my own consent, I now simply repeat that. 1 cannot agree'
to stand before that public in the attitude in which L am
placed. If you can suggest any mode which 1 can M ith
propriety adopt, by which I can retire from it, without in-
jury to you, I shall be gratified. Acquitting you, as I do,
unhesitati- gly, of any intention to misrepresent me, I regret
very much that this misconception should have occurred at
a moment when the circumstances may, by perversion, bo
used to your injury ; but the views which you have received
from this conversation, and have communicated to the
Legislature, are so variant from those which 1 entertained,
and which I have thought, and still think, best calculated
to rally the Southern States around a cause which is com-
mon to them all, that I cannot consent todiminish the little
prospect which I have of being in any degree useful in the
National Councils, by being considered as having originated
them.

Pray let me hear from you, soon, and believe me
Yours, truly,

JN: MACPHERSOX BERKIKX.
Governor Troup.

MILLKDGEVILLE, 2d July, 1825.

My Dear Sir: I received your letter of ihe 2Sth ult.,
this morning, and am sorry that any misconception ot the
conversation in relation to the slave question, should have
occurred or given you the least inquietude. The purport of
the conversation on your part, was nothing, f-s I understood,
but a recapitulation of circumstances which occurred at
Washington, of public notoriety there, as they soon would
be everywhere, and the impression which those circum-
stances made on your mind. I did not suppose you further
acquainted with the views of the general government than

CHAP. X.] GOV. TROUT'S REPLY. 307

those circumstances disclosed, or the opportunities which
your presence there might afford you of acquiring them,
much less with any definite or specific projects which that
government might have in contemplation ; and I distinctly
remember you to have said that the decision of the Supreme
Court had not sanctioned the doctrines of the Attorney-
General, a fact very well understood when the message was
penned. Indeed, in all these things you are at liberty to
consult your own memory, as equally good with mine ; but,
suffer me to say, you have adopted a very erroneous con-
clusion in believing that an impression may have been de-
si, ned to be made, that the particular part of the message
to which you have referred, and which has given rise to so
many and such liberal remarks, was the offspring of your
suggestion, or in consequence of anything emanating from
you. So far from it, the disclosures made by you in that
conversation, formed but a small part of the matter upon
which that part of the message was, after mature deliber-
ation, framed. I assure you that I would not, on any ac-
count, that you should participate, in the least degree, the
responsibility of the adoption and promulgation of that
sentiment — nor shall any body else. I claim both the idea
and the language embodied there, as my exclusive prop-
erty ; and, in the enjoyment of it, I do not see that there
is much likelihood of my suffering interruption. Never-
theless, it is a sentiment approved by every re-consider-
ation of it, and one which will be sedulously impressed
upon my children.

That the resolution of Mr. King, and the sentiments you
heard expressed, connected with it, and those which you
understood were expressed in the case of the Ramirez, and
the conversations out of doors, to which the argument of
that case gave rise, were calculated to excite a restlessness
among our colored population, which might be productive
of the most awful consequences, and your considering the
doctrines advanced by the Attorney-General and others, as
you understood them, alarming, were all the facts of any
importance, according to my estimate' of them. It was
well known that they were the views of the general govern-
ment only, from which we had anything to fear ; and whether
you expressed any particular knowledge of these views, or
not, we were at liberty to infer them from the facts dis-
closed. Neither in dictating that part of the message,
therefore, nor in devising a remedy for the evil complained
of, were you or any body consulted, or more than a due
weight given to your disclosures.

308 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CiiAP. X.

Reference was unhesitatingly made to that conversation,
because that you were a Senator of this State in the Con-
gress of the United States, and it became your duty to
make known to this government whatever transpired at
Washington prejudicial to its interests. Having sought an
early opportunity, informally to do so, I thought you entitled
to credit ; and, accordingly, at the call of the Legislature,
submitted to it the paper to which you have alluded.

Cordially reciprocating the friendly sentiments you
express,

I remain, very truly, yours,

G. M. TKOUP.
The Hon. J. M. Berrien.

P. S. You are at liberty to use this letter as you please.

G. M. T.

On the 2d of July, 1825, Mr. Wirt addressed a letter to
the Chief and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court,
to the Reporter, and to Thomas Addis Emmet, Esq., as
follows :

" In a late official communication by Gov. Troup to the
Legislature of Georgia, I find myself charged with having
maintained before the Supreme Court of the United
States, at the last term, the proposition 'that slavery, being
inconsistent with the laws of God and nature, cannot
exist.' Will you do me the justice to say, in reply,
whether, either your notes of argument, or your recollec-
tion, impute that proposition to me, or any sentiment or
opinion that slavery, as it now exists in the several
States, could or ought to be abolished, or be attempted to be
abolished, or interfered with at all by the authority of the
government of the United States."

We have not space for the full replies given to this
inquiry. The following extracts may suffice. The Chief
Justice said :

" I have no recollection of your having uttered, in any
form, the sentiment imputed to you. Hie impression on
my mind is, that you denounced the slave trade, not slavery ;
the practice of making freemen slaves, not that of holding
in slavery those who were born slaves."

Judge Washington said :

"I feel no hesitation in answering, that no part of your

CHAP. X.] MR. WTRT'S DEFENCE. 309

argument maintained any or either of these propositions
directly, nor did the general scope of it warrant, in my
opinion, the deduction of any such sentiment."

Judge Duvall said :

" I answer, without hesitation, that I have no recollection
whatever that you maintained the proposition imputed to
you by Governor Troup, in the argument of the cause
before-mentioned, or in any other cause. *****
If you had made use of such an argument, it would not
have escaped my notice. You contended that the slave
trade is not countenanced by the law of nations ; that, by
the existing law of nations, it is unlawful ; that these Afri-
cans were under the protection of the laws of the United
States, and, prima facie, free by those laws, &c., &c."

Judge Thompson said :

" I have looked over my notes of your argument in the
case referred to, and do not find that I have noted any
such unqualified proposition being laid down by you. Nor
have I the least recollection of your urging any such senti-
ment in the sense imputed to you. And I am persuaded
it would have made a strong impression on my mind, if
you had endeavored to establish the proposition that
slavery did not, at this time, legally exist in our country,
or that the courts of justice were not bound to recognize
its existence, and to respect and enforce the laws in rela-
tion to it. And I think your argument could not, in
justice, warrant a conclusion that you intended, in any
manner whatever, to call in question the laws of the South-
ern States on the subject of slavery."

Mr. Emmet (who stated, also, that the " recollections"
of Mr. D. B. Ogden agreed with his own,) said :

" So far as relates to what is there ('the official com-
munication from Governor Troup,') imputed to you, I can
confidently say that the statement is incorrect. * * * *
You spoke of slavery in the United States, as an evil
inflicted on the colonies by the mother country, and for
which they ought to be pitied, and not blamed; and
though I cannot cite your words, I collected, from what
you said, that you regarded it as an evil which must be
submitted to. I am confident you expressed no opinion
that slavery, as it now exists in the several States, can be
or ought to be abolished, or attempted to le abolished, or

310 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

interfered with at all, ly the authority of the Government
of the United Stai

[The italics are Mr. Emmet's.]
Mr. Wheaton, the Reporter, said :

" I have great pleasure in being able to state, both from
recollection and from my notes taken at the time, that
neither of those propositions was maintained by you before
the Court."

Now, assuming it to be true that the Attorney-General, in
no part of his argument, " maintained (in the language of
Judge Washington,) any or either of these propositions di-
rectly," and that the denial of Mr. Wirt, who was a Christian
gentleman, is sufficient to show that he did not admit the
right of the Federal Government to interfere with the insti-
tution of slavery in the States, yet it appears equally clear
that, in the case actually before the Court, it was entirely un-
necessary for him to t=peak of " slavery in the United A''
as an evil MifliaUdontJiA colonies l>y the motJier country, and
for which tluy owjht to be pitied." Was not this declar-
ation calculated to "excite a restlessness" to which Jud^e.
Berrien referred ? That Mr. Wirt, in the " ripe and splendid
argument" which he delivered, used expressions which he
ought ever to have regretted, and which he did regret,
seems probable ; that some of his remarks were injudi-
cious, is proved by the letter of Mr. Emmet.

In the letter from which we have already quoted, Judge
Marshall said : " You stated, in terms, that you had no
authority to speak the sentiments of the Government ; and
that the arguments you should use were to be considered
as entirely your own." And the National Journal, Mr.
Adams' reputed organ, and the paper in which Mr. Wirt's
defence appeared, referring to this declaration, stated :
" This declaration, we are told, was elicited by a paragraph
which appeared in one of the papers of this city, on the
morning on which the Attorney-General was expected to
speak, intimating that the public could now have an op-
portunity of hearing, through the Attorney-General, the
sentiments of the Executive on the subject of the slave

CHAP. X.] LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. 311

trade, and by a similar suggestion from one of the counsel
opposed to him." Still, the inquiry remains : why, even
in the face of these suggestions, this solemn disavowal of
his " authority to speak the sentiments of the Government,"
if what he was about to say was only such as became a
Southern man, and especially in a cause in which it appears
the Government had no concern ? If Governor Troup was
wrong in saying, of the Attorney-General, that he was one
" who may be supposed to represent his government faith-
fully and to speak as its mouth-piece," it does not thence
follow that he erred in denouncing what he believed to
have been dangerous doctrines publicly uttered by a man
holding office under that government.

We have given to this subject more space, probably,
than it deserves ; and we dismiss it with the remark, that,
whilst the occasion of the Governor's denunciation is re-
gretted, that regret is diminished by the consideration that
it afforded Governor Troup the opportunity of putting upon
record, in an official form, the most eloquent of all his
noble admonitions to the people of Georgia.

The main object of the assembling of the Legislature in
extra session, having been the disposition of the lands
lately acquired from the Creeks, a bill for that purpose
passed both Houses, and was approved by the Governor on
the 9th of June ; lor the details of which, reference must be
m..de to the Act itself. Criminal jurisdiction over the ter-
ritory was attached to the counties of Dooly, Houstoun,
Pike and Fayette.

The joint Committee on the state of the Republic, " to
whom was referred the subject of the conduct of die Agent
of Creek Indian affairs, in relation to the late treaty in
that nation ; and also in respect to the murder of General
Mclntosh and others of the Creek Chiefs," after hearing
testimony, made a report, which was agreed to in the Sen-
ate, 31 to 18, and concurred in by the House, 64 to 28, and
approved by the Governor on the llth June. In the re-
port, the Committee said they did " not see, in the evidence,

312 LIFE OF GEORGE- M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

sufficient proof to justify them in presuming that the Agent
ordered, contrived, or instigated the murder of General
Mclntosh." It concluded with resolutions censuring the

conduct of said Agent, in regard to the treaty, request-
ing his removal by the President ; and, in order that " all
due and proper proof of his delinquency" might be made,
instructing the Governor to " appoint two or more fit and
proper persons to collect evidence therein," &c., &c., and
requesting the Governor to transmit to the President a
copy of the report, etc., with the accompanying documents,
or such parts thereof as were not then in his possession,
&c., &c.

On the 7th of June, Col. Crowell published a card or
address to the public, dated the 3d. Speaking of the Gov-
ernor, he said: "And now at his instigation the Legisla-
ture have taken up the subject, and are, as I understand,
examining witnesses against me, without apprising me of
their design." After protesting against this course, and
entreating a suspension of opinion, he added : " An Agent
from the government of the United States is now here,
commissioned with full powers to examine into all the cir-
cumstances connected with it, and report to his government."

During the same session, a resolution of thanks was passed
to Messrs. Campbell and Meriwether, "for the firmness,
perseverance, zeal and patriotism which they have displayed
in procuring .a cession of territory so favorable to the inter-
est of Georgia." Of the Governor, the Legislature said :
" Our thanks are also tendered to his Excellency the Gover-
nor^ for his active and patriotic efforts in expediting the
settlement of said territory"

The Agent, to whom Col. Croweli referred in his card, as
having been sent on to examine into affairs connected with
the Indian Agency, was Major T. P. Andrews, who arrived
at Milledgeville, in May, with dispatches to the Governor
from the War Department. On the 31st May, he commu-
nicated his dispatches, and, in his letter of that date, said to
the Governor :

CHAP. X.] GOVERNOR AND MAJOR ANDREWS. 313

" I presume you will be informed, by the dispatches now
handed you, that I have been appointed by the President
of the United States, to examine into certain implied
charges against Col. Orowell, the Indian Agent, contained

in your Excellency's letter to the President, of the

inst., as well as others of a direct and specific character,
made by Chilly Mclntosh and other Chiefs of the Creek
Nation, at Washington. To enable me to perform this
delicate and responsible trust with effect, I have the honor
to request that you will be pleased to furnish me with any
charges and specifications which you may have to make
against the officer referred to, accompanied by any evidence
in your Excellency's possession, relating thereto, or refer-
ences to the sources whence such evidence may be derived,"
&c., &c.

He also stated that he would exercise the discretionary
power vested in him of discharging the Agent, should the
charges, or information in possession of the Governor, de-
mand it.

The Governor replied as follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milledgeville, 31st May, 1825.

Sir : Immediately on the receipt of your communication
of this date, I proceeded, in compliance with the wishes of
the General Government, to charge the Agent superintend-
ing the affairs of the Creek Indians, with :

1st. Predetermined resolution to prevent the Indians,
by all the means in his power, from making any cession of
their lands in favor of the Georgians, and this from the
most unworthy and most unjustifiable of all motives.

2dly. With advising and instigating, in chief, the death
of Mclntosh and his friends.

You are referred to the documents connected with my
late message to the Legislature, and to the testimony dis-
closed and to be disclosed before the committee charged
with the investigation of the subject to which they relate,
and which are submitted to you.

Kespectfully, your obedient servant,

G. M. TEOUP.

To Major Andrews,

Special Agent of the U. S.,
Milledgeville.
40

314 ™FE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. X.

The following is the dispatch of which Major Andrews
was the bearer, announcing his own appointment as special
agent to inquire into the charges against the Indian Agent,
and the appointment- of Gen. Gaines to inquire into, and
check, if possible, the troubles in the Creek country :

DEI- ; OF WAK, May is. 188B.

Sir: In answer to your several letters received at tin's
Department on the 15th and 17th inst., I am instructed by
the President to express his deep regret at the death-; of
General Mclntosh and the other Creek Chiefs, and the
shocking circumstances with which they were attended.
While your Excellency is understood to ascribe the cause
of these events to the criminal conduct of the Agent. In-,
by dispatches received some few days past, states to tlii- I \ -
partment that your purpose of entering up<>n and surveying
their territory, as made known by your proclamation, had
produced in the Chief-, win* received it when assembled
in general council, for the purpose of receiving their
annuity, feelings of melancholy and great distress. Kx-
ceptions to your measures were then taken by them : they
declared their assent had never been given, and that it had
not been asked. Those exceptions Avere communicated l>y
the Agent in the letter above referred to, together with the
request of the Chiefs that the Government, would interpose
its authority, and put a stop to the contemplated survey.

Whatever cause may have produced the disturbances and
bloodshed which followed so soon upon the breaking up of
that Council, has now become a matter of very subordinate
consideration, compared with the means necessary to be
adopted to prevent their repetition. Kemote from the the-
atre of action, with but little information, and that uncer-
tain, (for we have not a word from the Agent,) as to the
extent of the designs of the Indians, or the scale on which
their operations will be conducted, the President lias deemed
it advisable, and lias ordered accordingly, General Gaines,
distinguished alike for his military skill and for his discretion,
now in Georgia, to repair forthwith to Milledgeville, for the
purpose of consulting with your Excellency, on the measures
proper to be adopted in reference to the actual posture of
affairs on his arrival. To him a discretion has been given,
if in his judgment the occasion requires it, to call on you
for such portion of the militia of Georgia, to be placed in
the service of the United States, as he thinks nece>-ary ; to
march, also, such portions of the regular force as may be

CHAP. X.] LETTER OF SECRETARY OF WAR. 315

convenient, to the scene of operations, and to take com-
mand of the whole. By his instructions, he will be ordered
to repel any hostile attempt that may be made by the
Indians on the people of Georgia, and to chastise them by
measures of retaliation for such attempt, till their suffer-
ings and submission shall entitle them to clemency. If
their violence has been limited to their own tribe, the
course to be pursued is not without its embarrassments.
The Government of the United States, since its establish-
ment, has, in no case, it is confidently believed, forcibly
interposed in the intestine- feuds of the Indians. They
have limited their interference to good offices and friendly
advice. To depart from this policy, strengthened by time
and the approbation of the American people, involves a
high and delicate responsibility. On the other hand, to
surrender the Indians, friendly to the views of the United
States, to the unrestrained ferocity of the hostile party, is
too shocking to humanity to permit. Amid these opposing
difficulties, the General is instructed to enter the territory
of the Creeks, and extend protection to the friendly
party, but not commit hostilities on the Indians, unless
provoked thereto by acts, on their part, which may justify
such hostilities. A special messenger will be dispatched
to Milledgeville, on Friday, at farthest, with General
Games' instructions.

The President, not yet being informed of the measures
adopted by your Excellency, cannot, at this time, take any
step thereon. Your promised communication will relieve
him from this difficulty, and immediately on its arrival will
receive his prompt attention.

I am instructed to say to your Excellency, that the
President expects, from what has passed, as well as from
the now state of feeling among the Indians, that the
project of surveying their territory will be abandoned by
Georgia, till it can be done consistently with the provisions
of the treaty.

"From the charges made by your Excellency, and the
Deputation here, against the Agent; Major Andrews, pos-
sessing, from his high character, the full confidence of the
Executive, has been deputed to the Agency to inquire into
these charges and to adopt the course, in reference to the
Agent, which he may deem best calculated to promote the
public service.

Major Andrews is the baarer of the dispatches to Gen.
Gaines, and, as he will pass through Milledgeville, if you
have any facts calculated to criminate the Agent, an op-

316 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

portunity will be furnished your Excellency to communicate
them.

I have the. honor to be your obedient servant,
His Excellency G. M. Troup, JAMES BARBOTJR.

Governor or Georgia, Milledgoville.

The Governor replied, as follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. )
MHl«]'i> '•// A', June 3d, 1825. j

Sir : I have received, by Major Andrews, your letter
of the 18th ultimo. The dispositions manifested by your
Government to do right in all the matters connected with
the subject of my late communication, are only in ac-
cordance with my just expectations. I am happy that,
in the general, the measures deemed best appear to be
appropriate and judicious. Pardon me for making an ex-
ception. In searching the archives of your oftice, you
will find, at divers times, and on various occasions repre-
sentations, made on the conduct of the Agent, all or any
of which should have disqualified him as a competent
witness against the government of the State of (ieorgiu.
On the recent one of the ratification of the treaty of the
Indian Springs, yourselves pronounced upon that incom-
petency in terms not to be mistaken. The Agent protested
airiinst the treaty; the President submitted it to the
Senate, and the Senate ratified it in contempt of that
protestation. If a single declaration of the Agent had
been accredited, the President would not have submitted
it, the Senate would not have ratified it. The last of your
prominent acts, therefore, in relation to this individual
places him in an attitude before yourselves, wlm-h should
have decided you to listen with great caution and reserve
to any suggestions of his, connected with any subject
whatsoever. Whilst, on the one hand, he presents him-
self before you as an accuser of the chief of the gov-
ernment of Georgia, and the accusation is neither more nor
less than that the measures taken on his part have been the
only exciting causes to the mischiefs and crimes perpetrated
in the nation ; and you, on the other hand, so far sustained
him in this position, as not only to receive it willingly, and
to specify it distinctly, but to 'make it the basis of a most
erroneous construction of the treaty ; and in consequence of
that construction, to address to me a most extraordinary re-
quest of the President, affecting important interests here, I
must pray you to excuse me, when I say to you in answer,
that I do not feel myself treated in a very kindly or very

CHAP. X.] LETTER TO SECRETARY OF WAR. 317

generous spirit, and that, if treated in the most kindly
and most generous, such an expectation would be pro-
nounced at once as unreasonable on your part, and certainly
not to be fulfilled on ours. Is it possible that the Presi-
dent could have consulted the Indian treaty, and compared
its provisions with those of the articles of agreement and
cession, and, at the same time have indulged this ex-
pectation ? Without troubling you with the argument,
permit me to state the fact. By the treaty of the Indian
Springs, the Indian claims are extinguished forever. The
article is worded in the present tense.* On the instant of
the ratification, the title and jurisdiction became absolute
in Georgia, without any manner of exception or qualifica-
tion, save the single one which, by the eighth article, gives
to the United States the power to protect the Indians in
their persons and effects, against assault upon either, by
whites or Indians. For this purpose, your powers are quite
ample ; and, in proceeding to the survey of the country, yon
will only find aids and guaranties on the part of this govern-
ment for the faithful execution of the article. Beyond
this you cannot pass. Soil and jurisdiction go together,
and if we have not the right of both at this moment, we
can never have either by better title. If the absolute
property and the absolute jurisdiction have not passed to
us, when are they to come ? Will you make a formal con-
cession of the latter — when and how ? If the jurisdiction
be separated from the property, show the reservation
which separates it — 'tis impossible. You have the same
remnant of it in this case, as you have by constitution and
treaty in all similar case?, where, treaties having guarantied
the rights and privileges of aliens, those rights and privi-
leges find their protection under the supreme law of the
United States, within the jurisdiction of the several States.
If the President believes that we will postpone the survey
of the country to gratify the Agent and the hostile
Indians, he deceives himself. To these poor deluded
men, who have been hostile in peace and hostile in war,
and the opponents of the treaty, Georgia could make no
appeal. From Mclntosh and his friends, who made the
treaty, we sought permission to make the survey, and
obtained it. Scrupulously regardful of the stipulation of
the treaty, we asked them, in substance, if the survey
would, in any manner, interfere with their convenience or

* The first Article of the treaty begins, "The Creek nation cede to the United States all
the lands," &c. — ED.

318 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

security, and they answered, no — a ready answer, because
the survey would in fact contribute importantly to both.

The frequent recurrence to the conduct of the Agent, may
induce a belief that the influencing motives here are im-
pure or tainted with prejudice — it is not so. As an individ-
ual, no angry feelings have been indulged toward him, or
any harm desired — as a public officer, the most indignant
sentiments have been awakened from the beginn ing, because,
as soon as I entered upon the duties of this otiicc, it was
known to me that he had come to the resolution to prevent
the Indians from ceding any lands to Georgia, so louu as
I continued in it; a resolution so ungenerous and unworthy
of any officer, in any station, that I determined to employ
all honorable means to effect his removal as absolutely
necessary to the prosperity of the State. You ought to
have removed him long ago, and thus have spared us all the
evils which have followed your omission.

Be pleased to present my respectful compliments to the
President, and assure him of my good wishes and ivgards.
The frankness with which it is my duty to communicate
with him, can have no tendency to weaken them on my
part, or to excite distrust of their sincerity on his. Even
upon the subject* of intensest interest to us, upon which
the opinions of the President are known, many allowances
are made for the immeasurable distance which separates us.
In treating it, I have used strong language, but he will not
on this account believe that I make light of the Union. I
would offer up my life, with pleasure, to sustain it for a single
day. The fearful consequences, constantly in sight, keep us
in a state of agitation and alarm. I strive to stave them
off; and it is for this that language is employed, sickening
to the heart and most offensive to a vast portion of the com-
mon family. Who can help it, when they see wise men
engaged in a playfulness and pastime like this, indulging
their whims and oddities and phantasies, and causing this
Union to tremble upon a bauble '(

With regard to the expenses attendant on our measures
of defence, of which you are instructed to say nothing un-
til those measures are submitted to you in detail, I have to
congratulate you and myself that they will be so inconsid-
erable in amount as not to cause much trouble or anxiety to
either of us. Whilst I took the precautionary measures to
make safe the women and children upon the frontiers, I

* Gov. Troup refers here, of course, to the sul'.i . ; and, in the next sentence,

to the "stand by your arms" part of bis then recent message. — ED.

CHAP. X.] DOCUMENTS, 40. 319

remember very well that we had been pleading at your
treasury, for thirty years, for similar expenses incurred in
defending ourselves against the same Indians. I feel much
more anxiety about the expenses which may be incurred
by the friendly ones, who have sought refuge within our
settlements, which they are quite willing to defray from
their own scanty means, but which justice and humanity
require you to defray for them.

With great consideration and regard,

G.'M. TROUP.
The Hon. James Barbour,
Secretary of War,
Washington City.

Accompanying the Secretary's letter to the Governor,
were the following documents : A letter from Chilly Mc-
Intosh to the Secretary, announcing the murder of General
Mclntosh and Tustunnuggee, and the destruction of his
property, and asking protection for the friendly Indians,
revenge for the murders, and indemnity for property
destroyed, &c. : the answer of the Secretary, expressing
sympathy, promising protection, and that the matter of re-
muneration would be recommended to the favorable con-
sideration of Congress, &c. : two letters from Chilly Mc-
lntosh and three other chiefs of the friendly party, to the
Secretary — one asking for revenge for the blood that-had
been spilt, an investigation into the Indian disputes, and
protection for the friendly Indians — the second, complain-
ing of the conduct of Col. Crowell, the Agent, stating that
the Agent " is not trusted by us, and we do not feel safe in
his hands." They said, further : " Col. Crowell has always
been opposed to General Mclntosh since 1823, when he
tried to have him broke as a Chief of the Creek nation, and
threatened to destroy his property. He was offended at
Gen. Mclntosh for refusing to give up a man named Stinson,
without an order from the head Chiefs of the nation. Stin-
son wras afterwards delivered into the Agent's custody, and
tried for selling goods in the nation without a license, of
which he was acquitted by the Federal Court, in Georgia,"
&c., &c. It further said : " Col. Crowell was opposed to

320 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

the treaty at the Indian Springs, and tried to prevent the
Creeks from selling their lands to the United States. He
sent William Hambly, United States Interpreter, to the
Council, to say that he wanted to see the Chiefs, but was
jealous of the Commissioners. He told them that they
should not give any long answer to the Commissioners, but
only say ' they had no lands to sell.' That the Commission-
ers would threaten, but their threats would cud in words,
as soon as they heard from the government. Even after the
treaty was freely agreed to, he did not cease his opposition.
He sent a message by "William Humbly, the Interpreter, to
tell some of the Indians that they should go away across the
line, that night, or they would be taken and shut up until
they signed the treaty. This party went oif in the night, as
they were told. The next morning three men were sent
after them to know why they had gone away ; they told those
men the message they had received from Col. Crow. 11,
which was the reason of their going. One of these messen-
gers, Ben Daulawza, is now in Washington." After other
complaints, the letter ended : " Now, sir, we beg our lather,
the President, to send an Agent who will be a friend to all
the nation equally ; and one in whose hands we can feel
safe to go west of the Mississippi. If Col. Crowell is
continued Agent, we fear that the friends of Gen. Mflntnsh
will be sacrificed :" — also a letter from the same chiefs, to
the Secretary, inquiring if Col. Crowell had received the
annuity money, for 1825, agreed to be paid by the treaty of
1821 at the Mineral Springs, and stating: "Col. Crowell,
at Broken Arrow, informed the Council that he had made
an arrangement with the government of the United States,
that every individual of the nation should receive an equal
share of the money which was to be paid under the late
treaty. If he did make this arrangement, the party of us
going to the western country, will not get enough to pay
our expenses. If Col. Crowell did make this arrangement
with you, not one would go to the western country ; because
they have no money to bear their expenses, and none
to pay for their improvements. We beg also to know if

CHAP. X.] SPECIAL MESSAGE. 321

the United States will not pay our expenses here, on the
business which has brought us to "Washington. It is busi-
ness in which the United States are concerned equally with
the Creek nation." They begged to be informed, that day,
what would be done, as they were to leave Washington
next day.

To this, the Secretary replied, the same day, expressing
the President's regret at the rupture, and the death of Mc-
Intosh and others — that measures had been taken, which, it
was hoped, would quiet disturbances and give security from
future violence — that an examination would be had into the
charges against the Agent, as well as the subject of the
recent calamity, &c. — that such measures would be taken as
should seem best calculated to reconcile the existing diffi-
culties, to punish those who might appear to have promoted
them, as might be in the province of the government to
punish, &c. — that the expenses of their visit to Washington,,
would be paid, on an approved estimate of them being
presented, and that the request to have an Agent to
accompany them in search of a country for their future
residence, was granted.

This correspondence was all dated the 17th of May, 1825,
and, with the Governor's correspondence with the Secretary
of War and Major Andrews, the foregoing abstracts will
serve to explain the following message of the Governor to
the Legislature, dated 3d June, 1825.

The papers now communicated would have been laid
before you as soon as received, but, the measures to be
taken in carrying into effect the wishes of the President,
depending on the arrival of Major-General Gaines, then
daily expected, it was deemed best to withhold them until
that arrival, when both the views of the General Govern-
ment, and the measures consequent upon them could be
fully disclosed. It being understood, however, that much
public anxiety is manifested for their publication, they are
transmitted to you. You will perceive by those views,
that if the General Government, assuming the exclusive
right to expound and carry into effect the treaty of the In-
dian Springs, shall persist in giving to it the construction
which is to be found in the letter of the Secretary of War,
41

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUr. [CHAP. X.

and elsewhere, it. would have been better for all par-
ties that the treaty had never been concluded; for it
is quite obvious to you, that, admitting the power and
the construction, the execution of it may be indefinitely
postponed at the will of the United States. Accord-
ing t«> that will, we are not to survey the country,
because the hostile Indians who opposed the treaty have
also opposed the snrve. continue to oppose both

treaty and survey, and to conduct themselves in the most
hostile and offensive manner. The hostile Indians would
prohibit us from pa.->ing to and fro through the country,
the prohibition v. a equally .iblo: the act

of survey, so tar as regards the security and peace of the
Indians under the trea . ;',ie art oi'pa-

to and fro. "\VhiUt, therefore, by the tn bave iho

absolute title to the soil, and the absolute jurisdiction, with
the reservation merely of temporary occupation by the
Indians, and < if power in the United States to protect them
in their persons and effects, the right of survey, even when
the consent of those who ceded the country, is denied to
us; and this denial founded on an assertion utterly <;
tute of truth, viz : — that the troubles in the nation have
been caused by the act of this Government, which procured
the consent of the Indians to survey the country. In the
absence of all of !mony. to show that these troubles

had their origin in other, and very different, canses, it is suf-
ficient to inquire .hie connection exists between
the survey of the country and the hostility of the Indians ?
The survey could neither expedite nor retard the removal
of the Indians; the Indians were not certain that even
with their consent the survey would be attempted. Surely,
therefore, if this had been the cause of excitement, the
Indians would have waited the event. It is conceivable
that the cession of the lands might have produced hostili-
ties— but tailing to do so, it is inconceivable how the consent
to survey them, which had no relation to their eventual
surrender and abandonment, could produce that effect.
The object of the • . ^overnnient of Georgia, in procuring
the consent, was not to settle the country one day
sooner than the provisions of the .oiild authorize;
but, in sun. te country, to .save the time consumed
in that operation. ./s over it and to settle it
immediately on the departure of the Indians — and this was
of the more importance, because the Government was to
expect in a short time the arrival of their Civil Engineer;
and as that was to be the Held of bis first and most inter-

CHAP. X.] MESSAGE CONTINUED. 323

esting operations, it was necessary to place him there
under the guardianship and safety of our own laws. But
so it happens, that this act of survey in which no body
before -ever saw harm or cause of offence, is suddenly
magnified into an evil prolific of all other evils, and this
merely because the Government of the United States is so
informed by its Agent — that Agent who stands conspicu-
ously charged as the prime mover and instigator of them
all — who opposed the treaty from the beginning — protested
against it to the last, foretold the mischiefs which were to
come of it, and is yet the confidential, trusty and impartial
witness upon whose dictum the United States Government
accuses the Executive Government of Georgia. The Execu-
tive of Georgia will not retort the accusation — it will not
say that the Government of the United States is responsible
in the sight of Heaven and of the world, for the crimes
(if any) committed by the Agent — because the Government
of Georgia is not in the practice of thus treating the Gov-
ernment of the United States — but it must be permitted to
say distinctly, that, upon the naked information and advice
of the Agent, the Government of the United States has
suffered itself so far to enter into the views, and to adopt
the feelings, of the Agent, in relation to the late events
connected with the treaty, as to have given, already, ex-
positions to two of its important articles most palpably
erroneous and unwarranted by the letter or spirit of
either. The one is of that article which cedes absolutely
the territory, and therefore, of course, cedes the jurisdiction
— the other of that which stipulates the payment of the
money to the Indians. Of the first, enough has been said
for a message ; of the second, it is sufficient to say that the
United States Government has given such a construction
to this article, that the hostile Indians, those which remain,
as well as those which remove, will share equally with the
friendly Indians, the money stipulated to be paid by it.
The money is not given in consideration of the lands — the
consideration of them is other lands, acre for acre in fee
simple — the money is given expressly for improvements
abandoned, losses suffered by removal, and to defray the
expenses of removal. That portion of the tribe which
will not remove, is to share it with that which does remove.
This, to be sure, is no concern of ours — but you will see by
the letter of Gen. Chilly Mclntosh, that if this construc-
tion is persisted in, the consequences may be of the most
deplorable character — a gross breach of treaty on the
one side, a consequent refusal to comply on the other —

324 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cn.vr. X.

power enough on the one to enforce compliance — on the
other, weakness, innocence, wretchedness and woes innu-
merable.

Permit me to add, that there is something strange and
inexplicable in this conduct of the General Government to
the Chief Magistrate of Georgia. On the 13 1st day of March
la-t, my application to the Indians for permission to survey
the country, and my intention, if that application snccc<
to convene the Legislature, were made known to the Presi-
dent. Although one communication at least was subse-
quently received from the War Department, not one word
-said in objection to th . If any had been made,

1 would have discussed it calmly and temperately : and if,
in the result, I had found myself in the wrong, it would
have been a question whether, for other objects, an extra
on should be called. Xow that you are assembled, and
in progress upon public : deepest interest, it is at-

tempted most unexpectedly to cross and embarrass you ;
but the Legislature is not to be frightened from its duty 1
angry look. I invite you to proceed, therefore, in the coin-so
which you have taken, and, keeping strictly on the side of
right, and within the pale of the Constitution and the 1.
you will, under the most adverse circumstances, find the
most cheering consolations. You cannot thus proceed with-
out the countenance and support of your constituents, and
I doubt not they will be readily yielded. If it be possible,
which I do not permit myself to believe, that a certain
person, filling a certain station, stands in the way of the
peace and harmony which ought ever to subsist between
this and the General Government, and on this account val-
uable interests are endangered, that person will retire
instantly, and with much more pleasure than he ever occu-
pied that station.

(T. M. Tuoi .

Before adjournment, the General Assembly adopted a re-
port and resolution, to the effect that the running of the line
between Georgia and Florida was not of sufficient impor-
tance to require legislative interference before the regular
session ; that, in regard to the boundary line between Geor-
gia and Alabama, it was a subject of much greater impor-
tance, and required their immediate attention — that if an
act * should be passed, as contemplated, for surveying and

* This Act waa passed, and has been noticed. — ED.

CHAP. X.] FRONTIER DISTURBANCES. 335

disposing of the Creek country, it would become essentially
necessary to have the line ascertained ; and that, as it
appeared from the documents, the government of the
UnitedjStates and Alabama had been consulted and declined
any agency on the subject, they required the Governor, as
soon as practicable, to procure the services of some compe-
tent person or persons to ascertain the boundary line be-
tween Georgia and Alabama, according to the compact of
1802, with the United States, notice being first given to the
Governor of Alabama, that he might, if he should deem
it necessary, appoint Commissioners to co-operate with those
to be appointed by Georgia.

They passed, besides those already noticed and others
not important for insertion, a resolution, authorizing and
requesting the Governor "to take, forthwith, efficient
measures to protect the Georgia frontier against the
depredations or encroachments of the Creek Indians, by
calling out a sufficient military force for that purpose, if
found necessary."

This resolution was passed in consequence of a message
from the Governor, dated 6th June, 1825, in which he
said:

" I communicate, for the further information of the Leg-
islature, two letters this moment received from our frontiers,
which indicate the urgency of interposing a sufficient force
for the protection of our inhabitants."

The letters conveyed information of hostile intentions
which appeared to have been manifested by the Indians
opposite the counties of Dooly and Early, creating alarm
amongst the whites. The Governor promptly issued the
necessary military orders for protecting the frontiers, and,
on the 9th, sent in the following additional message to the
Legislature :

Before your adjournment, it is due to you to place you
in possession of. all the information received at this depart-
ment, and, so soon as received, of the actual state of things
upon our frontiers, and from which, as by the information
hitherto disclosed, the most unpleasant tidings may be daily
expected. "Without adverting to the causes or origin of

326 LIFE OP GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. X.

them at all, I must say to you that it is my deliberate opin-
ion that the United States government will be directly
answerable to Georgia for every drop of blood shed upon
this occasion ; and I further say to you, what has been more
than once said, that no State having pretensions to even
limited sovereignty, ought to be dependent on another for
the protection which is due from a government to its citizens,
much less for that which, from the information communi-
cated, seems to be urgently demanded for our frontier
inhabitants. It is scarcely necessary to add that there are
no measures which you may constitutionally authorize,
which I will not execute with promptness and energy-

The Legislature adjourned on the llth June, 1825.

General Gaines arrived at MilledgeviHe on Sunday, the
12th of June, and on the morning of the 13th had an in-
terview with the Governor. On the same day he wrote to
the Governor :

HF.A , E n:i:.v DEPART

-I 'in'

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the
correspondence referred to by your Excellency, in your
verbal communication of this morning, representing the
indications of hostility recently manifested by the Indians
on the Western frontier of this State, numbered 1 to 4
inclusively ; together with your instructions to Capt. Har-
rison, of the 10th of the present month. Of this paper,
which I return herewith, I have to request the favor
of a copy, with such information as that officer shall com-
municate, touching the execution of the important duty
assigned to him.

With the greatest respect,
I have the honor to be

Your Excellency's ob't serv't,

EDMUND P. GAINES,

Maj-Gen. Com'g.
His Excellency Gov. Troup.

The Governor replied, the same day, enclosing a copy of
his instructions, of 10th June, to Capt. Annies Harrison,
commanding Twig^s County Cavalry, the substance of
which was : that in carrying into effect the orders of (Jon.
Wimberly, he would be " careful to act strictly on the dc-

CHAP. X.] GEN. GAINES AT MILLED GEVILLE.

fensive, until circumstances shall arise to justify an opposite
conduct ; " that if he should, on arrival at the frontiers,
find that the Indians had committed no outrages, &c., he
would endeavor to pacify them, by assuring them that his
presence there was not to make war upon them^ but to
" protect our people and others within our limits, in their
persons and effects, against any assault or inroads upon either,
and to chastise those who shall be niad enough to attempt
them ; " if, however, he should find they had committed
hostile acts of unequivocal character, he should treat them
as enemies, " pursuing them, if necessary, into the country
occupied by them, and punishing them there," &c. — that
if the Indians should merely have committed depredations
on property, he should, whilst taking measures to recover
the property, remember that the jurisdiction of the State
had been established and its criminal laws extended over
the country, so that the offenders could be seized and tried
in the ordinary way ; that the deluded Indians were ob-
jects rather of pity than resentment; and that, finding
them in the wrong, the officer would endeavor to keep them
so ; that the officer should take the earliest occasion to
inform himself correctly of the actual state of things, and
that if it should appear expedient to do so, three com-
panies or more of infantry or riflemen would be marched
to his support ; that the money advanced should be ex-
pended to the best advantage, proper vouchers taken so as
to enable the State to charge the General Government
with the amount, &c,, &c.

The day after enclosing, to General Gaines, these in-
structions to Capt. Harrison, Gov. Troup wrote to the
former, as follows :

It may be important to you to know, before you com-
municate with your Government and proceed to meet the
Indians in convention, that the laws of Georgia are already
extended over the ceded country, and of course that it is
my bounden duty to execute them there. The statutory
provision on this subject will be found in the papers of the
morning, and in the act entitled "An Act to dispose of and
distribute the lands lately acquired," &c.

328 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

The day previously, lie had written to Gen. Gaines, and
said :

In the course of the desultory and informal communica-
tion with you of to-day, my desire was intimated that the
line between this State and Alabama should be run as
early as possible, and I requested the favor of you to make
known to your Government this desire, and without
delay. A letter will be immediately dispatched to the
Governor of Alabama, to apprise him of the resolution of
the Government of Georgia to run that line, and to ask his
concert and co-operation. If that concert and co-opera-
tion be refused, we will proceed to run the line without
them, as we will also proceed in due time to make the survey
of the lands within our limits, disregarding any obstacles
which may be opposed from any quarter. You will sec,
therefore, how highly important it.is that upon these points
the two Governments should understand each other imme-
diately.

In his letter to the Governor of Alabama, written 14th
June, Gov. Troup said :

The enclosed resolution of the late Legislature will in-
form you that the Executive of Georgia is charged with
the running of the line dividing this State and Alabama.
As it is more than probable that I will take measures to
carry their wishes into effect, very soon after the U. S.
Government shall have had opportunity to quiet the dis-
turbances which prevail in the Indian country ; and as it
is very desirable that the Government of Alabama shall
harmoniously co-operate with that of Georgia in the ex-
ecution of the work, I will thank you to inform me whether
you feel yourself authorized to appoint Commissioners <>n
your part to meet the Commissioners of Georgia, so that
the operation may be a conjoint one, and satisfactory in
its results to both parties.

To this letter, Governor Pickens, of Alabama, replied, on
3d of July, that he was " altogether unauthorized to appoint
Commissioners or otherwise to co-operate in the desired
work" — that the omission of the Legislature to act in the
premises was not owing to any indifference to participating
in the operation, or "indisposition to co-operate liber-
ally and harmoniously in the execution of the work,

CHAP. X.] GEORGIA AND ALABAMA LINE.

whenever any practical benefit to either State might be
promised." He further stated that until very recently the
country on both sides the proposed line, was, for its whole
extent, within the territory allotted to the Creeks and
Cherokees, and for many months yet must continue in their
occupancy, and that up to the period of the adjournment
of the Legislature, no disposition for a cession of land had
been evinced by either tribe ; that, a treaty of cession hav-
ing now been made, he felt assured the Legislature of
Alabama would, at its next session in November, act with
promptness in the premises, and presumed that action then
would " be in very convenient season to meet the views of
the Government of Georgia," &c., &c.

Governor Troup replied, on 10th August, and said :

" In compliance with the wishes expressed by your
Excellency, I will cheerfully postpone the operation until
November, confidently relying on the assurance that the
Legislature of Alabama will, on its first meeting, take
prompt measures to co-operate with Georgia in the execution
of the work."

To the Governor's letter of the 13tU June, Gen. Gaines
replied, from his " Head Quarters" at Milledgeville, June
14th, 1825, and, amongst other things, said :

Your letter, which I shall without delay refer to the De-

Eartinent of War, announces your intention to cause the
no to be run between this State and Alabama, and to
survey the public land of the State within the late ceded
territory. Upon the last mentioned subject, I am distinctly
authorized to state to the Indians, that the President of the
United States has suggested to Governor Troup the neces-
sity of his abstaining from entering into and surveying
the ceded land, until the time prescribed by the treaty for
their removal.

There is, perhaps, no principle of national law better
established, or more universally admitted, than that the
contracting parties to a treaty possess the right, and, in a
case like the one in question, the exclusive right of ex-
pounding and carrying into effect such treaty.

The decision of the President in this case must govern
me in my intended conference with the Indians : and this
42

330 LIFF- OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. X.

conference must necessarily take place before the subject
can be submitted to the President; nor is it probable that,
if it were submitted, it would undergo any change.

I cannot, therefore, but express a confident hope that

your Excellency may see the propriety of abstaining from

••roposed survey, both of the boundary line and of the

land within the late ceded territory, until the period arrives

at which the removal of the Indians is required.

Immediately on receipt of this letter, (Jovernor Troup
addressed a communication to General Gaines, dated 'i-Mh
June, in which lie said :

I have this moment had the honor to receive your com-
munication of the 14th inst, on the subject of the survey
of the ceded country and the running of the dividing line,
between Alabama and Georgia, and in which yon request
that, in conformity with the expressed will of your govern-*
ment, both the survey and the running of the line may lie
forborne " until the period arrives at, which the removal of
the Indians is required."

It would give me great pleasure to be able to comply
with any request made by yourself or your government.
You would make none that did not, to your apprehensions,
seem reasonable and proper. As, however, there exist
two independent parties to the question, each is permit!
decide for itself, and, with all due deference to yours, I must
be permitted to say, that my apprehension of the right and
of the wrong leads me to the opposite conclusion — die con-
clusion to which the Legislature of Georgia, upon mature
reflection, recently arrived by an almost unanimous voice,
and which was made the foundation of my late communi-
cation to the Secretary of War, and my more recent one to
you upon the same subject. I would deeply lament if any
act proceeding from myself, should cause the least embar-
rassment to yourself or your government, especially con-
sidering the critical relations in which the United States
stand to the Indians, and the great interest which the gov-
ernment of Georgia feels in their early and satisfactory
adjustment ; but it cannot be expected by yuiir government,
that important interests are to be surrendered, and rights
deemed unquestionable, abandoned by Georgia, because of
any embarrassment which may arise in the intercourse and
negotiations between the United States and Indians. 1 set
too just a value on your high character, to believe that you

CHAP. X.] LETTER TO GEN. GAINES.

would willingly create them. I am equally persuaded that
none will be suffered to exist which can with propriety be
removed ; and I know you will pardon me when I take the
liberty of saying, that those to which you refer ought not
to exist for a single moment. Upon every principle and
practice of diplomacy, the particular instruction of your
government, which has given rise to these embarrassment?,
ought at this moment to be taken and held as no instruction
at all ; for it is now known to you, that what purports to be
an instruction, was given upon information which was be-
lieved to be true, but which has turned out to be false ; and
the presumption is irresistible, that, the state of things
being changed, your government so far from desiring to
press the execution, would gladly withdraw the instruction,
and that, without any, the least responsibility, you are at
perfect liberty to consider it withdrawn. It is not for me
to instruct, but to derive instruction from you in everything
' connected with the military art ; and you know as well as I,
that no principle is better settled than the one which justi-
fies disobedience to positive orders, under a change of cir-
cumstances. I say that the instruction had its origin singly
in a falsehood imposed upon your government by its own
Agent ; and that, but for that falsehood, the instruction
would not have been given. You have the proof in com-
mon sense, and in the documents and evidence connected
with the late disturbances — if you want more proof, look
into the gazettes of yesterday, where you find a Coun-
cil of hostile Indians assembled by the Agent, proclaiming
by acclamation his innocence of the death of Mclntosh,
because that death followed not from the survey but the law
of the nation.

Your Government is informed by the Agent, that the
hostile Indians are in array against us, because the Gov-
ernment of Georgia interfered to procure the consent to
the survey. The same Indians testify to the falsehood of
the declaration ; and the dilemma is, that if the Agent is to
be believed in the one case, the Indians cannot in the
other. You see, therefore, Sir, plainly, the result — the
Government of the United States, identifying itself in
all things with the Agent, assumes for granted what is
false ; issues, in consequence thereof, a peremptory order
to this Government to forbear an act which it feels it is
its right and its duty and interest to perform. The falsity is
made known to the officer instructed to carry that order
into effect — the officer feels it to be his duty to proceed in
the execution of the order, notwithstanding the change of

332 T'IFE Op GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP, X.

circumstances which produced it. On the part of the
Government of Georgia, the will of its highest constituted
authority has been declared, upon the most solemn deliber-
ation, that the line shall be run and the survey executed.
It is for you, therefore, to bring it to the issue — it is for me
only to repeat that, cost what it will, the line will be run
ano! the survey effected. The Government of Georgia
will not retire from the position it occupies, to gratify the
Agent or the hostile Indians ; nor will it do so, I trust, be-
cause it knows that, in consequence of disobedience to an
unlawful mandate, it may very soon be recorded that
"Georgia was."

Sutler me to say, also, that your Government has acted
very precipitately and unadvisedly in this affair: after
receiving notice of my intention to make the survey, it
interposed no objection, though it had time to do so. A con-
siderable interval elapsed, and it receives false: information
from the Agent, upon which it issues its peremptory order
— soon after, it "receives further false information from the
same Agent, upon which it issues other orders contirmatory
of the first, and which you seem to consider final.

But for my direct and active interference, hostilities would
have immediately followed the death of Mclntosh, and of
a character so inveterate as to put at defiance any interfer-
ence whatever, even on your part. Your powers, not your
influence, might have been availing, to be sure, but your
power was not here ; and for preserving this peace you
know what a respectful testimonial I have of the thanks of
your Government, couched in the most delicate and com-
plimentary terms.

The suggestion you make in derogation of our claim to
participate in the construction or execution of the treaty,
giving to that suggestion its utmost force, is merely that
we are not nominally parties to the treaty — whilst the answer
to it is, that we are party in interest deeper tenfold than
they who appear upon the paper, and that the paper, in
virtue of another paper to which we are parties, both nom-
inally and in interest, passed a vested right of soil and of
jurisdiction to Georgia, which none but the great Jehovah
can divest.

You will be pleased to understand that there is no incli-
nation here to urge hastily either the survey or the running
of the line, so as to interfere in the least with the measures
to be taken to pacify and tranquilize the Indians. On the
contrary, all the facilities we can give for this object, will
be readily afforded ; but it is believed that in reasonable

CHAP. X.] INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMISSIONERS. 333

time this happy result can, with wise and prudent measures,
of which your special Agent was advised yesterday, be easily
accomplished ; .but never to be accomplished if the con-
dition of that accomplishment be the abandonment of the
survey and running of the line.

What, in our verbal conferences, had been promised, is
now repeated, that the military requisitions which, in com-
pliance with your instructions, you may think proper to
make upon the Government of Georgia, will be promptly
attended to, and the force placed under your command with
the least possible delay. The implicit reliance in your high
sentiments of honor, is my sufficient security that, that force,
if it could, will in no event be employed against us.

On the llth of June, the Governor had written to Messrs.
Warren Jourdan, William W. Williamson, Seaborn Jones
and William H. Torrance, informing them of their appoint-
ment, under authority of the resolution of the Legislature,
to receive and take testimony in the case of the Agent for
Indian affairs. He said : " as the party concerned disclaims
the authority of the State to interfere, it is not to be presumed
that application will be made to you for leave to cross-ex-
amine. Should, however, such application be made, you
will not hesitate to grant it, giving timely notice of persons
to be examined, and the time and place of such examina-
tion," &c., &c.

33± LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

CHAPTER XL

Canvass for Governor — Gov. '/'/•«»/) and Oen. Cl<irk riral C<ni<l!-

i/ufi "N — Political i .n-ltrmi i,t — I ml iii n Jif/l< U//ii s runt i '///" ,/ —

' Major Andrew* — Gfov6nor*t correspondence

'nl I'-il't i <//' ir<//-, <(V. —

••iff < f. election for <i>»-, /•/"</• — •• •'.,• /miiti/in-ft. ir/nf.

Message t» (hr I. ' ' • >f //<<• /,••// <V</ ////•< —

Counties laid out, <£"c., &c.

On the 5th day of April, 1825, the following announce-
ment appeared in +he Georgia Journal, a lead ing newspaper
published at Milledgeville, and possessing the confidence
of the Governor :

"t5^*" Gov.TROUP is a candidate for re-election to the
office he now holds.

" t^lP We are re-guested to state that Gen. CLARK is a
candidate for the office of Governor. "

The canvass had now opened, and the contest was to be
the hottest ever witnessed in Georgia, and the excitement
more intense than upon any other occasion of a civil na-
ture, unless, perhaps, that which sprang up out of the
Yazoo fraud. In consenting to an election by the Legisla-
ture, in 1823, Gov. Troup had so far put himself at the
service of his friends, as to impose upon himself a sort of
moral obligation to yield to their wishes in a canvass be-
fore the people. Besides, it was due to himself not to
retire from a contest, the great interest and excitement of
which had grown out of his own firm and manly adminis-
tration of the affairs of the State. Whilst he had no par-
ticular ambition to gratify by a re-election to the office of
Chief Magistrate, it was natural that he should desire to
see his measures of government passed upon with approba-
tion by the people whom he had so faithfully served ; and
he had too little fear of defeat, and too much confidence in

CHAP. XL] GOY. TROUP AND GEX. CLARK. 335

his fellow-citizens, to decline a contest so much desired
by his friends, and so proper under all the circumstances
by which he was encompassed.

Nothing was more natural than that the opposition should
brins; out their well-tried and veteran leader. He had been

Governor two consecutive terms ; but what of that '* There
was no legal, no constitutional ineligibility. Gen. Clark
had given his name to the party opposed to Mr. Crawford
and his friends, long before Col. Troup had been named in
connection with gubernatorial honors, or had evinced his
remarkable talents for executive duties. " Troup and Clark "
now rang through the State ; and, whilst it was clear that the
friends of the former had nothing to rely upon, in sup-
port of their chief, but his talents, virtues and great public
services, it was certain that in the latter they had to en-
counter a foeman, who, to abilities of no ordinary sort, and
long public services in the field and at the council-board,
had the faculty of winning support where less sagacious
politicians would have failed. Whatever faults Gen. Clark
may have had — and who is free from them ? — he was never
charged with want of fidelity to his friends, or the lack of
power to conciliate where success was possible by worthy
means. Hence, he was beloved by his party, and was a dan-
gerous competitor with any rival.

Before the close of the contest, Gov. Troup was running un-
der and against a combination of circumstances that seemed
little favorable to his re-election. Independently of the
great popularity of his rival, he had to contend against
the sympathies and probably the patronage of the Federal
Executive ; many weak-minded and timid persons thought
his administration too bold ; many honest men, whilst they
could not, in calm moments, believe his motives to be
impure, yet thought or feared he might precipitate a crisis,
that would result in civil strife between the United States
and Georgia. Besides having to encounter much of the
hereditary hatred which the Clark party bore to Mr.
Crawford and his friends, he had to stand the brunt of all
the opposition which his controversy with General Gaines,

336 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CHAP. XI.

Major Andrews and Col. Crowell, had engendered. Add
to all this, his contempt for those little arts and blandish-
ments which politicians know so well how to use, and
by which temporary success is often gained — and, to a
casual observer, his chance might have seemed hopeless.
But this was ..only the outside view. lie had then had
much experience in the public service, had never disap-
pointed public expectation; and though it could not be
said of him, as some one has remarked of Mr. Jefferson,
t/t'tf l> a"- j'CccJi, founded a sect, or fomjht

a 'battle; yet, like that great statesman, he had rarely
misjudged men or measures, and could show a political
record, as remarkable for its consistency, as it was untar-
nished by any, the slightest taint of dishonor. If ever
a statesman, in our times, passed through a long public
life, with clean hands and a good cnscience, that man was
George M. Troup.

"We proceed now to the course of the Governor in regard
to the Agent of Indian affairs, and his correspondence with
the special Agent on that subject. On the 8th of June, he
wrote to Major Andrews to learn whether he had not, in a
certain conversation, stated that the evidence submitted to
him did not furnish even probable cause to suspect the
Indian Agent as guilty under the charges exhibited against
him in the Governor's letter of 31st May, &c.

In his reply, the same day, Major Andrews denied the
justice of the inference deduced from that conversation, and
stated his recollection of the result of that conversation to
be, that, until he was furnished with the documents and evi-
dence referred to in the Governor's letter of 31st May, he
did not consider himself at liberty to form any opinion,
even as to the propriety of suspending the Agent, &c.
- He added :

I beg the attention of your Excellency to my letter, of
the 31st May, by which, you will perceive I expected to be
able to furnish the Agent, in case his suspension was decided
on, with a copy of 'the charges and specifications made
against him, immediately on his being suspended, that ''he
might be able to defend himself before his government

CHAP. XL] LETTERS TO MAJOR ANDREWS. 337

with as little delay as possible ; " and that his suspension
would also depend on the present state of excitement among
the Indians. This course, your Excellency will do me the
justice to believe, is in strict accordance with the instruc-
tions of my Government. I have delayed all proceedings,
(even to a formal acknowledgment of the receipt of your
letter of the 31st ultimo,) waiting to be furnished with the
documents and evidence promised in it. So soon as I shall
be honored by its receipt, (if General Gaines shall have
arrived,) I will immediately proceed to execute the
intentions of the President, as made known to your Excel-
lency.

On the 13th of June, the Governor wrote a letter to
Major Andrews, in which he said :

" In compliance with a resolution of the Legislature of
the State of Georgia, I place you in possession of the
report of a committee, the resolutions which follow, and
the evidence which supports them, in the case of the Agent
for Indian A flairs, whose conduct, in connection with the
late disturbances in the Creek nation, has been recently a
subject of investigation before that Legislature.

He wrote again, as follows, on the 14th :

In the conversations held with yourself and Gen.
Gaines, in relation to the objects of your mission, you
were pleased to express a desire to receive from myself
any views or suggestions which might usefully contribute
to the results which were most desirable. These, in pass-
ing, have been hitherto frankly given. As it is determined
that one or both of you will proceed to attend the convention
of the Indians about to be holden at Broken Arrow and the
Indian Springs, it becomes my duty to disclose to you, in a
special manner, the opinions entertained of this first and
most important movement, so that, if miscarriage follow, the
councils of Georgia will share in no degree the responsi-
bility of that miscarriage. It is known to be one of your
objects to elicit from the convention the truths connected
with the late and present disorders in the nation — a devel-
opment which the councils of Georgia cannot fail to regard
with very deep concern. It has been more than once
asked of you, therefore, if, preparatory to this movement,
it did not seem to you as indispensable to suspend the
Agent from his functions, under the authority vested in you
by your Government. The answers given have been re-
ceived with pain and regret, because they indicated an
43

338 LIFK 01'' GEORGE M. Tl: [Oii.u-. Xi.

intention to forbear the exercise of the power, at least for
the present, whilst it is plainly foreseen that the present is
the only moment at which the exercise of it would he of
any value to you, or i the fulfilment of the objects

of your mission, and fur this very obvious reason: the

it, in virtue of his official power, exercising a control-
ling influence over one portion of the nation, lias already

ubled that portion, and you see in the morning's paper
by what a formidable and imposing array of Chiefs he
stands exculpated and acquitted. Kow, Bir, 1 appcal'to
your good sense to inform me of what avail will be the
contemplated convocation and catechising of the Indians,
the Agent holding to his commission and wielding his
accustomed powers .' Is it to be belie ved that, under like
circumstance ..'ill reconsider their minutes and alter

theii M). In matters even of this kind, they

have sagacity and shrewd:ie-s, and a decent regard for the
opinions of the won doubting that your<

the ascertainment of truth, it is hoped that you will suffer
no obstacles to imped , -to it; the i nda-

ble of all stands directly iu your way. 'T is impossible
that the faintest ray of light can reach you, when it is
known that, in de.-pite of all that has transpired of crimi-
nation, of investigation, of evidence, and of i . the

:it is present Jo the Indians in his rob. line, yet

sustained by the Government of the United States, as if his
purity were spotless and his name unsullied — the si
in authority as he always has been — the same whom

•Id in prospect to be their leader through new tr
their counselor in evil times, and the supreme director of
their destinies in all times. Can it be presumed that,
under such circumstances, the Indians will speak to
without restraint '( The documents of incontestable au-
thority prove to you that they will not. No, Sir ; the way
to the accomplishment of the ends of your mission, is <
— suspend the Agent — make atonement to the friends of
Mclntosh for the blood shed by the guilty instrument
white men — restore the friendly chiefs to their political
rank and power, and, my word for it, you will find truth,
and enough of it, for any purpose — peace, reconciliation and
union.

To this letter and that of the loth, Major Andrews re-
plied, from the Creek Agency, Flint River, on the 18th,
stating that he had not received an official copy of the

CHAP. XL] MAJOR ANDREWS AND COL. CROWELL. 339

documents promised in the Governor's letter of 31st May
—urging that they be furnished, and also that the Agent
of the Government be furnished with any additional tes-
timony which the Governor might wish to offer against
the Indian Agent, &c., &c. He stated, further, that he
entertained different opinions from those expressed in the
Governor's last letter, and especially in regard to the suspen-
sion of the Agent — that, after a careful examination of the
testimony taken by the committee (of the Legislature,) he
did not think that the suspension was demanded on the
ground contemplated in his letter of 31st May, and by the
Government — that he did not think the presence of the
Indian Agent at any place, or under any circumstances,
would be prejudicial to truth — that he had hoped, as the
Governor's message of 3d June implied doubt of the
Agent's guilt, and he had been acquitted generally of one
of the charges, by the report adopted by the Legislature,
but still had the influence and power of the Executive and
Legislature against him, and that, too, on exparte testimony,
that the Agent would not, on his trial, have to complain of
any acts, on the part of another, that might appear to par-
take of oppression. Nevertheless, "in courtesy" to the
Governor's fixed opinion, &c., he would suspend the Agent ;
but thought that public opinion should not be forestalled
by the publication of exparte testimony against the Agent,
&c., &c.

Gov. Troup replied, on 20th June, and said :

I have, this moment, received your letter, of the ISth
instant, dated at the Creek Agency. The printing of the
documents and evidence having relation to the disor-
ders in the nation, and to the charges exhibited by this
Government, will be completed, it is understood, in the
course of the day, so that a copy will be forwarded for your
use, in the course of to-morrow. The commission authorized
by the Legislature to take further testimony, will, for that
purpose, proceed, forthwith, to the nation, and under
orders to make all possible dispatch.

You have widely mistaken me, if you believe that any
disposition exists here, to withhold from the Agent the

340 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. '. XI.

most ample moans of justifying liimself to his Government ;
much less any desire for the performance of an act on your
part that would savor of oppression: on the contrary.
Government desires that the fairest opportunity shall he
a Horded the accused, of profiting of every description of
testimony which may be available for his complete vindi-
cation, free from any obs' embarr; \vhich it
might have the power to interpose. It was in this spirit
that my instructions to the Oommie -M-C drafted; and,
although it was known that ti ; had disclaimed the
autliority of the Government of ' to interfere, and
that, therefore, there was little probabili'
the benefit of a particular instruction n in-
struction has heen given, which will admit him, at his ] :
nre, to he present at the investigation on our part, and to
exercise the right of inination freely. V
I can add, with great sincerity, that it will giv>- me pi
ure, at any time, to contribute aids and facilities to his
defence; for, wh:it'-\<-r I may believe of the, :,'mlt or inno-
• <>t' the Agent, I trust that one and all of us. for the
honor of onr own human nature, would gladly sec him
vindicated and justilied against such charge- as have heen
preferred by this Government. WhiUi, hoy/ever. I
ance is given, it is nevertheless true that you have very much
misconceived the ' my me hich, ace-
ing to yonr construction of it, 5inj)lies doubt of iho guilt of
the Agent — no such doubt exists. It was not said that the
•ut had committed crimes, because it was not intended
to say so; it was enough that the Agent had been char
with the commission of them; and, having exhibited the
charges, I presume you would not have ! Us to
the indelicacy of the accuser passing sentence upon the ac-
cused. But, whilst this was purp- :ded there, I can
very freely make known to yon here, that if, instead of
passing upon the guilt or innocence of the accused, .1 had
been stating my belief from the evidence even no\\
closed, and expa/rt* as it. may be, I would have said, without
hesitation, that, with respect to the one charge, I believed him
guilty of that beyond the possibility of refutation, and that
with regard to the other, lie was so far innocent only as he
was not present at the time and place, ini'icting the blows
with his own hands. Taking very opposite views of the
subject, yon seem to have yielded' a reluctant and ungra-
cious assent to the suspension of the Agent, and indeed to
indulge a little the language of complaint, lest injury n
by possibility result from it to the accused

CHAP. XI.] LETTER TO MAJOR ANDREWS.

Be persuaded, .sir, that this act of suspension is in no
respect personally gratifying to me ; nor were feelings of
any kind connected with nay suggestion of the propriety of
it, but those which yourself must have indulged for the
successful fulfilment of the objects of your mission. I
repeat what was before alledged in support of that sug-
gestion, that it could not be conceived how it would be
possible for you to make any, the least, advance to the
attainment of truth, or to the pacification of the Indians,
without it as a first and indispensable measure. The friendly
Chiefs had already given your Government to understand
that they would never consent to commit themselves again
to the protection of the Agent ; and you were almost present
to witness that, by the power and influence of his office, the
hostile Chiefs had been convoked, and a declaration of the in-
nocence of the Agent either extorted or otherwise obtained ;
and this, too, just before the period had arrived at which
General Gaines and yourself were to convene the same
Indians, for the purpose of obtaining from them fairly and
honestly the truth ; a fact well known to the Agent, but
which i'act did not prevent him from thus forestalling and
anticipating you.

"When you permit yourself to say that the Agent " has
not, so far as the investigation has been pursued by the
authorities of Georgia, been informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation," you will sutler me to answer,
that this has been no omission of ours, but of yours. It was
part of your duty to have notified the Agent, so soon as the
charges were received, of the existence of those charges ;
and, with regard to specifications, I assure you that, unless
for some very useful purpose to the interests of Georgia, I
would not take the trouble to sit down to paper to make
them. The Agent is charged with instigating the Indians
to the commission of the crime of murder, and with pre-
determined resolution to prevent the Indians from mak-
ing cession of the lands so long as a certain person was
at the head of the Government of Georgia ; and these,
in all reason, are specifications enough. We are not exhibit-
ing charges against the Agent as offending the martial law,
to which a long detail of specifications, according to cus-
tom, must be subjoined. If your Government wants further
specification, it must seek it elsewhere ; and this, sir, is
obviously the mistaken bias under which you and your
Government labor. You are willing to resolve every
thing into prejudice against the Agent, for his protection —
whereas, it is notorious that the prejudice of your Govern-

34:2 : OF GEORGE M. TROUP. P. XI.

mcnt has been so far advantageous to him, tliat it is very
dillicult to subdue i' kind of evidence. "Witli re-

spect to "the right of < tibn with the witn ;;'mst

him,'' there is abundant time for that, w! -finding

a true bill, he shall bo arraigned at the bar of justice—
and. with regard to his "not having compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in hi- mired by tho sacred

instrument which guards the rights of all," I pledge you

>r, that whenever I shall hear of such g
injustice being done hii : j competent and author-

tribunal before • d, I will con

it as an inji;: . :ie byatribunal

jurisdiction, and of course punishable

• our co; • far

ds on me, the utmost efforts will bc> made to 1
'uncut all or any public
ling.

The documents are in a com n, by order

of the Legislature. Having been pn ::iade public

by that ' :'>rmal manner, it is not

seen that any further publi'- them can operate

injuriously t • .-ould seem to be better,

even on 'iint, that after so mnch had been made

known of their con! .;ilcl be known, and that

:ld be left for inference or conjecture; es-
pecially, too, as the public, understanding the character
of the evidence to be . will be able to estimate it at

what it may be worth. It may be proper to add that, by a
special and - ution, the Governor is directed to

cause them to be distributed through all the countic-
soon as they are printed, and you arc already informed
that the printing will be complete in the course of to-day.

Major Andrews, replied, from the Creek Agency, on
June, disclaiming any intention to express a belief that
the authorities of Georgia were disposed to withhold fmm
the Agent the means of ju elf; yet expressing his

conviction that their course towards him must operate
oppressively, Occ. He then corrects an error into which the
Governor had fallen ; by showing that the convocation of
the Chiefs by the Agent, and the procuring by him of doc-
uments from the; :, occurred " before it

was possible for the Agent to know that Gen. Gaines or an

CHAP. XI.] FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE. 343

Agent of the government were ordered here." He insist-
ed that specifications were necessary, as an act. of justice,
to a fair trial of the Agent, &c., and that before the trial
of the Agent his punishment had been demanded — to wit,
his dismissal, &c., &c., and that the publication against
which suggestion was made, was the publication in the
news papers and not in pamphlet. The writer concluded
with a respectful protest against the imputation of preju-
dice to the General Government, &e.
The Governor replied as follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPAimiENT,
Milledgemlle, %lth June, 1825.

Sir : I have this moment received your letter of the 23d
inst. It gives me great pleasure to correct, without delay,
an error into which I had fallen, and in consequence of not
adverting particularly to the date of the certificate obtained
from the Indians by the Agent, and published as part of his
defence in one of the last papers. From a comparison of
dates, it does appear that that certificate was obtained before
the Agent knew that yourself and General Gaines would
proceed to Broken Arrow to convene a Council or institute
an inquiry. "Whilst this correction, therefore, is most
cheerfully made, you cannot but admit the utter immateri-
ality of it to the Agent for any objects or interests of his;
for the fact still turns out to be, that whilst the Agent, in
procuring that certificate, did not intend to forestall, in
particular, General Gaines and yourself, in making a cer-
tain examination, he did well know that it would forestall
General Gaines or yourself or any others whom your Gov-
ernment might at any time depute to make an examination
there ; and this is the fact, and the only fact, of any conse-
quence to the argument.

On the subject of specifications to which you have again
called my attention, I have only to remark, that, if your
Government pleases to forbear further inquiry or investi-
gation into the conduct of the Agent, either because it
(derives no specifications from me, or because those specifi-
cations are not precisely such, in manner and form, as are
agreeable to itself, it has the power to do so. But if your
Government has not found matter enough for specifications,
(if indeed they be at all important.) in the published
accredited documents, or, finding it there in abundance,
shall not choose to frame them for itself, I assure you, Sir,

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. [Ciup. XI.

I would noi: know where to proceed to look for it, even

if 1 believed it (as I do n my duty to furnish those

specifications. "When time shall have disclosed that I was

mistaken in attributing prejudice t<> your Government in

behalf of its Agent, although that belief has not been

:ned upon light ground, and is so far sustained by the

rrences of e\ , I assure you, Sir, I shall pro.

without delay, to render to it the fullest measure of justice

which injured honor could require from a deceived accuser.

Very respectful .

Your oli, rv't,

T. P. Andrews" G. M. Tu->

Special Agent.

Frequent reference having been made to the certificate
of the Indians in behalf of Col. Crowell, it is proper to
insert it here. The following is all that is necessary :

We, the undersigned, chiefs and head-men of the '
Xation, do certify and declare that we determined, of our
own free will and accord, to put to death the Chief Mc-
into-di, and that neither the Agent, John Crowell, or any

• white man, were the instigators or abettors — nor do
we know or believe that he, the Agent, knew that we had

• iieh design — nor did we communicate it to any bin a
>ld and head-men. A\V determined to pat him to death

for a violation of a law first proposed by him and sanc-

d by the nig Warrior and Little Prince — and then the

different tov, culled up, and the lawyers, who had

:;sly made by Mclntosh, Uig Warrior and

Little Prince, were directed to put into execution this law,

chief or other person who broke it, however

great he might be, even Big Warrior, Little Prince or

Mclntoeh.

To this were added the following statements in the
form of question and answer : 1st. That the law " to
take the life of a Chief of this Xation who should sell
the lands of the Nation without the consent of the nation,"
was first made " on the west bank of the ( )akmulgee, at the
time the land belonged to them, the Indians." 2d. If
the Agent had directed the killing of Mclntosh, "we
would not, (have done it) for he was not placed here for
that purpose." No white person knew it, " but James

CHAP. XL] THE GOVERNOR AND MAJOR ANDREWS. 3 45

Hutton, who was born and raised in the Nation and con-
sidered as one of us, who we took as an interpreter." It was
further stated that " the Chief who commanded the party
that executed Mclntosh, was asked if he told Mclntosh's
wife, or any person, that the Agent directed him to do so,"
replied, " No, and that he did not believe his men had done
so, nor had he heard anything about it — and the Chief,
after hearing what Chilly Mclntosh had said, relative to
their shooting at and pursuing him to the river, contra-
dicted it, and said they neither shot at, nor pursued him, in
short made no exertions to ketch (catch) him." The whole
was signed by Little Prince and 36 others, and was dated
the 14th May, 1825.

The following is inserted somewhat out of its chronolog-
ical order, but in its appropriate place :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )
Mittedgeville, 18th June, 1825. i

Sir : From the course recently pursued by the Agent,
in procuring from the Chiefs of the hostile Indians,
under the influence of his office, and from the Missionaries,
their attestation to his innocence, the Commissioners ap-
pointed under the authority of the Legislature, are directed
to proceed to Broken Arrow, to participate in the councils
to be holden there on the 25th inst. So far as they have
for their objects the collection of facts and development of
truths, as connected with the late disturbances in the Na-
tion, and the charges exhibited by this Government against
the Agent of the United States for Indian Affairs — they
are instructed specially to avoid any interference, unless
solicited, with the political arrangements or negotiations
between the United States and the Indians, which apper-
tain exclusively to the relations and interests subsisting
between them, and to which the State of Georgia is no
party. It is hoped and expected that this measure will
meet your concurrence and approbation.

"With great respect, &c.,

G. M. TRQUF.
Maj. T. P. Andrews,

Special Agent.

On the morning of the 28th of June, the following letter
44

346 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CiiAr. XI.

from Major Andrews to Col. Crowell, appeared in one of
the public newspapers at Milledgeville :

GREEK AGENCY, Flint River, )
June 21, 1825. f

Sir : You have been advised of the measures hereto-
fore taken by the President of the United States and the
Secretary of War, in relation to the charges, specific and
implied, made against you as Indian Agent. I have now
to inform you, that a suspension from the exercise of your
functions as Indian Agent, (until all the testimony to be col-
lected in the Indian nation has been obtained and
examine 1.) has been decided on. I herewith send you a
copy of the evidence collected by a committee of the
Georgia Legislature, and their report as adopted by the
Legislature. Copies of other documents, promised me by
the Governor of Georgia, shall be furnished yon as soon
as those documents are received. You will accordingly
turn over the Agency to the sub-Agent, Captain Triplett.

In resorting to the discretionary power vested in mo by
the President, I feel it due to you to state frankly, that this
determination does not proceed from any present impression
unfavorable to your innocence. I am not at liberty, in
my present peculiar situation, to form a settled opinion on
the charges made against you, until all the evidence to be
collected from every quarter has been received and care-
fully examined. But 1 feel it due to you to say, that so far
a* 1 am at liberty to take up a present impression, it is in
favor of your integrity and honor. I feel it due to you to
make this statement in consequence of the course (which
must be considered an unjust one, if not oppressive,) pur-
sued towards you by the authorities of Georgia — my im-
pressions too being chiefly grounded on the c.c -^artc,
testimony taken against you.

Your suspension is made from courtesy to the authorities
of Georgia, who have repeatedly and urgently demanded
it — on the ground that it would be impossible to elicit un-
biased testimony in the Indian Nation, whilst you are in the
exercise of your functions. It is done, too, from a desire
to do away all pretexts which might otherwise hereafter be
seized on to destroy confidence- in the results of the exami-
nations. The suspension will be withdrawn so soon as those
examinations are concluded, should they result in estab-
lishing your innocence.

As the object of the General Government, in this ex-
amination, is the ascertainment of truth, it could not but

CHAP. XI.] MAJOR ANDREWS AND COL. CROWELL. 347

give me pain, as its Agent, to find that in taking testimony
against you, all the usual prerequisites were lost sight of by
the authorities of Georgia. You were neither " informed
of the nature and cause of the accusations" or confronted
with witnesses against you, nor had you " compulsory pro-
cess for obtaining witnesses in your favor!" The evidence
on which the harshest opinions have been formed and ex-
pressed, was not only exporte, but it has been spread before
the public, in the newspapers, before you had been in-
formed of its character or had an opportunity of making
your defence ; and public opinion thereby forestalled, before
the General Government, under which you hold your
appointment, has had an opportunity of examining the testi-
mony of either party. The course which you have deter-
mined to pursue, as made known to me in the copy of your
letter, of the 20th, to the Commissioners appointed by the
Governor of Georgia to take further evidence against you —
in inviting them to be present at the examination of your
voluntary witnesses — is of an opposite character, and cannot
fail to strengthen the belief of your conscious innocence.

It is scarcely necessary to add that in the exalted char-
acter of the President of the United States and the Secre-
tary of War, you have the surest guaranty of a fair trial,
and a just decision, on it.

Very respectfully, sir,

Your most obedient servant,

T. P. ANDREWS,
Col. John Crowell. Special Agent.

In giving this letter to the public, Col. Crowell, in his
card, said, amongst other things : " Indeed, the untiring
zeal manifested by Gov. Troup in the accomplishment of his
purpose, has rarely been equalled and never surpassed — it
stands without a parallel in the annals of persecution ;"
and he afterwards spoke of " the inquisitorial proceedings
of the Governor and Legislature of Georgia."

On seeing Major Andrews' last letter, in print, the Gov-
ernor immediately addressed the following note to Major
Andrews :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milledgeville, 2Sth June, 1825.

Sir : I call your attention to a letter purporting to be
yours, and addressed to the Agent, in extenuation of your
conduct for the act of suspension, and published in a paper

;>ls LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [(.'HAP. XI.

here of this morning, called the Patriot. If this letter be
authentic, von will consider all intercourse between yourself
and this government suspended from the moment of the
receipt ot this.

GK M. TKOVP.
T. P. Andrews,

Special Agent United States, Creek Agency.

And, on the same day, he wrote to the Secretary of "War,
enclosing, " for the information'of the President,1' the paper
containing Major Andrews' letter " in extenuation of his
conduct in suspending'' Col. Crowell " from his functi*
under " instructions,'' and said :

"If, in writing such a letter, the Special Agent ha
acted as to find himself within the letter or spirit of t'
instructions, it is obvious that the question which lie was
charged to investigate had been prejudged at Washington,
before his departure from that city ; and that, cons<
the Government of Georgia can no longer, consistently
with its dignity, hold intercourse with that ofli<

On the 4th of July, Major Andrews addressed a long
letter to Gov. Troup, avowing the authorship of the letter
to Col. Crowell, " with the exception of a few typographi-
cal errors," and sending the Governor a corrected (
He said :

" It is such a letter as my sense of justice imperiously
called on me to address him in performing a harsh act
towards him — was approved of by my best judgment, such
as it is — is approbated by a man.""" who, for wisdom, stands
inferior to few, and in honor to none ; and such an one as,
1 confidently trust, will receive the approbation of my
Government. It is such a letter as, from my letters of the
31st of May, 8th, 18th and 28d of June, to yourself, and
our frequent verbal communications, as well as those
verbal and written to your Aid-de-Camp and friend, Col.
Lurnpkin, you ought, in my opinion, to have anticipated ;
and such an one as I was convinced, "for the honor of hu-
man nature," (to use your own eloquent expression,) you
expected."

He spoke, also, of the Agent's " inflexible integrity and
firmness in stemming a torrent of corruption, disgraceful,

* Gen. Gaincs, no doubt.— KD.

CHAP. XL] INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMISSIONERS. 349

in my opinion, to the national character ;" and this, after
the examinations, " both numerous and important," had
progressed.

Pending his correspondence with Major Andrews and
Gen. Gaines, the Governor, on 18th June, addressed a letter
to the Georgia Commissioners, Messrs. Jourdan, Jones,
Torrance and Williamson, in which he said :

You are requested to proceed to the Indian Springs, to
attend a Council of the friendly Indians to be holden there
on the 20th inst. As it is presumed that every concert
tendered on the part of this Government to assure a full
development of the facts connected with the late disturb-
ances in the Creek Nation, and also such as may more
particularly affect the guilt or innocence of the Agent, under
the charges exhibited against him by the Governor of this
State, will be gratifying to Major-General Gaines, you are
hereby authorized and empowered, under the authority
vested in you by the Legislature, to employ all lawful means
for the furthering of the objects aforesaid, avoiding at the
same time any interference whatever with that Council in
matters disconnected with the objects of your mission,
and which appertain exclusively to interests and relations
purely political subsisting between the General Govern-
ment and Indians.

From the Indian Springs you will proceed to attend the
other Council of Indians to be holden at Broken Arrow on
the 25th inst. Your presence there will be of more impor-
tance, because more immediately connected with the in-
vestigation of the conduct of the Agent, as arraigned by
the Governor, at the instance of the President of the
United States, and by the Legislature of the State. You
will no doubt be admitted to a free participation of that
Council, and will be suffered to take with you, under suf-
ficient safeguard, any of the friendly chiefs whose presence
there you may consider necessary to the accomplishment
of the objects which the United States and this Govern-
ment have in view. There can be the less doubt of this,
because, the charges having been already made both by the
Executive and Legislative authority of Georgia against the
Agent, and the Agent having so far thought proper to have
recourse to the Missionaries and hostile Indians in the
Nation, for his defence, and that defence being already
before the public, at the instance of the Agent, in which

350 LIKE W «EORGE M. TROrP. [CnAP. XL

it would seem that both being under the control and
influence of his office, any direction most suitable to his
views may be given to their opinions and feelings ; it is
only an exercise of strict right on the part of the Govern-
ment of Georgia that it bo heard before that Council, by
its Commissioners, who are instructed to give and receive
explanations for the purpose, in common with the Agents
of the United States, of arriving at truth and doing justice
to all parties. Should such participation be denied yon,
you will enter your formal protest against that denial, and
proceed to avail yourselves, within the jurisdiction of
Georgia, of all the testimony you can obtain.
i

In reply to the Governor's letter of 15th June, (copied
in the preceding chapter,) G si. (iaines wrote, the next
day, stating that he had not permitted himself to be " in-
fluenced by any statements from Col. Crowell, although
not prepared to condemn that officer without a hearing,'' Arc.
— that his impressions led him " to the conclusion that the
proposed surveys, with the consequent influx of white men,
strangers to the Indians, during the existence of feuds
amongst them, would not fail to fan the flame of discord,"
&c, ; expressed the ghope that the Governor would soon
hear, fully and satisfactorily, from the proper department ;
thanked him for the promptitude with which he had fur-
nished him with information in regard to the late disturb-
ances on the frontier, and stated his readiness to co-operate
with him in the discharge of his duties ; expressed the hope
that the spirit of hostility might soon be restrained amongst
the contending parties of the Indians ; but, as a precaution-
ary measure, desired the Governor to furnish, from the
militia or volunteers, one regiment of cavalry, and one of
infantry, to be held in readiness, &c., <fec.

On the same day, he said he would take an early occa-
sion to advise the Governor " of the result of the intended
conferences with the Indians," <fec.

On the 16th of June, the Governor wrote to Gen. Games
that he had issued orders for the required military force
&c. ; and, on the 18th, ho wrote him that the Georgia Com-
missioners would acquaint the General with the Governor's

CHAP. XL] THE GOVERNOR AND GEN. GAINES. 351

instructions to them ; and expressed the hope that, " by con-
cert and co-operation, such aids and facilities" might " be
afforded as would be desirable" to Gen. Gaines, &c. The
letter concluded :

From what has occurred, it is highly important that this
Government should be represented at the Council to be held
at Broken Arrow on the 25th. The many inconsistencies in
the conduct of the Indians to be explained and reconciled,
and their recent convocation by the Agent for the purpose
of repelling charges made against him by the Governor of
this State, at the instance of the Government of the United
States, make it indispensable for the attainment of truth
and justice, that the Commissioners should be present
there. If, for this purpose, it should be thought advisable
to take with them some of the friendly Chiefs, who are
deeply interested in vindicating their characters against
reiterated attacks upon them by the hostile party, it is
hoped that this, likewise, will meet your concurrence, and
that they will be placed under your safeguard and protec-
tion.

In reply, Gen. Gaines wrote from Indian Springs, on
22d June, and said : " I have to observe that, however
much I might be aided by the experience, talents and in-
tegrity and honor of the Commissioners referred to on the
part of the State of Georgia, I do not feel myself author-
ized, without new instructions from the Department of War,
to comply with the demand contained in their letter of
yesterday's date, ' to be admitted to a full and free partici-
pation of the Council of Indians,' " &c., &c. — that the
Indians were " still laboring under some delusion and ex-
citement," which " would be increased rather than dimin-
ished by adding to the number of individuals by whom
they are to be addressed, or by any addition or multiplica-
tion of the matters of controversy to which their attention
may be called" — that he was " fully authorized and in-
structed by the government of the United States, to protect
the friendly Indians, to mitigate their calamitous condition ; •
and, in the event of hostilities having ceased on the part of
the opposite party, to restore harmony bet ween them," &c.,
&c., &c. — that his sense of the responsibility of the high

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TR [CHAP XI.

trust reposed in him, suggested clearly the propriety of his
"having the entire control of every individual -white m;m
allowed to address the Council," and that lie " should,
moreover, have the control of every expression uttered to
the Council by any citizen or officer of the United States'*
— that, without such control, confusion might ensue and the
benevolent objects of the government be defeated ; and
added: "To avert an evil so pregnant with mischievous
consequences to the Creek Nation, to ihe peace and honor
of my country, and to my own reputation, I must decline
the demand of the Georgia (.''immis>ivners ;" hut that, if
"instructed by the proper authority to recognize the pro-
posed co-operation of the Georgia Commissioners/' he
would " take great pleasure in serving with them ;'' and
that his whole duty as a public officer was comprised in one
single word, which suggested the propriety of the course
pursued by him on that occasion — " and that word is obe-
dience— obedience to the laws and the orders of the author-
ities placed over me." In the same letter, he stated that
hostilities had ce . i that he had received " satisfac-

tory assurance of an earnest desire on the part of the C'i
of both parties to remain at peace with each other," and
that it therefore became his duty " to make peace upon just
principles, and consequently to avoid an Indian "War."

It is not important to notice, particularly, the action of
the Georgia Commissioners, as that will appear substanti-
ally in the letters, &c., of Gov. Troup, which follow ; and,
however desirable it might be, we have no room for their
correspondence with Gen. Gaines, Major Andrews and Col.
Crowell. On the 28th of June, the Governor notified the
Commissioners that " the dignity of Georgia requires that
it_no longer continue to recognize him (Major Andrews,) in
his official character of Special Agent."

Three of the Commissioners, on the 20th June, addressed
a note, at the Indian Springs, to Gen. Gaines, in which they
said : " It is important to the Commissioners that your an-
swer to the application of his Excellency the Governor to
admit the Commissioners to a full and free participation of

CHAP. XI.] COMMISSIONERS AND COL. CROWELL.

the Council of the Indians, should be received as early as
practicable." The next clay, Gen. Gaines replied, declining
the application, his reasons for which will appear in his
letter, of 22d June, to the Governor. This called forth a
second letter from the Commissioners to Gen. Gaines, in
which, after stating the object and importance of their mis-
sion, and especially in reference to the investigation of the
conduct of the Indian Agent, they said :

"To arrive at the certainty of all these facts, in the most
imposing and official manner, it was considered by our
Government necessary to constitute the present mission.
It was further determined, by the same Government, to be
of the iirst consequence that the members of that mission
should present themselves, clothed in their official charac-
ter, in the Council of the Indians to be convened by you ;
believing that in those Councils information might be elic-
ited material to the points in issue between the State of
Georgia and the Agent for Indian affairs. For this pur-
pose and no other, we have been directed by our Govern-
ment to repair to this place, and to inform you of the same,
and to respectfully ask your permission for admittance
therein. "We have done so by request only ; we have not
demanded it: that permission has been denied us. We
therefore, in pursuance of our instructions, as also a proper
sense of duty towards our Government, do hereby enter
our formal protest against such denial, believing that, in
consequence of being debarred the participation in those
Councils, the State of Georgia will unquestionably be de-
prived of that which is to her of vital interest and great
magnitude."

On the 20th of June, Col. Crowell addressed a note to
the Commissioners, offering them permission to cross-ex-
amine his witnesses. He added :

" In giving you this invitation, I wish you distinctly to
understand that it is not given under the impression that it
is your right — since I have not been confronted with the
witnesses against me. But it is given under a full convic-
tion of being able fully to establish my innocence, by wit-
nesses who shrink not from the ordeal of cross-examination,
and to show you that my defence rests not, like the accusa-
tions against me, upon the flimsy foundation of garbled
evidence, arbitrarily taken and improperly reported."

:i:,[ L1FK 01' CKoiIfJK M. TROIT. [Cii.vr. Xi.

In accepting the invitation, by letter of L'.'Hh June, tlie
Commissioners said :

"We shall be happy on our part to cross-examine any
witnesses you may deem necessary. On our part, wo
would observe, that the (iovernment of Georgia 1'ri
disposition to deprive you of any and every means of justi-
fying yourself. We have no doubt, that you would have
been permitted to be present and cross-examine the wit-
nesses before the committee of the Legislature, had a request
been made, by you. and we, have been particularly ins) rue ted
by his Kxreilem-ythe, ( Governor to afford you that privih

( )n the iC»th of June, the Commissioners sixain called the
attention of Gen. Gaines to that part »>f the (governor's
instruction requesting that tt a free partici-

pation of the Council of the Indians to be < 1 at

Broken Arrow, and that then lately held at Indian Spr'
and repeated the request to be admitted to the Council at
the former place. To li ( iaines replied, in a long

letter of 20th June, declining the request. In his letter he
said: "It a;. profit by the

of my fellow-citizens ; but those *u0^< > be accepta-

ble to me, must be free of anything like ollicial power •»•
control."

We copy the following letter from the Commissioners to
the Governor, dated Tori Mitchell, L^th June, ISi:.").

By the return of your express, we advised you of our
movements up to that date. Finding ourselves completely
forestalled in every operation here, by the directions of
Gen. Gaines and the Agent, we determined in Council that
a part of the mission should proceed forthwith to Ala-
bama.'"" believing the testimony to be obtained in that
quarter more important than any we could collect here.
In furtherance of these views, Col-. Jones and Torrance left
here, yesterday evening, and will return with all possible
dispatch to join us. The other two members of the mission
continue to occupy their situation. The Indians will pro-
bably go into Council to-morrow. As yet we know noth-
ing of the import of their deliberations, and as yet we can
say nothing favorable of the object of our mission.

* Fort Miirlii. !l , :,t rummi:; "f tlio

Hll • livtw,: 11 tin- I .'

CHAP. XL] GOV. TROUP AND THE COMMISSIONERS. 355

Meanwhile, the Governor kept up a regular communica-
on with the Cc
letters to them :

tion with the Commissioners. The following is one of his

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, |
Jfilledgeville, 28£/t June, 1825. f

Gentlemen : It would be desirable, if you have an op-
portunity to do so, to impress upon the Indians the inno-
cence of the intention as well as the innocence of the act
of survey, on our part, as their rights or interests of any
kind can in no manner be affected by it. The measures
of the United States will undoubtedly have a tendency to
excite them against us ; and if the United States should not
take part with them in resisting the survey, humanity
would dictate the propriety of forewarning them of the
consequences, after placing them in possession of the facts
and principles which govern our conduct.
Very respectfully,

G. M. TROUP.
The Georgia Commissioners,
at Broken Arrow.

Again, on the 1st of July, he wrote them :
" Perceiving by your peculiar situation in the Nation,
that more of efficiency and dispatch may be given to your
proceedings, by enabling you to detach members of your
Board whenever it shall be deemed necessary, you are
hereby further instructed to make such detachment at dis-
cretion— provided that not less than two shall be competent
to proceed to business at any particular place, whose report
shall in all cases be made to the Board for its adoption or
rejection, and that no such proceeding shall be considered
final and conclusive until it has received the sanction and
approbation of the Board.''

The following letters from two of the Commissioners,
deserve a place here. The first gives, perhaps, the earliest
official information which the Governor received of an ex-
pectation or attempt to abrogate the treaty.

CRABTREE'S, CREEK NATION, )
June 30th, 1825. f
His Ex. Geo. M. Troup :

Sir : Difficulties and obstructions having been thrown in
the way of the early fulfilment of the objects which called
us to this place, we have to request of you to detain any

356 LIFE OF GEORGK M. Tl; p. XI.

witness or witnesses wli<> ma;

linatiou, until our urrival. Th. the

Nation have, for some time ]>..- :ded with tie

ition, nay, almost c the

treaty. We ha\v -Teat pie-
ccllency, that General Gaines took occ
wliile in council, to state distinctly such a

:t such an occurrence w;>- -.vn in t

dipl

to the treaty, and the p :ent.

AVe take occasion to assure ;

'•K-ration and re-pcct.

His K.\. Qeo. M. Tr -up :

: We ' pt of

your several en«'

In conformity with your v.-i
drafted, expr

of the country forthwith, a<-
treaty concluded at the Indi
had, from the heirinnin^ t •> the
thority of Georgia to an interfer
and important trust confided to him.'
spectful to submit it to his examination and decision 1,.
we proposed it to the Council. We had the mortification
to receive, in this ;^ \vell as in every oth' '.tion

which was calculated to facilitate the objects of our mi
and to elicit truth, the continued and reiterated declar;>
" it will conflict with our instructions, it is th :iad-

mi-sihle." AVe have accomplished but little ; our wa\
been obstructed and hedged in on all sides. AV"e have
been engaged indefati^ahly to promote the well-beii

-late we have the honor ;

Our labors have been unsuccessful and inori' > an

extent unknown in the history of diplomacy. "tall

hear from us in detail at a proper time.

Your Ivxcellonc ' obliged and humble servai;'

WAIUMIN >}•

AV. W. AVlLLIAM^OX,

amissioners.

CHAP. XI.] GOV. TROUP AND GEN. GAINES. 357

It is now time to return to Gen. Gaines. On the 1st of
July, he wrote to the Governor:

I had promised myself the pleasure of sending you a de-
tailed account of my conference with the Indian Council
at this place, by this day's mail ; but the mail is on the
point of closing, and my account is not ready. I have,
therefore, only to say that the Council here promise to be
peaceable, and to settle their differences with the friends
and followers of General Mclntosh upon just principles.

They protest against the treaty.

They refuse to receive any part of the consideration
money, or to give any other evidence of their acquiescence
in the treaty. But they have, in the strongest terms, de-
liberately declared that they will not raise an arm against
the United States, even should an army come to take from
them the whole of their country ; that they will make no
sort of resistance ; but will sit down quietly and be put to
death where the bones of their ancestors are deposited ;
that the world shall know that the Muscogee nation so loved
their country that they were willing to die in it, rather
than sell it or leave it. This was their mode of expression,
as interpreted in presence of Ben Hawkins, and several
other interpreters, who were instructed to state whether or
not the public interpreter did his duty.

The Council, fully attended, has thus appealed to our
magnanimity ; an appeal which never can be unavailing
when addressed to citizens of the United States.

The Governor replied, as follows :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )
Milledgevitte, AdhJuly, 1825. j"

Sir : I had the honor to receive your letter, of the first
instant, this morning, for which be pleased to accept my
thanks.

How does the obstinate refusal to remove consist with the
universal consent given at one time to the treaty at the In-
dian Springs, with the exception of the Tookaubatchees, or
with the report made by Hambly to Col. Williamson, that
he had the yea or nay in the matter, and by the authority of
these same people, or the placid content and good feeling
for Mclntosh, manifested in their talk to Col. Laniar ? &c.,
&c. I much fear this ardent love of country is of re-
cent origin ; we can scarcely believe that the amor patrice
is all upon the one side, and that side the hostile one. Will

358 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

you not be able to discover, in the course of your investi-
gation, that everything had been said and done by white
men to prejudice them against their new home ? It is, in-
deed, a pity that these unfortunate men should be the dupes
of the most depraved of onr own color, and so far the dupes
• be made to act in direct repugnance to their own best
interests ; it is more to be lamented that the impostors and
knaves cannot be dragged from their hiding places and
punished. Presupposing these unhappy people to continue
blind and obdurate, the utmost which your government can
do, in the spirit of magnanimity and forbearance, will be
to relinquish the benefit which would result to it from the
execution of the treaty, and guaranty to them, for their
permanent home, the lands west of the Georgia line. If
the Cherokees continue to conduct themselves in like tem-
per, the like provision may be made for them. But how
will this accord with the recent policy adopted by the
United States, or with the substantial and lasting interests
of the Indians '. In every estimate of humanity, it would
be better that this deceitful charm, by which they are
bound, should be broken and dispelled : that, after adjust-
ment and reconciliation of differences, the entire body
should move without sorrow to tiie country alloted to them.
I am persuaded that no efforts of yours will be unessayed
to accomplish this most desirable and holy end ; holy, I
say, because it is the only one which can consist with their
peace, safety and happiness. Pardon me for throwing out
these hasty and desultory reflections ; they have no doubt
already presented themselves to your own mind.

Presuming that the followers of Mclntosh, who almost
exclusively occupy the Georgia lands, will remove ; and
that, in their present unsettled condition, it would be very
desirable to them to do so, whilst it would save the
United States the expense of their maintenance and sup-
port here, I would feel myself obliged, if, consistently
with your duty, you would give every encouragement to
such dispositions.

With great consideration and respect.

G. if. TROVP.
Edmund P. Gaines,

Major-General Coin'g,
Fort Mitchell.

On the 10 th of July, Gen. Gaines wrote to the Gover-
nor, apologizing for not having written as often or as fully

CHAP. Xl.] GEN. GAINES TO THE GOVERNOR. 359

as he had been desirous of doing, in consequence of " the
excessive heat of the weather," and " many inconveniences
and interruptions," &c. He then proceeded to communi-
cate the result of his conferences with the Creeks — that he
had met the Chiefs of the Mclntosh party, heard their re-
spective statements, with the evidence for and against each
party, and urged an adjustment of differences, to which
they had mutually assented ; that the Mclntosh party de-
manded retaliation for their fallen Chiefs, and the immedi-
ate restoration of their property taken or destroyed, &c.,
&c. He added : " The reputed hostile party consists of
all the principal Chiefs, and- of nearly forty-nine fiftieths
of the whole of the Chiefs, Head-men and Warriors of
the Nation : among whom I recognize many who were
in our service during the late war, and who, to my certain
knowledge, have been for twenty years past, (and I think
they have been at all times,) friendly to the United States
as any of our Indian neighbors could have been known to
be. I met them at Broken Arrow, the usual place of hold-
ing the great Council of the Nation : I could not, therefore,
but view the supposed hostile party as in fact and in truth
the Creek Nation, and altogether free of the spirit of hos-
tility ascribed to them" — that lie had "received from them,
in Council assembled, the most deliberate assurance of
their determination to be peaceable and friendly towards
their absent people, as well as towards the United
States. They regretted the necessity which, they contend,
existed for the strong measures they adopted against Gen.
Mclntosh, and others, who, they affirm, forfeited and lost
their lives by having violated a well known law of the
Nation ;" that they had " engaged to restore all property
taken, and to pay for all that has been destroyed contrary
to law," &c. — that " the Council strongly and unanimously
objected to the late treaty, as the offspring of fraud, entered
into contrary to the known law and determined will of the
nation, and by persons not authorized to treat;" that they
refused " to receive any part of the consideration money
due under the treaty, or to give any other evidence of their

360 LIFE OF GEORGE M. T!l [('MAP XI.

acquiescence in it'1 — that they had " expressed the hope that
their white friends would pity their deplorable condition,
and would do them the justice to reconsider and ' undo that
which has been wrongfully done' " — that he had endeav-
ored, without success, to convince them "of the fallacy of
their objections to the treaty, and to dissipate their delusive
hopes that it can ever be annulled," &c., &c. The letter
stated that there would be no occasion for the militia or
volunteers of the State, and concluded thus :

" The certificate, of which I enclose herewith a copy,
marked A, added to the declarations of the Chiefs in Coun-
cil, of whom Joseph Marshall, was principal and Interpre-
ter, proves that your Excellency has been Deceived
in supposing that the Mclntosh party ever consented to the
survey of the ceded territory being commenced before the
time set forth in the treaty for their removal. This
giving altogether a new aspect to the subject of the
posed survey of the land, added to a strong conviction on
my mind that the attempt to make the sir.
positive violation of the treaty, and will, under cxi-ting
causes of excitement, be certain to produce acts of vioi<
upon the persons or property of unoffending Indians whom
we are bound to protect, it becomes my duty 1o re
strato against the surveys being commenced until the Indi-
ans shall have removed, agreeably to the treaty. I cannot
doubt that the facts disclosed by the accompanying certifi-
cate, with the concurrent testimony of the Chiefs; in
Council, to which I have adverted, will induce your Ex-
cellency, without hesitation, to abandon the projer
surveying the land before the month of September, iMM.
This would be particularly gratifying to me, as i! would
relieve me of the painful duty of acting, not in concert
with the venerated authorities of an enlightened and pat-
riotic member of the United States, to whom I stand
pledged, by every principle of honor, under the solemnity
of an oath, to serve them honestly and faithfully."

The following is the certificate referred to by Gen.
Gaines :

AVe certify that we accompanied the express from Gov-
ernor Troup to Gen. Mclntosh, conveying the request that
he would allow the survey of the land acquired by the
treaty at the Indian Springs,vto be immediately commenced.

CHAP. XI.] GOVERNOR TO GEN. GAINES. 361

Gen. Mclntosh replied that he could not grant the request,
but would call the Chiefs together, and lay it before them
— which was never done.

WM. EDWARDS.

JOSEPH MARSHALL.
At Portess, Upson Co., July 9, 1825.

I certify that this is a correct copy of the original certifi-
cate signed in my presence.

E. G. W. BUTLER,
Aid-de-Camp.

The following is Governor Troup's reply :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )
Milledgevitte, July I6th, 1825. f

Sir : I have only a moment left to say one word in
answer to that part of your letter I had the honor to re-
ceive yesterday, which relates to the assent given by
Mclntosh to the survey of the country. The certificate of
Marshall, no matter how procured, is one of the most
daring efforts that ever was attempted by malignant vil-
lainy to palm a falsehood upon credulity. Now, Sir, that
you may be at once undeceived with regard to this trick,
which has been played off' by somebody, I have to assure
you that, independently of the assent three times given by
Mclntosh, under his own hand, which I have in my posses-
sion, this same man, Marshall, has repeatedly declared to
me, that there was not a dissentient voice from the survey,
among the friendly chiefs. All the chiefs I have seen,
have uniformly declared the same ; and so they have de-
clared to others, both in and out of council ; and for this
you have my word of honor, and may have my oath. I
very well know, from the late events which have transpired
under the eyes of the Commissioners, that the oath even
of a Governor of Georgia may be permitted to pass for
nothing, and that any vagabond of the Indian country may
be put in requisition to discredit him. But I assure you,
Sir, if that oath should not weigh one feather with your
Government, it will weigh with the people of this State,
who, so far as I have a knowledge of their history, have
never refused credence to the word of their Chief Magis-
trate, and I believe will not to the present one, unworthy as
he may be. Permit me to say, in frankness, that I do not like
the complexion of things, at all, as disclosed by the Com-
missioners on the part of the State, and sincerely hope that
you may never* have cause to regret the part you have
46

362 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

taken in them. Every prepossession here was in your
favor, and it would have given me great pleasure to cherish
it in behalf of an officer who had rendered signal ser-
vice to his country through many a perilous and trying
scene.

Very respectfully,
Your obed't serv't,

G. M. TROIT.
Edmund P. Gaines,

Major-Gen. Commanding, Indian Springs.

To this letter, Gen. Gaines wrote the following as a
reply; but which he caused to be published in a Milledge-
ville paper, instead of sending it by mail, or private hand,
to the Governor. It is published here, in full, not as a
specimen of eloquent composition or of polite diplomatic
style, but that the reader may form a tolerable judgment
of me propriety of the Governor's suspending, as he had
done in the case of Major Andrews, all further official in-
tercourse with the " Major-General, Commanding."

HEAD-QUARTKKS Eastern Department, )
Indian >/;/•//><•/*; -s//' -^"//A 1825. j

Sir: I have to acknowledge the honor of your Excel-
lency's letter of the 17th of this month, by which it ap-
pears that you had " only a moment to say one word," in
answer to mine of the 10th. Your one word, comprehend-
ing, however, two pretty closely written pages, coming as it
does from the Chief Magistrate of an enlightened and pat-
riotic member of the United States, demands my attention.

Not being disposed, however, to follow your exampl-
to time, I have permitted your letter to lie on my table for
a week past, in the expectation that a little reflection
would suggest to you the propriety of correcting some
expressions apparently hasty, and calculated to call forth
an answer partaking of the climate and heated atmosphere
in which I find myself: against which it has been my con-
stant purpose to guard ; but your letter having made its
appearance in a newspaper just now handed to me by a
friend, I can no longer see the propriety of withholding a
reply. You say, "the certificate of Marshall, no matter
how procured, is one of the most daring efforts that ever
was attempted by malignant villainy to palm a falsehood
on ignorant credulity." — " No matter how procure* I ! "

CHAP. XL] GENERAL GAINES' LETTER. 363

I will first state to you the manner in which that fright-
ful certificate was " procured," and then proceed to show
that its " daring" character consists in its truth, and its di-
rect tendency to expose in part the " malignant villainy"
' which has been extensively practiced on the credulity of
many of the good citizens of Georgia, and other States, in
reference to the Indians and the treaty. The facts con-
tained in the certificate in question, were voluntarily, and,
to me, unexpectedly communicated by Mr. William Ed-
wards and Joseph Marshall, whose signatures it bears.

Of the character of "William Edwards, who is a citizen
of this State, I have had no means of knowing much person-
ally. He has been represented to me by Col. Brodnax, of
Pike, and by Col. Phillips, of this county, as a man of
truth — poor, but honest and upright ; a description of char-
acter applicable to a large class of the inhabitants of this
and other parts of our western border, in whom I have
usually found as much devotion to truth, as in any other
class of American citizens.

Joseph Marshall is personally better known to me. He
is a Creek half-breed, and is deemed to be a good interpre-
ter ; and however deficient, as I know he is, in education,
and refined moral sentiments such as have obtained the
sanction of civilized society, I have no doubt that he is one
of the most upright Chiefs that ever belonged to the little
treaty-making party. Neither of these men, Edwards or
Marshall, appeared to me at all qualified for what you
denounce their certificate to be, " the most daring effort
that ever was attempted by malignant villainy."

Their statements were simple and apparently un-
prejudiced and unimpassioned ; they were made after
the principal business of the council had been brought to
a close, and in the presence of many of the respectable citi-
zens of Pike county.

Convinced of the propriety of all my duties with the
Indians being performed in open day, and in the presence
of as many as would attend, of all states and all colors, I
took care that the certificate should be taken and explained
in presence of the council, and of all others who had seen
fit to attend.

I had no secret project to promote, nor any "secret
griefs" to remedy, or secret hopes to gratify ; and conse-
quently had no occasion for separating the Chiefs, or for
secret examination. The certificate was written as it was
dictated, as I believe word for word, by my Aid-de-Camp,
Lieut. E. George Washington Butler, a young officer of ac-

364 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TRO' [Ciur. XI.

complished military education tind talents — with unbend-
ing integrity am! honor ; and wh- /able

of giving countenance to a trick or
was the beloved Father of his country, with wh
lie is honored, and ! virtue he con-

stantly scrupulously imitates. Having thus explain*
you the means employed to obtain the certificate
question, for which I hold myself :i>le, I have now

to remark that, although I ha ^taiiied a <louM

that you were deceived into a belief tli:r
had consulted tho few Chiefs of his party, and had obtained
their assent in Council to the imin
ceded hind ; yet I have found M
such Council, consisting of tin i' the ceded ;

having ever acted at all ;. -ubject. Audi:

ent i: Intosh'sl

will ofler no apology for making use of your Kxcellc:
pregnant phrase,) or by whom written, that he himself con-
sidered the permission to survey us merely conditional. J>ut
I contend that neither < !i nor 1 .'.

,/i' had any right to give such permi>sion : for the
treaty, "no matter ho\v procured," had become a /••
the land: its provisions could not therefore be ch;.
rendered inoperative by any correspondence, or
(juent agreement between your Excellency and any part or
the whole of the individuals of one of the contni
parties, without the consent of the other.

The treaty makes it our duty to protect the Ind;
against the whites and all others ; to protect them from the
whites, it is necessary and proper that we should maintain
the usual line of demarkation between them and the whites.

I am charged with their protection.

To accomplish this important duty, my tir>t object has
been to take effectual measures to prerent all interc<
between them and the whites, excepting only such ;
sanctioned by the laws of the United

You say, "I very well know that from the late ev,
which have transpired under the eyes of the Commission-
ers of Georgia, that the oath of a Governor of Georgia may
be permitted to pass for nothing, and that any vagabond of
the Indian country may be put. in ret[ui>ition t!( discredit
him; but I assure" you,' sir, if that oath should not weigh
a single feather with your government, it will weigh with
the people of this State, who, so far as I have a knowledge
of their history, have never yet refused credence to the
word of their Chief Magistrate." To this apparently very

CHAP. XI.] GEN. GAINES' LETTER CONTINUED. 365

serious, but certainly very vague, charge, I cannot under-
take to reply, until you do me the favor to give me some spe-
cifications of the matters of fact to which you have referred.

I will, however, take this occasion to remark, that what-
ever statements you may have received in support of the
insinuation apparently contained in your letter, that I have
called in question, or even put any person in requisition to
call in question, the oath or the word of a Governor of
"Georgia, during his continuance in office, is wholly desti-
tute of truth. I have, indeed, believed, and have expressed
to you my belief, that you have been greatly deceived by
persons in who^e honor you have placed reliance, but who
were unworthy of your confidence.

But I am by no means disposed to yield my tacit assent
to the high-toned rule of English law, which your remarks
just now quoted call to mind, that " the King can do no
wrong." Truth is a divine attribute, and the foundation of
every virtue. " Truth is the basis of all excellence." This
inestimable moral treasure, truth, is to be found in the cot-
tage as well as in the palace, at the plough as well as at
the official bureau of state.

Many of the unfortunate wanderers of the wilderness
and its borders, are as firm votaries of truth as any men I
have ever known. Some of them, who have been unfortu-
nate in business, and whose regard to truth and honesty
induce them to give up the last dollar justly due to their
creditors, had they regarded money a little more, and truth
a little less, might have failed /ull handed ; and now, in-
stead of being reduced to the condition of despised poverty,
would wanton in the luxuries of plundered wealth. It is
no longer possible, in America, to make freemen believe
that " the King, (or he who governs,) can do no wrong."

The enlightened citizens of the Republic, having long,
since found it to be fruitless to look for angels in the form
of men to govern them, know full well how to discriminate
between the high office and the man who fills it.

Your Excellency will, I doubt not, always receive a de-
gree of respect, proportioned, at least, to that which you
are wont to bestow on other men in office ; more than this
could not be expected; less than this would not be just.
That a great number of the citizens of Georgia are mag-
nanimous, just, generous and chivalric, I well know; and
that they are disposed to do justice to their Chief Magis-
trate, I am equally convinced ; nor can I doubt that they
will do equal justice to their United States , as well as their
State, officers.

•

36G LIFE OF KMW;*' x- TROUP. [t'H.vr. xi.

I rely upon the wisdom and justice and patriotism of at
least nine-tenths of those with whom I have the pleasure of
an acquaintance, many of whom ftre cultivators 01 the land;
t«» which class, in this and every other State in the Kepub-
lic, I look np with coniident pleasure and pride, as they
form the adamantine pillars of the fninn ; against which
the angry vaporing paper squibs of the ////A and the nrmt.
••f all countries, may continue to he hurled for
hundreds of centuries, without endangering the noble cdi-»
fice. This beloved monument <>!' American wisdom and
valor and virtue, will stand unshaken, when the disturbers
of its infantile repose will he remembered to be pitied or
execrated.

The good people of < .1 am well aware, are

anxious to obtaii. •• land upon their western

border; but they would abhor the idea of fraudulent or
lawless means being resorted to, to treat for, or, after treat-
ing, to obtain pos-er-sioH of it before the time authorized
by treaty. And I am well convinced that the President
of the Tinted States is as sincerely desirous as any upright
citizen of Georgia can be, that the Indian claims to the
lands within her limii.< should be speedily extinguished,
and that the Indians should remove therefrom as soon as
they can justly be required to remo\c: but he owes them
protc'-iinji ar . and both will be extended to them.

It is not to be denied that there is in G» well as

every other State, a small class of men, who, like the
" Hohj Alliance" profess to employ themselves in the
laudable work of enlightening and governing all other
•c.s of the community, but whose labors consist of the
vain and ki darim " to prove the light of truth is to

be found only with the party to which they themselves re-
spectively belong, and that all others go wrong. If you
'will take the trouble to read the newspaper essays with
which the presses have been teeming for seme years past,
you will rind that many of the essayists have had the hard-
ihood to "refuse credence to the word of their Chief
Magistrate," and yet we have no reason to despair of the
Republic.

You say, " I do not like the complexion of things at all
as disclosed by the Commissioners on the part of the State,
and sincerely hope (you add) that you may never have
cause to regret the part you have taken in them." 1'ermit
me then, Sir, to conclude with a sincere hope that the
Commissioners, with whose report 1 am thus menaced, may
prove by their conduct that they belong not to the afore-

CHAP. XL] GOVERNOR AND GEN. GAINES. 367

mentioned one-sided enlightening class ; should their report
be found to contain the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, your Excellency may dismiss your apprehen-
sions, felt on my account, as I have nothing to apprehend.
But if their report is not true, I can say only that the
tongue and the pen of calumny can never move me from
the path of duty, nor ever make me regret the course pur-
sued by me in respect to the Indians, or the Commissioners,
the State or the United States.

In tendering to your Excellency my acknowledgements
for the prepossession in my favc>r, of which you speak, and
which you say would have given you "pleasure to cherish
in behalf of an officer who had rendered signal services
to his country," permit me to observe that the approbation
of my countrymen is more dear to me than any earthly
treasure they could bestow, save that of an assured devo-
tion to the Republic : if, indeed, it be in my power to win
that approbation by a faithful discharge of my duty as a
public officer, and as an honest man, I have long en-
deavored thus to win it. My best efforts are constantly
exerted to ascertain the direct and proper course of duty
prescribed by law and justice and honor, and to pursue
that course without any regard to consequences. But I
have seen, of late, with regret, that it is scarcely possible
for an officer of the General Government to differ with
you in opinion, without incurring your uncourteous animad-
version or your acrimonious censure ; neither of which
shall ever induce me to forget what is due to myself or the
venerated station you till, and the relation in which you
stand to the General Government, in whose service I have
the honor to be placed.

"Wishing you health and respect,

I have the honor to be

EDMUND P. GAINES,

Major-Gen. Com'g.
To his Excellency

George M. Troup,
Governor of Georgia.

The following from the Governor explains itself:

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milledgemlle, 6th Aug., 1825.
Sir : A letter, purporting to be yours, which appeared
in the last Georgia Journal, and having every characteris-
tic of an official one, could not fail to attract my attention.

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cn.vp. XI.

Immediately, therefore, on my return to this place, inquiry
was made, at the Department, for the original, and I. learned,
with surprise, that none such hud been received. The prop-
er means wore then resorted to, to ascertain the authentic-
ity of the puhlished letter, and. having been satisfied that
the same was in your proper handwriting, I have lost no
time to direct yon to forbear further intercourse with this
Government. Having thought proper to make representa-
tions of your conduct to the 1 'resident, I have ordered you
to be i'lirni.-hcd with a copy of every letter written on your
subject, and which will reach you in due time. Any com-
munication proceeding from the officer next in command in
this military department, will be received and attended
to.

G. M. Tuori'.
E. P. Gaines,

Major-Gen. Commanding, Indian Spr:

The next day, Governor Troup addressed the following
communication to the President of the United States :

Ivxivrnvi: .1 )!-:r.'
'UedgevtiU) T/A Any.,

Sir: The letter of the Secretary of War. i.f the 18th
May, introducing to this Government Major-Genera! < iaincs
and Major Andrews, as Agents of the I'nited States to
inquire into the causes of the late disturbances, to adjust
the differences subsisting between the Indians, and to' in-
quire into the conduct of the Agent of Indian affairs,
recommended them as officers distinguished lor ability,
prudence and discretion. They were received and treated
accordingly. With the conduct of the one you have been
already made acquainted : with that of the other it remains
for me to place yon in possession.

In the several conferences held with General Gaines, on
his first arrival, I received repeated assurances from him of
friendly dispositions; of upright intentions; of freedom
from all kinds of bias or prejudice which could mislead
his judgment, or influence his decisions, on any of the topics
which, in the execution of his trust, might present them-
selves for discussion. Relying implicity on the sincerity
of these declarations, I began with regarding. Gen. Gaines
as an honorable and disinter^ied arbiter between the
United States, Georgia, and the Indians, and so continued
to regard him until a short time before his insulting letter,

CHAP. XL] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 369

of the 10th ult., was received at this Department. It was
impossible for this Government not to repel that insult with
indignation.

The Chief Magistrate, in his official message to the Leg-
islature, had stated, explicitly, that Mclntosh and his Chiefs
had given their consent to the survey ; and, in support of
this statement, the letters of Mclntosh were exhibited with
his name subscribed in his own hand, of which General
Gaines had full information : nevertheless, the certificate
of an Indian Chief, who had deserted from the Mclntosh
party, and of a white man, of whom General Gaines him-
self does not pretend to know anything, is procured to
discredit the statement of the Governor, and to exhibit
him before the public as the dupe of the vilest and shallow-
est imposture ; and, in his solicitude to accomplish this, he
forgets that it is the consent given by Mclntosh and his
Chiefs to the survey, which, on the information of the
Agent, you have taken for granted to be the sole cause of
all the disturbances in the nation, and upon which you
have recently issued the most offensive orders to this Gov-
ernment, connected with that survey, and in your last even
denounced military vengeance against those who shall at-
tempt to carry it into execution.

When Gen. Gaines is rebuked, in the mildest language
which the unprovoked insult would admit of, he presents
himself again before the public in. a letter, indulging in
most intemperate abuse of all the constituted authorities
of a sovereign State, and the great body of its people, and
which he causes to be published almost a week before it
was received at this Department.

With regard to the first letter of General Gaines, to
which I have called your attention, he does not seem to
have been content with addressing a letter so exceptionable
to the head of this Government : he assumes the authority
to order its publication, on the allegation of some pretended
and undefined malicious falsehoods in circulation, and which
he makes the foundation of an appeal to the public — an
appeal more censurable than that for which the gallant
and meritorious Porter is now answering, before a Court
Martial, assembled by your order ; inasmuch as the latter
only defends himself against the inculpatory charges made
by his own Government, whilst the former, who was
bound by equal respect to this Government, does not pre-
tend that any charges, of any kind, had been preferred by
it against him. It is in this letter, too, that General Gaines

370 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CiiAi-. XI.

lias fallen into the shocking extravagance of asserting,
what nobody can believe, that the Mclntosh party, which
made the treaty, constituted but a fiftieth part of the
nation ; and it was in the same letter he made known,
officially, to this Government, that he lias happily con-
cluded a pacification of the Indians, when at that -moment
he was a< remote- from the pacification as he ever had been,
of which fact 1 have even within the passing hour received
the most incontestable evidence.

"With regard to the second letter, of the, I'Mh ult., which,
now that I am writing, lias lor the iirst time been put into
my hands, and almost a week alter its publication, i have
to remark that the history of diplomacy will not furnish a

:arked with indiscretion, intemperance, di
spect, and the outrage of all decency. Gen. Gaines for-
\vell what i >wn Government as to

this. .His duly to you required him to sho\v respect to this
'.Tiiment in all his intercourse with it. If, in that inter-
course, he had found himself wronged or aggrieved by the
authorities here, it was not allowed him to take the redress
into his owji hands, ('pen representation to you, you were
competent to decide the nature and the extent of the
injury he had received, and of the redressmost suitable to it.
He would not confide the exercise of this privilege to you,
no doubt questioning your litness or discretion for such
matters, but chose to rely on his own dexterity and
prowess.

lie write-, among other things, of the ''malignant vil-
lainy'1 which has been extensively practiced on the cre-
dulity of the good citizens of Georgia, and other States, in
reference to the Indians and the treaty. A charge so vague
cannot be easily understood, much less distinctly answered.
Presupposing it to be directed against the authorities of this
State, and to be in all respects true, who made Gen. Grflinea
the judge to pass this condemnatory sentence on the con-
duct of those authorities i It had been understood that
you had reserved to yourself this power, and that General
Guines was here only as your Agent to collect the evidence
upon which that power was to be exercised.

lie proceeds to make another reference to the certificate
of the Indian Chief and the white man — reiterates tlx
pivs.-ion of unlimited coniidence in the veracity of Marshall
— eulogizes him as among the most worthy of the " little
treaty-making party," -uid comes again to the conclusion
that the Chief .Magistrate of Georgia, and others, are not

CHAP. XL] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 371

to be credited against tlie certificate of such respectable
personages.

Within this hour, I have received the testimony of the
Chiefs of the friendly party, voluntarily given, " that the
statement of Joe Marshall, to General Gaines, is false ; " and
I enclose you the certificate of my express,* a man of fair-
est character and undoubted veracity, to satisfy you that
Marshall has added falsehood to treachery. In this part of
his letter, he takes occasion to manifest his resentment to-
wards the friends of Mclntosh : he calls them " the little
treaty-making party ;" then, again, " the vassal Chiefs of
Mclntosh," and questions their right to give permission to
make the survey. What a dispassionate and impartial um-
pire is this General Games! One would have supposed
that, consulting the magnanimity of a soldier, if he had
departed from the line of neutrality at all, he would be
found at the head of the weaker — the innocent and injured
party. But the General, consulting the better part of
valor, and counting the odds against him as fifty to one,
throws himself into the ranks of the stronger party, and
thus commends himself again to you for that discretion
which you had given to him in advance.

The General is correct in one of his positions, and, being
in the right himself, he puts you in the wrong, and so con-
spicuously, that you stand on the insulated eminence, an
almost solitary advocate for making and breaking treaties
at pleasure.

General Gaines says, "the treaty, no matter how pro-
cured, had become a law of the land," &c., &c. He had
said to the hostile Indians, at Broken Arrow, " that the
treaty could not be annulled, and must be carried into
effect," &c., &c. This is good sense. The day before yes-

* The certificate of the express, Jesse Prosser, dated 2d August, 1825, stated that on
his way to the " Xatioiv' and after ho had got iuto the Indian country, (with a request from
the Governor to Mclntosh and the other Chiefs for their assent to the survey,) ho fell in -with
Joe Marshall and William Edwards, who accompained him to Mclntosh's house ; that, on
Mclntosh's informing him that he had called a meeting of the. Chiefs for 10th April, Marshall
and Edwards being both present, Marshall (acting as Interpreter) informed witness that
when the Chiefs were convened, and their wishes consulted, Mclutosh would advise the
Governor of it, and observed to witness, in presence of Mclutosh, that he (Marshall) had no
objection to the survey ; that the survey would be an advantage to tho Indians, as they could
then dispose of a great deal of their provisions, and, after their growing crop was made, they
could sell out their improvements and be ready, next spring, to set out for their new country ;
that Marshall informed witness that, although Mclntosh requested it, yet it was not necessary
for him (Marshall) to stay to the talk, as his consent was given ; and that after Marshall,
Edwards and witness left Mclntosh's house, Marshall, several times during the journey, man-
ifested his entire approbation of the survey, and observed that he had no doubt of tho assent
of the Chiefs being given when they should meet on 10th April, &e. — En.

;;7-_' UKH OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. XI.

:iy, I received your letter, in which you say, General
aving informed you that the treaty had been ob-
tained by intrigue and treachery, it will he referred to
Con: •• reconsideration. General Gaines rells the

Indians that no treaty lias ever yet been annulled. You

:his treaty shall be made an exception to all others, and
u]M.n the information received from General Ga'

! Gaines proceeds t<> manifest his respect and

;>laisance for the Chief Magistrate of ;! sovereign State,
by informing him that "he 1 ! by

])ersons in whom he placed reliance, but who were un-
worthy of his eonfid- !ms taking upon himself the

•liability to decide, for the Chief Maoist rate, on
the most delicate of all ques'' • necied with govern-

ment and sovereignty, viz : the <[iieslioii, who are worthy of
trust, and who, among the public servants, are or are not
entitled to his confidence. In a little lime, sir, with your

tenance and encouragement. General Gaine-1 would
have dictated the appointments to oliice in thl ;'.nd,

may be, the lea-i he-itatiou or repugnance to comply with
such dictation, would be subdued by a pani-1 '.iled

ope.

After ([noting a maxim, that "the king can do no
wrong," and expatiating on the moral excellence of truth
and her indiscriminate habitation at the palace and the
lie plough and the bureau of State — with the wand-
erers of the wilderness and the honest but. unfortunate
debtors, of all which I cannot, tor the life of me, under-
stand the application, much less the farrago which foil.
about somebody regarding moix ;/ a ////A- mOT6 and trutli a

•'sed poverty and luxuri*

plundered wealth, Arc., ece.. and which is equally unintel-
ligible; General Gaines is scarcely more distinct and intel-
ligible, when, in passing a meagre compliment to a portion
of the Citizens of Georgia, he ] : :o ''rely on the

nil, justice and patriotism of at least nine-tenth
those with whom he has the pleasure of an acquaintai.
many of whom are cultivators of the land ; and then, again,
"that the cultivators are the adamantine pillars of the
Union, against which the angry vaporing paper squib> of
the /' i the <//• of all countries may

continue to be hurled for hundreds of centuries without
endangering the noble edifice," Arc., Arc., all of which may
be intended to coin-- i meaning and admit of ready

explanation by General Gaines, but which, I assure you.
sir, is altogether above; my comprehension.

CHAP. XL] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 3Y3

The General soon becomes a little more explicit, when
he says there is in Georgia a small class of men, who, like
the " holy alliance, profess to employ themselves in the
laudable work of enlightening and governing all other
classes of the community, but whose labors consist of vain
and daring efforts to prove that the light of truth is
to be found only with the party to which themselves
respectively belong, and that all others go wrong." Party !
Sir ; an Agent representing the Government of the Unit-
ed States before the Government of Georgia, address-
ing to the Chief Magistrate of the State an official paper,
in which, descanting on the state of parties, the writer
places himself by the side of the one party, and fulminates
a denunciation against the other !

Pray, Sir, suffer me to ask if Major-Gen. Gaines received
special instructions at your hands so to deport himself— to
pry into the state of parties to find out the relative strength
of them — to place himself on the side of the strongest,
giving it aid, countenance and co-operation — and from
this strong-hold to issue insolent anathemas against the
other, through the Governor of the State, thus directly
intermeddling in our local politics and availing himself of
our unhappy divisions to make the exasperations of party
yet more bitter ? Gen. Gaines will not permit us to mistake
him — he proceeds to call the particular party to which he
is opposed, the "one-sided enlightening class ;" in another
place he calls them " the small class."

The opportunities of General Gaines to inform himself
of the state of parties in Georgia, have been no doubt
much better than mine, which have indeed been very
limited, but 1 have more generally heard from men better
informed, that the relative strength of parties was somewhat
different from the General's estimate of it. He seems to
have adopted the same rule of enumeration, under the
same optical delusion, as in measuring the strength of the
Indian parties, and to have arrived at the very gratifying
conclusion that the numerical strength was in the propor-
tion of 50 to 1 ; undoubtedly a very incorrect conclusion.

This officer took umbrage at my request to permit the
Commissioners, on the part of the State, to act in friendly
concert with him, in making his investigation for the dis-
covery of truth. Why he did so, I cannot conjecture.
This, however, was passed by without notice, as was his
subsequent refusal to admit them to a participation of the
Councils in matters involving interests of Georgia. His
indiscretion in declaring, before the Council at Broken

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [('MAP. XI.

Arrow, that if the congregated world were to contradict the
Chief Yoholo, lie would not believe it — has been already
noticed in the letter which I last had the honor to address
to you. It is upon the authority of this Chief, Ilambly,
reprc<euted to be one of the most infamous of men, and
of the Agent of Indian Affairs, that, you have come to the
conclusion to return the treaty to Congress, for revision, it
having been procured by intrigue and treachery.

•i. (iaines is reported to me to have said, in the pres-
ence of one of the Commissioners on the part of the State,
that if -2'.\ State- out of theiM- were to pronounce ihe Agent
guilty, lie would not believe them.

Gen. (iaines has been guilty of the childish indiscretion
of threatening to cut oft the heads or ears of citizens of
Georgia who happened to offend him, as if you had given
him his sword for this special service.

Hut, indeed, Sir, it is high time to dismiss the subject of
this oflicer.

In maintaining correspondence with the Government of

the United State-. I have not permitted any false consider-
ations of dignity, or any false estimates of forms and
ceremonies, which usually govern diplomatic intercourse
betv, to interpose the least difficulty. So far

from it, I have cheerfully descended to the level of every
thing which it pleased you at any time to employ as your
representative or organ — from the Clerks of your Hnreaiis,
up to your Major-Generals by brevet, and have acted and
treated with them as equals.

In the deportment of some of these, I have experienced
arro: 't'-su!iiciency, a haughty and contemptuous car-

riage, and a most insulting interference with our local
politics; and these characteristics not exhibited to one but
to al! of the constituted authorities of the State. Now,
Sir, suffer me, in conclusion, to ask if these things have
been done in virtue of your own instructions express or
implied, or by authority of any warrant from you whatso-
ever; and, if not so done, whether you will sanction or
adopt them as your own, and thus hold yourself responsible
to the Government of Georgia.

He persuaded, Sir, that whenever hereafter you shall
think proper, not deceiving yourself or us, to send gen-
tlemen to represent you before this (iovermnent, of the
character given to those by the letter of the Secretary of
War of the Jsth M"ay, they will be received and respected

AP. XL] CORRESPONDENCE WITH CHIEF CLERK. 375

as officers of the General Government would be by the

fiost friendly States of the Union.
"With great consideration,
G. M. TEOUP.

We go back, now, in the order of time, and notice some
other matters in this Indian controversy. Having, on
13th June, forwarded to the President the report and
resolutions of the Legislature, with the evidence support-
ing them, all " having relation to the conduct of the Agent
for Indian Affairs, as connected with the late disturbances
in the Creek Nation," he received, soon after, a reply
through Major Yandeventer, Chief Clerk of the War De-
partment, dated 25th June, acknowledging the receipt of
the letter and enclosures, and stating that the President
would " give to them ail the consideration which, coming
from so high a source, they may merit." On the loth
June, the Chief Clerk had written to the Governor, ac-
knowledging the receipt of his letter, of the 3d June, to the
Secretary of "War, and stating that the President had (in
the absence of the Secretary,) directed him to say, in reply,
" that if the Government of Georgia should undertake the

project of surveying the lands ceded to the United States
by the Creek Nation of Indians," &c., " before the expira-
tion of the time specified by the 8th article of the treaty,
for the removal of the Indians, it will be wholly upon its
responsibility ; and that the Government of the United
States will not in any manner be responsible for any con-
sequences which may result from that measure."

The Governor, on 25th June, replied, as follows, to the
Chief Clerk :

I received, this morning, the note which, in the absence
of the Secretary of War, the President of the -United
States directed you to address to me, and in which I am
informed that the project of surveying the lands ceded to
the United States by the Creek Nation of Indians, at the
treaty of the Indian Springs, before the expiration of the
time specified by the 8th article of the treaty for the removal
of the Indians, will be wholly upon its (the Government of

376 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

Georgia's) responsibility, and that the Government (viz : the
Government of the United States) will not in any manner
he responsible for any con- - which may result

from that mcn-uiv." A very friendly admonition, truly.
So that, whilst you ivfenvd your resistance of the survey
to the evils already produced by the men.- effort on the
part of this Government to obtain permission to make the
survey, and when the fact of that cause producing those
effects is disproven. and it is made known to you that
nobody here, either whites <>r hid: -uch

a thing as possible . >u had assumed it upon the

representation of th as undoubtedly true: and

that your own Agent, t" own purposes, had fabri-

cated it, to deceive and m; .u, nevertheless, you

continue to issue order after order forbidding the survc .
if you had pi .ined, from the beginning, that, under

•no circumstances, should we pr" the survey with-

out your express per iiad and obtained. -Nay,

more repeat this order to General Gaines, who is

charged to promulgate, it to the hostile Indian-; so that,
whether there be any tiling obnoxious in the survey or
not, they may seize it as a pretence, under the authority
and with the support of the United States, to seal]) and
tomahawk our people as soon as we shall attempt that
survey ; and that, in fact, you adopt for the Indians,
tuitously, an imaginary wrong done to them, persuade them,
even against their will, that it is a real one, and then
leave them to indulge, in unbridled fury, the most
tempestuous pa— ions; and this, I presume, is the mean-
ing, in part, of the responsibilities which we are to incur
if we disregard the mandate of the Government of the
United States.

You will, therefore, in the absence of the Secretary of
War, make known to the President, that the Legislature,
having, in concurrence with the expressed opinion of the
• •utive, come to the almost unanimous conclusion, that
by the treaty, tho jurisdiction, together with the soil,
,'d to Georgia, and in consequence thereof, authorized
the Governor to cause the line to be run, and the survey
to be made, it becomes me, in candor, to state to the
1'resident, that the. survey will be made, and in due time,
and of which .Major-General Gaines has already had suf-
ficient notice.

Whilst, in the execution of the decrees of our own con-
stituted authorities, the Government of the United States
will find nothing but frankness and magnanimity on our

CHAP. XL] FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE. 377

part, we may reasonably claim the observance, in like
degree, of these noble qualities on theirs. When, therefore,
certain responsibilities are spoken of, in the communica-
tion of the President, we can rightfully inquire, what
responsibilities ? Georgia, in the maintenance of her un-
doubted rights, fears no responsibilities ; yet, it is well for
Georgia to know them, so far as they are menaced by the
United States. If it is intended that the Government of
the United States will interpose its power to prevent the
survey, the Government of Georgia cannot have too early
or too distinct notice ; for, how highly dishonorable would
it be for the stronger party to avail itself of that power to
surprise the weaker ! If the Government only means that,
omitting its constitutional duty, it will not pacify the In-
dians, and make safe the frontier, whilst the officers of
Georgia are in peaceful fulfilment of their instructions,
connected with the survey, it is important to the Govern-
ment of Georgia to know it ; that, depending on itself for
safety, it shall not depend in vain. But, if the Govern-
ment of the United States mean what is not even yet to be
believed, that, assuming, like their Agent, upon another
not dissimilar occasion, an attitude of neutrality feigned
and insincere, it will, like that Agent, harrow up the
Indians to the commission of hostile and bloody deeds,
then, indeed, the Government of Georgia should also know
it, that it may guard and fence itself against the perfidy
and treachery of false friends. In either event, however,
the President of the United States may rest contented
that the Government of Georgia cares for no responsibili-
ties in the exercise of its right and the execution of its
trust, but those which belong to conscience and to God,
which, thanks to Him, is equally our God as the God of the
United States.

To this letter, Governor Troup received a reply from the
Secretary of War, dated 21st July, in which that officer
said:

Your letter, of the 25th of June, addressed to Major
Vandeventer, has been received, the answer to which has
been intentionally delayed till the result of Gen. Games'
interview with the Indians, at Broken Arrow, should be
received, as the President had anxiously hoped, in the ac-
quiescence of the Indians to the treaty, to have found the
necessity of replying to your inquiries entirely obviated.
48

378 MFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [C»AP- XI-

But, as the communications from General Gaines, recently
received here, have entirely destroyed that hope, a reply
has l.ecome necessary.

The Indians, to the number <>f IV.MI, including a large
majority of their Chief- and Head-men of the tril>e, have
denounced the tivaly as tainted alike with intrigue and
treachery. ;ind as the act of a very small portion of the
trihe, against the express determination of a very large
majority : a determination known to the Commission'.

They urge that, to enforce a compliance with an instru-
ment thus obtained, would illy become either the justice or
the magnanimity of the Unit' -, under which I

claim to take -heller. These are allegations present:.
({lie- oml the cognizance of the Executive, and

necessarily i\ C . . ;iltention wiil

be called to it at an early day after the-next annual ED
ing. Meanwhile, the President, acting on the trea;
though its validity had not been impeached, linds. by re-
ference to the eighth article of the treaty, the faith of the
United States solemnly pledged to protect the Creek Indians
from any encroachment, till their removal in September,
!. He thei\ !ded that the entering upon and

surveying the- lands before that period, would lie an infrac-
tion of the treaty, whose interpretation and execution,
should it remain uncanceled, are alike confided to him. 1
am, therefore, directed by the President to state distinctly
to your Excellency, that, for the present, he will not permit
such entry or survey to be made. The pain the President
has felt, in coming to this decision, is diminished by the
recollection that it interferes with no duty imposed on your
Excellency by the laws of Georgia, as a discretion is given
you, by the late law of the Legislature, in prescribing the
time when the lands embraced by the treaty shall be sur-
veyed. Under all the circumstances, the President permits
himself to hope that you will acquiesce in his decision.

a General Gaines has been in communication with you
on this subject, and as it is the wish of the President you
should be in possession of every measure he may lind him-
self constrained to take thereon, 1 am directed to enclose
to your Excellency a copy of General Gaines' instructions
of this date.

In his instructions to General Gaines, the Secretary of
War said :

" It is still devoutly to be hoped that Governor Troup

CHAP. XL] GOVERNOR TO SECRETARY OF WAR. 379

will abstain from any act that may make it necessary to
have recourse to the steps suggested : yet, should he per-
severe in sending persons to survey the lands embraced
within the treaty, you are hereby authorized to employ the
military, to prevent their entrance on the Indian Territory,
or, if they should succeed in entering the country, to cause
them to be arrested, and turn them over to the judicial
authority, to be dealt with as the law directs."

To the foregoing letter of the Secretary of War, Gov.
Troup replied on the 15th of August, and said :

I have received your letter of the 21st ult., giving the
desired explanation of the former one of the 15th day of
June last, in which you wrote of undefined responsibilities
which this government must incur if it attempted the sur-
vey of the lands acquired from the Creeks, and which
results in the employment of the bayonet on your part, and
of the tomahawk and scalping-knife on the part of the In-
dians, if the survey be attempted. I thank you for this
explanation ; for, whether your intent were good or evil, it
equally became you to make it. You make known, at the
same time, the resolution of the President to refer the treaty
to Congress, on the allegation that intrigue and treachery
have been employed to procure it. This at once puts a
stop to the survey, and you will inform the President that,
until the will of the Legislature of Georgia is expresssed,
no measures will be taken to execute the survey.

The Executive of Georgia has no authority, in the civil
war with which the State is menaced, to strike the first
blow, nor has it the inclination to provoke it — this is left
for those who have both the inclination and authority, and
who profess to love the Union best. The Legislature will,
on their first meeting, decide what, in this respect, the rights
and the interests of the State demand. In the mean time,
the right to make the survey is asserted, and the reference
of the treaty to Congress, for revision, protested against with-
out any qualification. It is true, sir, that, according to my
own opinion, if there be fraud and corruption in the pro-
curement of the treaty, it ought to be set aside by the in-
dignant expression of the nation's will — the taint of such
corruption, according to that opinion, would suffice to ren-
der void an instrument of any kind purporting to pass a
right of any kind.

But, of what avail is this opinion against your own estab-
lished maxims and precedents ? You would decry it as the

380 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CHAP. XT.

MS of a wild enthusiast, von

would refer me t<> all your Indian treaties. You \

16, in full relief, the decision of your Supreme
Court, in the case of Fletcher and !'•

5s-iie hi'iii-' mad. ]»riuei])le. the principle was

•riria having, hy briberv
'•oiTiiption. s»ld the inh<

i'ii^lit which could

by no possibility he dive-ted. and therefore that the Con-

gress had no alternative l>Ut V of

'•aina and Mis-i>sippi, or coin: i'hev

• the latter, an<: . the

. :' which we paid our full proportion.
Whilst, therefor my own opinion (,;; the one

hand, you have, on the other, my puhlic and oiHcial pn>-
lion in B! unison with your and all

constituted authorit: . and which plac<

ty upon siicli hiirh Around, I . by what

rahlc b:;- may have !

cannot re:i'-h it.

It may at I do .-'•

Indian treaty has ever 1 \uded in

:h than the one which is the suhject of thi
If it be otherwise, having been concluded by your
officer^, a^ain-f your in-truction-, without any ])articijialioii

;:horitie~ :-;;ia. 1 sincerely hope t!:

officers may. you aai 1" trial

andj)uni- t, according to your own d

impair the validity of tl. . The i.

latnre of Georgia will, therefore, on its : ting, be

advi-eil to resist any dlort which may be made to v
from the State the territory acquired by that treaty, and no
matter by what authority thai 6 made.

The hostile Indians having re-olved they will never sur-
render it hut with their lives, and you having p

! in this resolution, ..ppeal i;

ur magnanimity ami :!y, and it bein^ obvious

that our right, not a-serti to us forever : if the

i;;ll fail to vindicate lhat ri^ht, the responsi-
ill be theirs — not mine.

rdan, William-
1 Torrance, who had been appointed under
the resolution of the Leiri>lature. and ;;cU'd i;n<K'r the in
Structions of the Governor, already noticed, made a report

CHAP. XL] REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS. 381

to the Governor on the IGth of July, appended to which
were their correspondence with Gen. Gaines, Major An-
drews and Col. Crowell, notes of their proceedings, and a
mass of testimony, sufficient to make a volume. We can
only make room for a few extracts from the report, which
are of a general nature — a recapitulation of the report
being embraced in the letter of the Governor to the Presi-
dent, dated 26th July, and which will be inserted in this
chapter.

Speaking of one of their examinations, the Commission-
ers said: " We are unable to give you a proper idea of
this examination. Suffice it to say, we became satisfied that
any attempt on our part to obtain the truth from men living
in the Indian nation, (whether white or red,) and under the
influence and power of the Agent, into whose conduct we
were then examining, must be fruitless." Again : " From
the course pursued by the Agent, at that Council, and his
permission to do so, (for the omission to prohibit him was
permission,} his suspension was purely nominal — it was a
mere mockery. We have no doubt but that his free ad-
mission into the Indian Councils, aided and assisted by his
former sub-Agent, Mr. Walker, gave to him quite as much
influence over the minds of the Indians as he ever exercised
in the days of his utmost prosperity and authority." Again :
u Upon the subject of a law which the hostile party allege
that Mclntosh violated, and which led to his death, you are
referred to the report of Messrs. Jourdan and Williamson.
We have no doubt, from the very many contradictory
stories that we had heard in the Nation, touching the origin
of the enactment of such a law, that no such law was ever
known among the Creeks. We are confirmed in this opin-
ion, by the reply of Gen. Gaines to the friendly Chiefs at
the Indian Springs on the 20th ult. If we are correctly in-
formed upon that point, he there stated that he had read their
laws, and was gratified to find none so sanguinary as that al-
leged by their enemies to exist, under color of which it had
been stated that the murder of Mclntosh was perpetrated.
The Chiefs in Council did not pretend that they had any

382 '-II'1' OF GEORGE M. TROTP. [CHAP. XI.

such law iv dn ce<l to record. A white man, who informed

of the Commissioners that he h;ul resided in the Nation

;y or thirty year-:, stated that lie knew of no such law.

The very manner in which the-e unfortunate m • put

Indians <lid -ute them for

having \' :>y law. We believe that when it became

necessary to enforce ruinary edicts upon an

that tribe, the eulpri! and conducted

or puhlic square in the Nation, and there undergoes
iitencc of death is then pronounced,

the accused is t!: put to <!• ing.

, iow unlike such a procedure was the foul murder of
Mclntosh and hi : his hoi -irronnd'

h.-iir of night, and set. mi lire hy a hand of lawless

. and tin- the scorching liaine^ pro-

ducccl by the 'conflagration of his own mansion, was he

inhumanly and most unlawfully put to death. When

witnesses are called on in the Nation, who, it is supp>

knew something of Indian laws and Indian they

acc"unt for these murders hy saving, if \va- i'o;- violation of

their law — which law, answers a Church Mi.- -ionary, was

•'''"'///. '-' '"" '-" The gross inconsistencies in

-tatements of the Indian*, and white men resident

among them, to estahlish the existence of such a law, fix

indelibly on the minds of the Commissioners that no such

law is, or ever was. ';:' The argument in support of Mich a

law, prove-- too much : the Agent himself did not rely on

it at the commencement of these Indian disturbai;

"::" How far the whole of the testimony
taken in support of the charges against, the Indian Agent,
;,ii;s those eh: not for us officially to determine;

nor do v, in opinion, of an oilicial char-

acter, upon the subject. There is a subject not directly

* In '. tliinl edition, Mr. Slii-rv ul no

such l. ';:iiiii-- and the Qoorglft Ooi < <>u!>l Mini 7^

(if it. )',llt if : :\ l;iw. :•!! til

• Mrillt'-ll. If tlilT.> li:nl IH-I-II Mli-ll :\ l:t«
fiil'ill''! ' t. \vll() \\ii|]i',-i-.l the tl-:itv. Jlnl \\] • 'il'ili VI I'f til"

Iii'li:-.!,-. . uhl not huvo .-iiilViT.'.l a ln-ivo warrior liko Mrl

a tricil nn,l stc,Tlf:i-t frk'iiil to tli—e 1'nitnl Stall's, to sign hi- rrnnt."— Ki>.

CHAP. XL] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 383

within the objects of our appointment, but it is insepara-
bly connected with the treaty and its consequences, upon
which we beg leave to offer a remark. It is upon the
subject of the contemplated survey of the territory lately
ceded. During the stay of the Commissioners at the In-
dian Springs, three of them were informed by several of
the leading Chiefs of the friendly party, that they were will-
g and even desirous that the survey should be made
.uring the ensuing fall, and assigned as a reason that the
surveyors and their people being amongst them at that
period, would afford them an opportunity of disposing of
much of their products, that they could not transport with
them to the westward ; that they intended removing beyond
the Mississippi before another crop was made, if the Gen-
eral Government would pay them the money, according to
the terms of the treaty. Connected with this, Sir, we re-
mark that it is somewhat strange that the Chiefs who
reside beyond the limits of the territory ceded to the
United States for the benefit of Georgia, are the only
Chiefs, with a few exceptions, so far as we are informed,
who are opposed to the survey."

The report concluded by stating that there was some
other testimony to be taken, with which they would pro-
ceed as soon as practicable.

The reader is now referred to the following letter from
Governor Troup to the President, giving a summary of the
proceedings of the Commissioners, the obstacles they en-
countered, &c. It was dated July 26th, 1825 :

In communicating the report of the Commissioners of
the State, appointed under certain resolutions of the Legis-
lature to take testimony in the case of the Agent for Indian
affairs, and to investigate the causes of the late. disturbances
in the Creek JSTation, it might be more satisfactory to you
to receive it without comment. The report may indeed be
said to carry with it its own commentary ; nevertheless, a
few remarks elucidatory of certain parts of it not easily
understood by persons removed from the scene of action,
may not be deemed objectionable.

I think, from the context of the report, but one impres-

384 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. [Ciur. XL*

sion will he 111;: le upon every lair u:ul unbiased mind —

that whatever may have been the motives wliicli governed

the conduct of the "ii the ])art of the United

, making the late investigations in the Nation, the

re-uh- of tli ;fh as to warrant

. if the m -ion, and

'iie development, of truth, no other n :!d have

[The rest of th> rring to the alleged re-

fusal of certain per.-.. their statement- by oath,

iot deemed importat. n here.]

The examination of Hamhly, the interpreter, and eonti-
: of the Agent, • reporte-.l to you by

: Oommiaeionen AS 8 base and unworthy fellow,
iras distinguished for ita irregularity. Ti: of that

exami:;;; to lay a broad foundation f.n.- the. rupture

of the tr -howing it to be the offspring <>f bri;

and corruption, and enormously wicked contri-

vances; and to traduce the characters and di.-civdit the
testimon; the u\<>-*\ respectable men among us.

Jio\v bad must tl. be which would employ such an

in-trunie >mplish such a purpo-r !

When Yoholo, a principal Chief in the Council, made a
talk detailing cir i with the bite n

tiations at the Indian Spr' . Williamson, one of the

Commissioners, who • int, and who had aUo been a

close observer of occurrences at the Springs, said to ( lener-
eral Gaines that ho knew, of his o\vn knowledge, the si
ments of Voholo to be false: the General answered, that
he would not believe the congregated world, if it were io
Nov.- you will have an opportunity of seeing that
the statements of the Indian Chief arc in direct contradic-
tion to th tents of the Commissioners of the United
States and their Secretary, of Col. Williamson himsi.
all the friendly Chief-. every respectable white man
who \vas present at the Indian Spr'

The refusal of General permit a separate ex-

amination of the Chiefs, in his presence, as the only mode
of extracting the truth, and after having more than once
promised it, is as unaccountable as it was unexpected.

It is understood that: the Indians could produce no law
authorizing the execution of Mclnto>ii : yet, Gen. Gaines
must have taken for granted the existence of such a law,
for he passes by the murder as justifiable homicide. The

CHAP. XL] LETTER CONTINUED. 385

whole "body of evidence, as you will see, completely dis-
proves the existence of the law.

The refusal of Gen. Gaines to admit the Commissioners
of Georgia, as such, to a participation of the Indian Coun-
cils in all matters touching the interests of Georgia, was a
wrong done to the State, and an indignity offered to its
constituted authorities.

The interdict put upon our Commissioners, by General
Gaines, to announce to the Indians, according to their in-
structions, the resolution of this Government to make the
iurvey, and to represent to them the harmlessness and
nnocency of the act, whilst the General announced the
esolution of his own Government to prevent it, was a fur-
ther wrong done to the State, and a disrespect manifested
of the authority which gave that instruction.

A gentleman of clear intellect, pure morals, honorable
character, and great prudence, is selected by the Governor
to hold a talk with the Indians — he performs that duty —
makes his report, and that report is at once discredited on
the naked word of the Indians. Gen. Mclntosh writes
three several letters to the Governor, subscribed by his own
proper hand, giving his assent to the survey of the country ;
the friendly Chiefs, Marshall included, repeatedly assure
the Governor, that they, one and all, consent to the survey ;
a certificate is obtained from this same Marshall and a
white man, to prove that General Mclntosh refused his
assent; General-Games immediately comes to the conclu-
sion that this assent was never given.

The admission of free communication with the Indians,
to every other description of persons, and the denial of it
to the Georgia Commissioners, was a further wrong done
to Georgia.

Indeed, sir, it would appear, from the reports of the
Commissioners, that all or any description of testimony
would be willingly received on" the one side, and particu-
larly that description of it which would exculpate the Agent,
excuse the hostile Indians, prevent the survey of the lands,
or effect the abrogation of the treaty ; and that on the
other side everything was to be discredited, or received, at
best, with many grains of allowance, and every act or pro-
ceeding of the Commissioners of the United States, or of
the constituted authorities of the State, resolved into cor-
ruption and depravity.

When General Gaines states, in one of his letters to the
Governor, that the hostile party outnumber the friendly, in

386 I'I*'E OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

the proportion of something like lilry to ..no, it is not easy
to understand him. It' it be true, us the General
believe, that he has pacified and reconciled the two parties,
there is no longer any Mclntosh party — hut it' the General
means there w;;- any such disproportion between the
strength of the t\v<> parties, whilst Mclntosh lived, he is
widely mistaken. It' Melntosh had survived to this mo-
ment, the probability is liis ].arty would have been the
strongest.

Suffer me to add a lew particulars, which make the
condition of the friendly party most pitiable. Independ-
ently of no atonement being ..ii'ered for the blood of
ATcIiito-h, the money, according to the construction of the
1 taken from the pockets of the wive-, children,
brothers and friends of Mrlnto>h. and paid over to tin;
:le Chiefs who murdered him, contrary to every prin-
ciple of justice and stipulation of troa: ;. on intended
it as the reward of gallant and mcrito: - commanded
by your- and this the friendly Chiefs cannot but feel
most deeply. Nobody acquainted with the Indian charac-
ter, can ever believe that General Gaines will ever make
either a safe or pernuuu-n; pacification until the otfe
of blood for blood has fulfilled the law and the ' the
country. An ephemeral peace may be patched up by ibree,
or menace — but ephemeral it will be, making, in the
the catastrophe the more bloody.

I had written you of a certain personage of South Caro-
lina having intermeddled in this matter, according to
information communicated to me and submitted to you.
There is a strong chain of corroborative circumstance-.
you will see, to establish the facts there alleged, and
running through the entire mass of evidence. The object
undoubtedly was the annulment of the treaty.

Whatever knavery or folly may suggest, with the view
to disannul the treaty, will, of course, be unheeded at
"Washington. Hut, indeed, Sir. I very much doubt, u:.
you have looked with a scrutinizing eye- to the history of
this matter, whether some of the self-interested oppugners
of the treaty may not lead you into error. The idea that
the entire Creek Nation is alone competent to make a
treaty, is the most fallacious that could be entertained ; it
is so far from true in the general, that, unless by merest
accident, it never happens to be true in any particular.

Von have only to turn to the notes of Col. Hawkins,
whose authority you cannot dispute, to be satislied that.
according to the laws and usages of the Nation, the most

CHAP. XL] LETTER CONTINUED. 38T

important public affairs, involving vital interests, are de-
termined, not by a majority, but by a minority, and fre-
quently a small minority of the Nation. In the whole
course of his long residence among them, he never knew
the most popular war concurred in by a majority; and all
authorities and all custom will prove to you, that, with
regard to the most important of their national acts, having
relation either to peace or war, Coweta must take the lead.
If a treaty be signed by the Chiefs of Coweta, it is consid-
ered good — if not signed by them, good for nothing. Geor-
gia was settled in '32* : in '33 or '34 the first treaty with
the Creeks was held ; then I think in '36, and again in '39.
The Cowetas are always foremost ; their councils are invari-
ably holden on the Coweta ground, and Gen. Oglethorpe
paid them his first visit there. Hence, it is stated, in the
evidence, that Mclntosh had the power to sell the whole
country, and hence the great efforts made to prevail on the
old Coweta Chief, Etome Tustunnuggee, not to sell the
.country — efforts which succeeded at Broken Arrow ; but
this old and ill-fated chieftain came to me, afterwards,
as you read in the documents, to say he had been deceived
by bad white men, and was opposed to the sale at Broken
Arrow, but then his eyes were opened, and he would fol-
low the advice of his Father, the President, and sell the
lands.

Having made this recapitulation and commentary, permit
me to subjoin, that, for the gratification of a few mercenary
and sordid characters in the Indian country, you threaten
the most flagrant injustice to Georgia.

In the country to be surveyed, within the limits of Geor-
gia, none, or very few, of the hostile party reside ; and
every one of the opposite party seeks the survey as a
measure of convenience and interest. The survey will,
in the first instance, extend no further "West than the
Chattahoochee, the act of the Legislature leaving it dis-
cretionary with the Governor, to run to that river before
the boundary line between Georgia and Alabama shall
have been ascertained.

Having corresponded with the Governor of Alabama
upon tin's subject, and received his assurance that the Legis-
lature of that State will immediately, on its first meeting
in November, cordially co-operate with Georgia in running
the line, and there being difficulty in ascertaining the pre-
cise point at which that line will commence, the running is

* Georgia was settled in 1733.— ED.

388 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

postponed to meet the wishes and expectations of the State
of Alabama.

The evidence which remains to be taken by the Commis-
sioners, will be forwarded as soon as received.

It will be remembered that, in his letter of 15th August,
to the Secretary of War, the Governor authorized that
officer to " inform the President that, until the will of the
Legislature of Georgia i- . measures will be

taken to execute the survey." This].-.; . tor the time,

to one irritating cause of controversy. On the
August, the Secretary wrote to t!. nor, acknowledg-

ing, for the President, the receipt of certain letters from
him, with their enclosures, cV;c., and stating that whil>t the
President deeply regretted the different views of the t:
which the Governor entertained, from those which the
President had " found himself, upon the most delilu
consideration," &c., "compelled to take, he is anxiously
desirous to avoid anything which, dictated by no .
lute necessity, might have a tendency to widen differences,
in his belief otherwise easily reconcilable," &c., Arc. He
stated, further, that the President " felt it, therefore, his
duty to decline entering upon any discussion with you which
can be forborne, and he perceives nothing in your It
which the interests of the people of Georgia, or of the rest
of the Union, require to be discussed wit] Arc., &c.

After referring to the duties which the United States owed
to the Indians, and expressing the President's hope that
they had not been " violated in the conclusion of the
treaty at the Indian Springs," he added : "lie lias heard,
therefore, with the most lively sat inaction, the determina-
tion of your Excellency to proceed no further in the survey,
till the Congress of the United States and the Legislature
of Georgia shall have had an opportunity of acting on the
subject, as, in their respective ju<i . the rights,

duties and obligations of all the parties concerned, may
require." lie referred to the death of Mclntosh, the
restoration of peace to the tribe, and stated that to " con-

CHAP. XI.] GEN. GAINES' LETTER. 389

firm this state of tranquillity, and to renew peaceable and
reasonable efforts to reconcile the Indians to the measure
of removing from the territory, appeared to the President
to be his duty, in which he will not abandon the hope of
being seconded by the Governor and authorities of Geor-
gia." He concluded by saying : " The subject, in all its
aspects, will be submitted to the consideration of Congress
at the approaching session ; and all the instructions of the
officers of the United States, as well as their conduct
under them, will be subject to the animadversions of that
body upon them, for approbation or censure, as they may
appear to have deserved."

We must now recur, once more, to Gen. Gaines. Hav-
ing been forbidden to hold official intercourse with the
Governor, he nevertheless proceeded to write insulting
letters to him, through the newspapers. On the 23d of
August, he addressed a letter to the Governor, through the
columns of the Georgia Journal, dated " Head-quarters,
Eastern Department, Indian Springs, 16th August, 1825,"
and signed "Edmund Pendleton Gaines, Major-General
Commanding" "We make room for a few extracts, at
which the reader will be amused, if he is not instructed by
them. He said : " I had seen with regret that for a II. S.
officer to write to you, was, in fact, to write for the news-
papers, and that to differ from you in opinion, was to be
denounced as an offender. Since this was apparent to me,
that is, since the receipt of yours of the 17th July, I have
been well aware of the tax which our little differences of
opinion would impose upon me — a tax which conscious
innocence suffers under the groundless imputation of guilt-

" I was not, therefore, much surprised at the gross mis-
representations of your dedimus protestatem Commission-
ers, nor at the concluding paragraph of yours of the 6th,
wherein you say, ' I have lost no time to direct you to
forbear further intercourse with this Government.' These
expressions, like others contained in some of your previous
letters, (but of which I took no notice,) wherein you speak

390 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

of ray using the military against Georgia, &c., &c.. appear
to evince a very high degree of that prejudice and
pride of office, which might well he expected t.i prompt
some little European despot ' to feel power and forget right.'
Were you some little German Prinr. \ample, (the

most self-important and ".ring of all the crowned

tribe,) and I a Turk, it would in that ca-=e excite no surprise
that the little German Prince should address the Turk .as.
you have more than once addressed me, and.
indulging in words of learned length and thundering sound,
conclude with tl: './.: 'Ihavt

lost no time t<> il'trect you tof<.

•'.* Hut I am not a Turk, nor are you a
prince! I am a plain native of Virginia, and an
citizen of T

On the oOth of . published another letter, in

the ( lated the 2'.'th, and headed and signed

in the same military style. lie said: k' I have received
your communication through Mr. Secretary Pierce, with
two p-ipcrs pur]' • lie copie- of letter, i'ro;u your

Excellency to the President of the United States, bearing
date the i^Jth July and (>th August— wherein it appears
you are pleased to write • ' . notwithstanding

your avowed resolution not to write i<> in,. To ihi-
expedient, to preserve the immense weight of dignity un-
der which your Excellency labors, I can have no objer
I take this occasion, before noticing your assumed
and argunic- -nre you that I have 710 authority

whatever from the Proident of the United States or De-
partment of War, to write or speak to you upon any other
than public and official subjects — such as 1 have with per-
fect frankness and cordiality communicated to yon, pre-
vious to the ivceipt of your letter of the 17th July/'
Again: " To your Excellency I have no apology to oiler.
I propose, however, that, in our future correspondence,
after disposing of your futile charges again-t me. that you
and I may confine ourselves in owf jnthlic and oJ/:
duties. When these are accomplished, I hereby promise,

CHAP. XL] FURTHER ABOUT GEN. GAINES. 391

should you desire it, to correspond with you, unofficially,
until ' we shall have exhausted the argument ;' and then
we will stand by our — goose quills, and talk of ' valor' —
about which you have written to the President."

The Governor wrote, as follows, to the President :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, \
Milledgeville, 31st Aug., 1825. j

Sir : In the enclosed Gazette, you will find another in-
solent letter, dated the 16th inst., addressed by your Agent,
Brevet Major-General Gaines, to the Chief Magistrate of this
State. Having been betrayed by his passions into the most
violent excesses, he is presented before you, at this moment,
as your commissioned officer and authorized agent, with a
corps of regulars at his heels, attempting to dragoon and
overawe the constituted authorities of an independent State,
and. on the eve of a great election, amid the distractions of
party, taking side with the one political party against the
other, and addressing electioneering papers almost weekly
to the Chief Magistrate, through the public prints, couched
in language of contumely and insult, and defiance, and for
which, were I to send him to you in chains, I would trans-
gress nothing of the public law. The same moderation
and forbearance with which I have endeavored heretofore
to deport myself, in my intercourse with you, and from
which I trust there has in no instance been a departure, but
on the highest necessity, have restrained me from resorting
to harsh and offensive measures against him. You will see,
however, if this officer has been thus acting by your
authority or countenance, you have an awful atonement to
make, both to your contemporaries and to posterity.

But if, contrary to either, he has assumed the responsi-
bility, it is expected that your indignant reprobation of his
conduct will be marked by the most exemplary punishment
which the laws will enable you to inflict.

I demand, therefore, as Chief Magistrate of Georgia, his
immediate recall, and his arresr, trial and punishment, un-
der the rules and articles of war.

You will find, in the same paper, sundry affidavits prov-
ing the falsity of the certificate given by Marshall and
Edwards to General Gaines, and which further prove that
General Gaines must have obtained it to wield as an in-
strument, in the pending contest, on the side of one party
against the other. As 1 write this, another Gazette has

392 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. XI.

been put into my hand-, containing anotlier letter, of sub-
sequent date and similar character, which enclosed
for your information.

Very Respectfully,

G. M. TKO

The President of the United
Washington City.

To this letter the Governor received a reply from the
Secretary of War, dated I'.'th September, saying:

"The Presiden Med that he cannot, consistently

with his views of the su" -ede to your demand to

have General Gainee arrested. He perceive- no sufficient
necessity to depart from th«- >e had determined to

])ursue before the receipt «>f your letter, and which I <•
municated to yon fully in the last paragraph of mine of the
31st of August," &c., iVc.

In this letter, the Secretary enc! the Governor) a

copy of his letter of same date, to Gen. (iaines, and said:
"In so doing, I give yon a new proof of the frankness by
which the Executive has been guided in its intercourse with
you," etc., Arc.

In his letter to Gen. Gaines, the Secretary enclosed a
copy of Gov. Tn nip's letter demanding the General's a:
&c., and, after adding that the President had decided not
to " accede to this demand," and expressing the President's
regret that General Gaines had permitted himself to
" indulge a tone whose effect will be to destroy that
harmony which the President is so much disposed to
cherish," &c., &c., and the President's determination to
preserve the most scrupulous decorum in official inter-
course with the State authorities, he said :

"In communicating to yon the disapprobation of the
President, as well for writing as publishing those lei
and his injunction that, in your official intercourse with
Gov. Troup, in future, you abstain from anything that may
be deemed offensive, 1 am directed to 'add, as an act
of justice to you, that the President sees in the serious
charges made against you by Gov. Troup, and the pub-
licity given to them, and which the letters complained of
were intended to repel, circumstances which go far, in

CHAP. XL] AFFIDAVITS ABOUT GEN. GAINES. 393

his opinion, to palliate your conduct, and without which
palliation the President would have found it his duty to
have yielded to the demand of Gov. Troup."

The next letter from Governor Troup to the Secretary
of War, will close our notice of this dispute with General
Games. In that letter he is charged by the Governor with
having aided in publicly traducing and vilifying him, " for
the purpose of influencing the general election in this
State, in behalf of his favorite candidate."* This was de-
nied by Gen. Gaines, in a card published in the Georgia
Patriot of 13th September, in which he said : " I have
never, to my knowledge, endeavored to influence the vote
or the political opinion of any man in the State of Geor-
gia, in regard to the ensuing election." And yet there
was the affidavit of one Michael Watson, who deposed,
on the 10th of November, that in the month of August,
"in a conversation that was held between and among
several persons then at the Springs, General Edmund P.
Gaines, of the United States Army, being present, the
subject of conversation turned upon the late Indian treaty,
and the proposed survey then about to be made by the
order of his Excellency George M. Troup, Governor of
the State of Georgia : he (Gen. Gaines) stated in public
company, that if Governor Troup made the survey or at-
tempted it, that he would be tried for treason and hung ;
that General Gaines also stated that Governor Troup and
his friends were intriguing demagogues: that in the same
conversation General Gaines manifested and expressed
much warmth of hostile feeling towards Governor Troup
and his friends," &c. The Hon. Christopher B. Strong,
deposing, probably to the same occasion, said :

* At a dinner to Gen. Gaines, at Clinton, on 17th August, 1825, the following were
among the partisan volunteer toasts :

His Excellency Governor Troup: A man of war I He "caves for no responsibilities;" a
bravo a knight as Don Quixote or his squire Sancho Panza.

Gen. John Clark : A former trouble to the Indians— a present trouble to some of their
kindred.

Gen. John Clark : Too honest for intrigue, too independent to entreat for office, b
always willing to servo his country; may he, on tho first Monday in October, be elected
Governor by the people of Georgia, and not, like the present incumbent, by bribery and
corruption. — ED.

39-i LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

"On the llth day of August, in the year ls2.*>, at the
Indian Springs, in the County of Monroe, of said State, lu;
heard a conversation commence between Gen. Edmund P.
Gaines, of the United States army, arid Milton Gnopi
Putnam, in which General Gainc-s appeared to nun:
much]);, ad, after this deponent got near enough to

hear what was said, he heard the said General Bay, ' lie is
•iiuuroirue, hi OB are dema^o^ues — unprincipled

den;; . iiiilty of id the ( 'ommis-

sione. wisely,' or words to that i

I was informed ! :iilcmen then present, that the

former epithets v. '. in relation and applied to <

Tron . J ensued betwixt

the General and . Inch I deem it unne<v>-ary here

:-tail. 'i nent further saitli, that, from what

: that time, he has no doubt but that the iirst men-
tioned expr--- by Gen. Gaines
in direct relation to * • Troup."

Joel Hailey also de]>osed tliat, in the month of .Fuly,

;• he dar.'d G.i\ ernOT 'IVoup to
attem])t to survey the land lai 1 by the Indians: that

i am-;

as fast as they crossed Flint ri\\-r. That if i rnor

of the little des;. or^ia did not mind,

that he (Gaines) would ^ct hold of him, and that the
ir^-ia w

Without p. decide whether these affidavits

proved Gen. Gaines to have been an active partisan of the
opposition, we think it clear that the influence of his name
and character was against the administration of Governor
Tronp; and, consequently, operated in favor of hi- •
We must do him the justice to say that, in his card in the
Georgia Patriot, he said : ttas I have been charged, how-
'.•ly, with an attempt to meddle with the political
affairs of the State, with ;•. view to the ensuing election, I
have determined to suspend the publication of my pron.'
exposition until after the election."

Governor Ti'o>-j> tot',, Secretary «f \\'<ir.

EXECUTIVE I )i I-AIHM
MiUedgemUe, l.V// Oct., 18kJ
Sir: Notwithstanding the resolution of the Pre-idrnt,

CHAP. XL] LETTER TO SECRETARY OF WAR. 395

repeated in your letter of the 19th ult, to refer the com-
plaints of this Government against the officers of yours,
who have given it offence, to the consideration of Con-
gress— a resolution considered here of most .extraordinary
character, inasmuch as it is the transfer of a subject over
which the President, by the Constitution, has exclusive ju-
risdiction, to a power which has no jurisdiction of it at
all — I cannot forbear calling his attention to a statement
contained in your letter to Gen. Gaines, which, assumed to
be true, although not true, is made the justification of the
President in resisting the demand of the Governor of Geor-
gia, and in extenuating the conduct of his officer. The par-
agraph in your letter embracing the statement, reads as
follows: " I am directed to add, as an act of justice to
you, that the President sees in the serious charges made
against you by Governor Troup, and the publicity given to
them, and which the letters complained of were intended
to repel, circumstances which go far in his opinion to pal-
liate your conduct." ISTow, sir, so far from this being true,
the opposite is true. Nothing offensive or exceptionable
was ever written to that officer, before he had sanctioned,
by his approbation, an offensive letter written by your
Special Agent on the 21st June, and addressed to the
Agent for Indian Affairs, in which the authorities of Geor-
gia are wantonly abused for injustice, oppression and
tyranny practiced against that Agent; or before he had ob-
tained a false certificate from two base and unworthy men,
to traduce and vilify the character of the Chief Magistrate
of Georgia, which lie ordered to be published of his mere
volition, on pretence that false rumors were in circulation,
of what, or about whom, he does not say ; and this, too,
done, as was afterwards made manifest, for the purpose of
influencing the general election in this State in behalf of
his favorite candidate. That you may entertain no doubt
of the correctness of this statement, and the incorrectness
of the statement of the President, you have only to com-
pare the dates of the various letters and of their publica-
tion. It will be seen that before Gen. Gaines could have
received my letter of the 16th of July, of which he com-
plained, he had already ordered the publication of his of
the lOth of July, to which it was an answer.

You will be' furnished,, in time, with additional testi-
mony, to show the very reprehensible conduct of the same
officer, in his deportment towards the authorities of Geor-
gia, not with any, the least, expectation that justice will be

396 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

rendered by the President to those authorities, but in
discharge of duties which they owe themselv.
I have the honor to be

Your obedient servant,

G. M. THOU P.
The Hon. James Barbour.
Secretary of War.

The Southern Recorder, of the 9th of August, contained
a card "to the public," from Col. Orowell, to which was
appended the following letter :

MlLLSDGKVTLLB, GBO., AuglM 1st, 18!
Sir: 1 acknowledge the receipt of your defence, ac-
companied by the testimony collected to ivlmt the. cha
preferred against yon by his Excellency Governor Troup,

as \\ell as the testimony taken against you by a committee,
of the Legislature of Georgia, and that interspersed through-
out the volume of documents furnished me l.y the (Jovern-
or of Georgia.

After a diligent examination of all the testimony taken
on both sides during the investigation, and coming 1.
me, I feel it incumbent on me to say that I r-o: sideryoii, in
reference to the charge^ made against yon, not only an in-
nocent, but a much injmed, man. This result is the more
honorable to you, as you have only had it in your pou<
avail vourself of r»l unturt/ testimony.

I shall make this report""' to the Secietary of War, to
whom you will look for the decision of tl:.' I'rc-ident,
which will confirm or reverse this opinion. In the mean
time you will consider your suspension withdrawn.
With respect, sir,

Your obedient servant,

T. P. Axni:

Special Agent.
To Colonel John Crowell,

Indian Agent, &c., &c.

It is proper here to state the President coi<v'iin»' this
report.
In September, Major Andrews published, in the National

* The Report of Major Andrews to tl; <,f War, with

to it, occupies more th:m l.'iO jm-v-i of pi int^l niiitt.-r. in pel , i:h tlic

-ion of opinion in regiird to Col. Crowell, the Indian Ajri'tit, tlmt " !i>' li;i^ lully ~u.
in establishing his entire innocence of th I'.-rn-d ugi.inst liiin."— lii>.

CHAP. XI.] CANVASS FOR GOVERNOR. 397

Journal and the National Intelligencer, a long " reply" to
what he called the " Re| orts of the Georgia Commission-
ers," in which he was very severe in his strictures upon the
official conduct of those gentlemen, and in which he did
not hesitate to attack their characters as men, &c., &c.

In the mean time, the canvass for Governor was proceed-
ing with much acrimony and bitterness. The papers
teemed with articles of great warmth on both sides.
" TKOUP AND THE TsEATY5' was the rallying cry of the friends
of the Governor, whilst it was contended by his enemies
that his defeat was necessary to the repose of the country
and the peaceful settlement of the Indian controversy. As
early as the 4th of July, the celebration of the day was
made the occasion of what were considered patriotic out-
bursts, but what were, in many instances, the offspring of
party violence and heated controversy.*

Amongst other objections to Governor Troup, it was said
his father had been a Tory ; and then it was said General
Clark's father was no better. Gov. Troup was charged
with being an alien ^ born in Florida ; General Clark was
accused of being a Yazoo man, and with having shot at
the effigy of Washington. It is hardly important to add,
that none of these charges were made out to the satisfaction
of the friends of the candidate against whom they were
urged.

If party virulence had stopped with accusations, which,
if true, would have affected the fitness for office or useful-
ness of either candidate, there would have been ground of
excuse ; but political rancor, in its opposition to Governor
Troup, went beyond this. His domestic privacy was as-

* The folio-wing toasts drunk on the 4th of July, at an interior town, cannot be consid-
ered fair specimens. It is due to the Clark man to say that, in a card which he afterwards
published, ho declared that whilst his toast expressed " the sentiments of a large number,"
and contained his real opinion, yet he would not have given it, if another sentiment, in favor
of Gov. Troup, bad not been first offered at a dinner from which he had endeavored to keep
out party politics. Here are thcsentiments :

• " George M. Troup — May he receive what he deserves, the infamy due to every man who
attempts to excite civil w.ir and destroy the Union."

" George M. Troup — May every hair on his head be a standing army, and every soldier bo
armed with a thundering cannon to drive his enemies to h — 11." — ED.

398 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

sailed ; and it was basely and falsely insinuated l>y
who had tho cunning to do secretly what they had not the
boldness to avow openly, that the ill health of the partner
of his bosom was caused by conjugal ill treatment. That
some dupes may have believed the slander, is probaMy
true; but the high-minded and better informed even of his
opponents refused to lend themselves to so cruel an expe-
dient to defeat an honorable man.

Amidst the jarring elements of discord, and the turmoil of
a fierce party war, Governor Troup remained as unmoved
as it was possible for any man to be, under the circumstan-
ces. It is believed that not the slightest detail of bus'
escaped his attention ; and we have certainly seen tin
kept the Indian question in full view. A silly rumor
started, that he was to be withdrawn, ami lion. "William II.
Crawford run in hi> stead. A short time before the elec-
tion, his health became somewhat impaired, and it was at
one time reported that he was dead.

The 3rd of October at length arrived. If public excite-
ment had been great, public expectation and anxiety were
now to be greater. The Georgia Journal, of the llth of
October, in noticing the election, said :

To a calm and indifferent spectator, Milledgeville, for the
past week, would have furnished a wide field of amuse-
ment. The an.viety visible in all countenances, the avidity
with which news from every quarter was sought after,
hailing of post riders, and the stopping of travelers as thcv
entered the town, and the, multitude crowding around ll
all pressing forward to hear the result; and the alter:
elevation and depression of spirits of one party or the other,
according as the news agreed with, or differed from, what
was expected — all together made up a spectacle which
equaled anything soon in Athens on the invasion \>y Philip,
or in Home when C:esar was marching upon it. But now
all is comparatively quiet. The result is anticipated with
much confidence to be in favor of Troup.

The fame paper, of the Jsth, announced the certain re-
election of Gov. Troup. On the result being known in
Savannah, the citizens fired a salute in honor of the victorv :
and another was fired by the Chatham Artillery, of which

CHAP. XL] RESULT OF ELECTION1, &c. 399

ancient corps Gov. Troup had been formerly a regular, and

was then an honorary, member.
There were in Georgia, at that time, only sixty Counties.

Governor Tronp had resided in Mclntosh, Chatham, Bryan.

Montgomery and Laurens Counties. The vote in these

Counties was, as follows :

Mclntosh— Troup, 117— Clark, 83

Chatham, " - 595 " - 132

Bryan, " - 125 "• - 1

Montgomery, " - 116 " 61

Laurens, " 475 " 111

In Wilkes, the former residence of Gen. Clark, the vote

was : Troup, 669 ; Clark, 644. In Baldwin, the residence

of Gen. Clark, and where each had resided as Governor,

the vote stood : Troup, 317— Clark, 482.

The official vote, in the whole State, as determined by

the Legislature, was :

Troup, - - 20,545

Clark, .... . 19,862

Maj ority for Troup, 683

The General Assembly met, at Milledgeville, on the 7th
of November, when it was ascertained that a majority, in
each House, Mere political friends of the defatted candidate.
In the Senate, Allen B. Powell, of Mclntosh, was elected
President ; and, in the House, Thomas W. Murray, of
Lincoln, was elected Speaker.

The inauguration of the Governor took place on the 10th
of November.

His inaugural address was, as follows :

Fellow-Citizens : I come, once more, and probably for
the last time, to present myself before you and take the
oath of office. Possessing no very great confidence in my
own qualifications for the public service, I have not habitu-
ally or pertinaciously sought the public favor. It has been
extended to me, freely, frequently, and by the people, in a
spirit of abundant kindness, sometimes even in advance,
always in a degree far transcending my merits and deserts.
The late election by the people, approbatory of the former

400 L1FE OF GEORGE M. TRorr. [('MAP. XI.

one by their representatives, inspires a belief tliat the acts
of the administration have not been altogether censurable,
and that the faults and errors which belong to them, being
of the head, not of the heart, have, on that account, re-
ceived a kind and indulgent judgment

Resolved, as I am, at all times, to do what, under the
constitution and laws, my judgment approves, it will be
my consolation, in the midst of troubles and emhar
ments, that what is intended well, will be well received ; and
that if, at the end of our labors, aught shall have resulted
to the public of benefit or advantag--. a due measure of
praise and commendation will he awarded. Taking dif-
ferent views of the same subject, honest diil'e;
opinion are to In- regarded with mutual deference and
respect. The utmost we can hope from our deliberations
under free institutions, is, that, the love of country pre-
dominating over every other love, we will discard the
partialities ami prejudices which attach to men, and, for-
getting the strifes and contentions of the day, will unite
in support of every measure prmnotive of the public wel-
fare.

To husband the resources of the State — to economi/e
the public expenditure — to organize a system of Internal
Improvement — to foster the institutions which direct the
public Education — to give vigor and eiliciency to the
armed power to execute the laws and defend the >•
against her enemies — to vindicate, with firmness and
dignity, all her rights ; but, more especially, to assert,
practical I a, those rights of sovereignty without which
Georgia would l>e independent only in name ; and to cul-
tivate harmony between the diil'e rent branches of the
government, will be equally your duty, fellow-citizens, a^
mine; and, by cordial co-operation and patriotic efforts, I
doubt not we will ultimately find our reward in the happi-
ness and prosperity of the people.

The following is the message of the Governor, transmitted
to the Legislature on the second day of the session.

I )I::'.\I:TMI NT. )

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate
and House of Rcpresentatt

The political year just closed has not been without bless-
ings, or without trials. Abundant thankfulness is due for

CHAP. XL] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 401

the former, to the Giver of every good and perfect gift,
not less for exemption from war, pestilence and famine,
than for the enjoyment of more than ordinary health,
propitious seasons, and an ample harvest. For the hitter,
as they belong to mortals, it is our holy duty, in the spirit
of Christian resignation, to bow with reverential submis-
sion, and to implore the Omnipotent who orders all for the
best, to convert them into blessings. The year has been
rendered memorable, too, by the sojourn of the great and
amiable LaFayette; the universal joy diffused by it — the
display of all the charities and graces of life in the. over-
flowings of grateful hearts, inseparable from his presence,
and by the tears of millions, when, after giving to our
country his last benediction, he re-embarked for his native
land.

The recapitulation of the events of the last two years — the
results of our intercourse and correspondence with the
General Government, painful as it may be, is a duty too
sacred to be omitted. In performing it, no apology is due
for the prolix detail, so inconsistent with the analytical
character of a State paper like this. The variety of topics,
the multitude of facts, justify a departure from the ordinary
usage. A tedious expose may be more acceptable than a
superficial survey, as the contemplation of the whole
ground will enable you so to apply the resources of your wis-
dom and patriotism to the exigency, as, with the assistance
of Divine Providence, to avert the mischiefs which threat-
en, make our own ways righteous in our own sight, and in
the sight of all others, and bring back to a sense of
justice those who, in their aberrations from, it, have done
us wrong.

I had, for the first time, come into office, when a subject
of peculiar delicacy presented itself, and being intimately
connected with the independence of the elective franchise,
without which it would be vain for Georgia to claim for
herself the attributes of a sovereign State, it was made
known to the President, that, on the occasion of the elec-
tion just then terminated, an officer in his employ, bearing
a high and dignified commission, au$ being a citizen of
another State, had abandoned his post to mingle in the
strifes of that election ; had espoused the cause of one of
the parties, to the prejudice of the other, and, by the
weight and influence of his office, united with the most
enthusiastic ardor, had rendered himself so signally con-
spicuous, that the Chief Magistrate could not conscientiously

402 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [I'IIAP. XI.

forbear, amo: iain to the Executive

;t rage upon the most

•(I of all tli vignty. An occasion of-

fered, ;it the moment, t • ight to tlie presentation,

and it wa< embraced. T >nary Kstah-

lishment. iii : Fation, had been provoked by the

ill iisa^e and lawless conduct to prefer

certain char- .:m, which, if supported by truth,

could not fail, it was believed, to bring noon him the se\
animadversion of hit ttt; and it was hoped

that the : the Governor of :. thrown

into the scale, • iplish what seemed to him an

important object, the removal from otlice of a man, who,
by his prejudices and p . would present the mo>t

formidable • to the satisfaction of the just claims

of (. the (General (iovernment, at

long as u certain .lletl the lir.-' T that State.

They failed of their intent ; and whate\er >entence mi^ht
liave been ]>assed on tht.* memorial of the Missionary, the
remonstrant-- . ernor 0 a was. unlit-eded.

The infer kble, that, in virtue either of jio>i-

tive instruction, or of implied con>ent, the Ai^eiit of Indian
All'airs, beini^ a citi/en of another State, and resident in
the Xation, wouhK at any time, consult both duty and
inclination in deserting his .-tatimi to lend himself, with his
^:iia of ofrice, to any party in the State, whose views
it might be the interest of himself or of his Government
to promote.

The State of Georgui had claims upon !!
eminent, of great magnitude ; her territorial one- had been
so long neglected, that time seemed to be running against
them. Tlie Indians were acquiring a permanency
hold, under the direct enc..uragemeiit of the 1'nited Slates,
which would rivet them like their lixtnres to the soil tb]--
ever; and it was -seen that a day or an hour was of precious
import to her whom an act of limitations might bar, upon
the arbitrary edict of a stronger power.

When, the: :i a temper not discreditab!

hoped, to the author, those claims were pressed upon the
General Government, it was answered that everything had
been done, which, in good faith, could be done, to satisfy
the claims of Q ;1!1<1 that now nothing could be

done, because the Indians had said nothing should be
done. An answer so unkind, ungenerous and faithless,
left no alternative, but to abandon or strenuously assert
them.

CHAP. XI.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 403

It was vain for the State of Georgia to prove to the
United States, that, regardless of her claims, they had
acquired immense tracts of country, from time to time, for
other States and for themselves, and that, in the celebrated
treaty of 1814, if the United States had been mindful of
their engagements, they could as easily have acquired the
whole country within our limits as a single acre.

By the treaty of 1814, the Creeks were treated as a con-
quered people, whom Georgia had assisted with her arms
to conquer \ their boundaries were marked by the sword ;
but charity, which begins at home, more potent than any
stipulations of the articles of 1802, acquired for the United
States a very large extent of rich country within the limits of
Alabama, whilst twenty millions of acres within the limits
of Georgia were reserved and guarantied to the Indians,
and this guaranty subsequently produced against us to de-
feat our claim to the same territory. Georgia could not
see, in all this, that scrupulous fidelity in the fulfilment of
engagements asserted for the United States.

AVlien, at last, the way seemed open to a further acquisi-
sion of territory, and Commissioners were appointed to
negotiate witli the Creeks, at Broken Arrow, Georgia found
the Agents of the United States arrayed against her to
defeat a treaty : so that it was difficult to understand
whether the whole movement was a mockery, to sport
with Georgia, or a perfidious betrayal by the Agents of
the trust reposed in them. The treaty was defeated, and
by their agency ; the principal Agent appeared to rise in
the esteem and confidence of his Government, and thus
terminated this most disgusting scene.

The rehearsal of what happened immediately after, at the
Indian Springs, would only revive recollections _ of the
same odious practices of the same Agent, not less disgrace-
ful because they were more covert and less successful.
From this period are to be dated all the mischiefs, disorders
and heart-burnings which followed, produced, chiefly, ^by
the conduct of the same officer. But, in justice to him,
it should be said, that, from this period, he is to be consid-
ered rather as an instrument than a principal ; as his own
Government, looking back upon the history of the past,
had seemed to approve his actings and doings in the gross,
and had given every token of undiminished confideuce_m
him ; so that, from that day thenceforth, whatever was said,
done or written by him, seemed good in its sight. No
evil report of him would be listened to ; the word oi no
man taken against him ; all testimony in his favor eagerly

404: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

received, all against him promptly discredited : the ex-
pre-scd will of the constituted authorities of the State,
which denounced him a-; an enemy to its interest, disre-
ga^ded by his Government, ami contemned l>y himself; in
short, his single declaration in the face of truth, made by
that Government the basis of the most offensive measures
again-t this, even to the extreme one of threatening us with
the sword, and actually drawing out a regular force for its
execution.

The history of the treaty of 1825. and the character of
the events which followed, will be be>t learned by the doc-
uments and evidence heretofore published, and those now
laid before you. The epitome is. that the treaty w;
untainted with fraud as most other Indian : was

made with an authority long since rccogni/ed by the I nited
States as competent ! d in at first,

by the great body of the Nation, and would have,
cheerfully submitted to by the whole tribe, as the hostile
Chief's in Council indicated to Col. Lamar, if the . \irent
had nor returned from his mi>sion to Washington, and
altered it. It was this ominous return from his defeat
before the President and Senate, in which Mclntosh fore-
Baw the ruin which an infuriated man would bring upon
him and his generation. "We are not in any danger until
he comes home and commences hostility, and urges it him-
self upon us," says MclntOsh. " If ratified, (meaning the
treaty,) it may produce a horrid state of things r.niong;'-
Unfortunate Indians," says the Agent. What. the. penetrat-
ing sagacity of the one foretold, soon came to pa-s. Mc-
Intosh was no more ; and thus the evil genius of the other,
which predicted the coming of the whirlwind, which rode
in it, and directed the storm, saw, in one fell swoop, the
triumph of his machinations and the fulfilment of his
prophecy. Mclntosh and his Chi _;:ven their a>sent

to the survey of the country, and this assent was seized by
the Agent to divert the public odium from himself, and
to fasten it on the Chief Magistrate of Georgia, who had
sought and obtained that assent. The naked declaration of
the Agent to this effect, unsupported by a tittle of proof,
v as sufficient 'to command the absolute credence of his
Government, and, contrary to all opposing testimony of the
most conclusive character, to warrant it in charging the
calamities of the nation upon the same magistrate as the
author of them all ; to forbid the survey, and to embody a
corps of regulars to prevent, it, and to continue both its
offensive orders and its offensive armament, even after

CHAP. XL] ANNUAL MESSAGE OP 1825. 405

another of its Agents, by false testimony, had proven, to
its satisfaction, that no such assent was ever given, and had
announced to it, moreover, what was not the fact, but
what, on his authority, it implicitly believed to be the fact,
that the pacification of the Indians had been concluded,
and, of course, order and tranquillity permanently restored ;
nevertheless, the offensive mandate is unrevoked, and the
parade of bayonets maintained.

The Indian right of occupancy is the only one acknowl-
edged by the European powers, from the beginning; the
only one acknowledged by all the public instruments
through which Georgia derived her title ; the only one con-
ceded to the Indians by Georgia, in all her treaties with
them, from the first settlement of the country, and the only
one recognized by the United States themselves.

The Spaniards and the French, without respecting even
this right, have forcibly appropriated to themselves entire
countries, when and where it suited them. The English
and Americans have so far respected it, as to majce com-
pensation for the relinquishment of claim or abandonment
of use. It is true, that, with regard to this right of use,
the United States, in their own territory, might have given
to it any latitude which pleased them, because the soil and
jurisdiction belonged to them ; but, with regard to the ter-
ritory of Georgia, where the soil and jurisdiction are indis-
putably hers, this right of use can only be construed to
mean, what in all the treaties it did mean, the right of use for
hunting. When, therefore, the United States, by changing
the mode of life of the aboriginal upon the soil of Georgia,
changed essentially this right, and caused her lands to be
separately appropriated for the purpose of tillage, and gave
every encouragement to fixed habits of agriculture, they vio-
lated the treaties in their letter and spirit, and did wrong to
Georgia. It is not less strange than true, that, of all the
various tribes of aborigines dispersed over the vast country
within the limits of the United States, two of them, within
the limits of Georgia, have been specially selected as most
fit subjects for the operation of this great scheme of recla-
mation, and that the partial success of this scheme, (found-
ed in wrong to Georgia, and continued in wrong,) should
be held up'to us now, as a mirror in which we are invited^
to see, at once, our own deformity and the moral beauty of
its authors, and that this original and continued wrong
should be set up in bar of our undoubted rights.

The State of Georgia contends that the jurisdiction over
the country in question, is absolute in herself ; she proves it

406 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

by all the titles through which she derived her claim from
the beginning, by the cl ••'amations of the

mother coiintrv. bv the repeated acknowledgments of the
United States themselves, and by their solemnly expressed
recognition in tlie tirst and second articles of the agreement
and cession, of 1 >OL>. !• -wn. that if Ge<>rgia had

the jurisdiction, Georgia had never parted with it : and
that! if she had it no-. in never have it in virtue of

any authority of any \nown to her. Yet, Georgia

has been denied the right of purvey of he: • !], with-

in her own jurisdiction: a right ; Arable from that

jurisdiction, and a< inn<» 'it of way: and this,

notwithstanding the con 'hat sur. :- verily

believetl, freely given by every Chief within the limi*
the territory, who could, by any possibility, sutler liar
detriment from it : nay. n. ••onfidently believed, that

if the I'nited St., rnment. or its

extorted from one portion of the Indians objections to the
survey, then- wi.uld not have been found a >ing!e individ-
ual who would have thought of entertaining any : r.nd
it will ii"' . mcil of Urokeii Ar-

row, where the '

the military otlieer of the I'M: ;ider hi- instruc-

tions, made known to the Chiefs that his Government had
resolved not to permit the survey : BO 'hat, if a spirit, at
any time, from any cause, had animated the Indian to
hostility against Georgia, tip would have availed

himself - .rvey. a- a pretext to fall upon our people,

and with the more ferocity, b d that In- would

be sustained by the arm< <>f the 1'nitr '.

The la<t pretext of the President, for resistance to the
survey, is the ohlj :h article of the

treaty, which ^uaran-' .-tioii to the friendly Indians.

Under that guaranty, the I'nitc' y sniier

Mclntosh and His friends to be murdered: in the hour of
peril no arm is lifted to save or to protect; the danger pa>t ;
the Chiefs ma^acred : their property destroyed or dis-
persed: the survivors in Georgia asking bread and pi
tiou of their lives, after abandoning to their enemies every
thin^ valuable at home ; the I'nite'd States step forth witii
their armed jiower. to defend, under the sth artic.le of the
treaty, the-e same Indians a^ain-t all their > . and

more particularly the Georgians, their only friends and pro-
tectors.

Mclntosb having fallen in the cau>e of tin- I'liit'/d St.
by the hand of treachery, the United States were bound.

CHAP. XI.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 407

in honor, under the 8th article, to bring to punishment his
murderers ; to restore to his friends their rank, power and
property, lost in the same cause, and to have coerced the
execution of the treaty ; all which could easily have been
accomplished; but the Agents of the United States indulg-
ing more of sympathy for the hostile, than for the friendly
Indians, prescribe to the latter the terms on which they
shall make peace with their enemies ; the blood of Mcln-
tosh, unwashed from their hands, the plundered property
unrestored, the Agent unremoved ; the hostile party are to
be received into the bond of com muni on. and fellowship,
with a forgiveness of sins, as if these natives of the wilder-
ness, at once the noble and fallen of their species, should,
in the darkness of heathenism, do more than the philosophy
of the henthen or the fortitude of the Christian ever did ; the
money stipulated to be paid to them exclusively, and by
the Commissioners of the United States, ordered to be paid,
in part, to their enemies, and by'the hands of other Agents
than those appointed by the treaty. These wrongs, clone to
the friends of Mclntosh, are adverted to merely because
they cannot be overlooked in the catalogue of wrongs done
to Georgia, and to show that the friendly Indians may have
suffered for indulging friendly sentiments towards Georgia,
and Georgia, for indulging like sentiments towards the
friendly Indians. The result of all which is, that, judging
the motives and objects of human action by the results, the
Agents of the United States, whether commissioned for
that purpose, or not, must have been intent on vindicating
the conduct of the Agent for Indian Affairs, and opening
the way for the rupture of the treaty — for that conduct has
been vindicated and approved by them, and all the materi-
als, as it is understood^ collected for that rupture, whilst the
Indians remain unreconciled either to one another, or to the
treaty, and a large portion of them more embittered and
exasperated against the authors of it than ever.
. The President having ultimately resolved to refer the
treaty to Congress, for reconsideration, because of alleged
intrigue and treachery practiced to obtain it, the resolution
adopted by the Executive to prosecute the survey under the
act of the"Legislaturc, of the 9th day of June last, was
changed, and the change immediately communicated to the
President

It would be uncantiid, fellow-citizens, to disguise that,
but for the proposed reference to Congress, the survey
would have been commenced and prosecuted. So long as
the controversy was confined to the Executive of the Union

408 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [CHAP. XI.

and the Executive of Georgia, there could be no hesitation

a- t<> the measures which it became the latter to pursue,
lit-tv.- [\ially independent, it is not required of

the weaker to yield to the stronger, because this would bu
settling controversies by the rnle of force, not by the rule
of right; and. be .vereigns tin- weaker is equally

<j[iialiiied as the stronger to pa-s \i\ The

immediate survey of the country, required certainly by the
interest and convenience of Georgia, \V:;s n<»t i>f tiiat vital
importance which would justify offensive, measuiv
ecut.e it. But the abandonment <>f a right, not consid-
ered doubtful by the only power competent to pronounce
up>n it. was another and very different matter. The con-
cession of aright, without an equivalent, by a weaker to a
strong1!' - never made without exposing the former

to injurious imputation, and will always be followed by
•n after concession to unjust demands, until noth-
ing remains to !»,• demanded on the one side, or cone*
on the other. When, therefore, th ..-ntof the Tinted

States commanded the Governor of Georgia to forbear the
survey, and when that command was followed by a distinct
annunciation of the penalty which awaited the disobedi-
ence to it, the Executive of Georgia, would not mendy
have surrendered a right already declared to be so by the
supreme power of the State, but ^ould have made a dis-
honorable surrender to a stronger power, with the sword
suspended over his he-id. Whilst, therefore, the Governor
would, in this respect, have treated the mandate of the
unlawful, he did not hesitate, as soon as the
contemplated reference of the treaty to (Jongre^, for
alleged intrigue and 'treachery, was officially known to
him, to postpone the survey until the meeting of the L
lature ; not because that reference was lawful, but th;<
legality or illegality was not so appropriately a question
for his decision, as for that of the Legislature, bo that,
whilst the Government of Georgia denied the power of the
Executive authority of the United States to pronounce
upon her rights, it might not refuse to the assembled States
of the Union the opportunity of investigating certain claims,
or discussing certain questions in coutrover-y. connected
with the treaty, or with her own character and conduct in
relation to it. So far as that character and conduct were
in any manner involved in the negotiation or conclusion of
the treaty, or in the events which preceded and followed,
their purity, uprightness and justice might freely be can-
vassed before the whole world. Thus much was conceded

CHAP. XL] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 409

for our own sake, until the meeting of the Legislature ; the
rights of the State were saved by protestation, and the
Legislature is yet free to act -upon the subject, as if no
measure had been taken by the Executive in relation to
that reference. The legality of the survey was asserted,
the power to invalidate the treaty denied, and the absolute
title of Georgia to the soil and jurisdiction vindicated.

The very limited knowledge of the history of the Creek
tribes, possessed by the people of the United States, and
the misconceptions and misrepresentations which could not
fail to ensue, inducjd the Executive to direct the attention
of J. Y. Be van, Esq., (already assiduously occupied under
your appointment to collect the materials for a history of
Georgia,) to the illustration of that part of the Creek story
which had more immediate reference to the points involved
in the discussion of the treaty. The result of his diligent
research is submitted in the paper marked (A). You will
find there the ground assumed by the Executive of Georgia
in maintenance of the treaty, viz : that the consent of
Coweta was of itself sufficient, independently of all other
considerations, to give force and efficacy to that instru-
ment, is fully sustained, and by evidence derived from
such authentic sources, as to leave nothing to cavil or to
subterfuge.

In obedience to the will of the Legislature, expressed^ in
their resolutions of the llth day of, June last, I proceeded
to the appointment of Commissioners to carry the objects
of them into effect. In selecting the members of this com-
mission, I endeavored to have regard to the qualifications
of uprightness, integrity and intelligence. It was believed
that the selection would be approved by the moral and
enlightened of our own community. Since, however, the
censorship of the United States Agents has passed them in
review, the Executive is informed by those Agents that he
was mistaken and deceived ; and, accordingly, you will see,
in sundry documents accompanying this message, the char-
acters of those Commissioners so portrayed that it would
have been difficult to resist the belief that, by a strange
fatality, they had been chosen from the least worthy and
estimable of society, if the characters of the persons fill-
ing the highest offices of the State, both Legislative and
Executive, had not previously been subjected to the same
scrutiny and shared the same fate. The report will inform
you of 'the treatment they received, and of the obstacles
thrown in their way at every step, by which all investi-

410 LIFE OF flKOKGE M. TR [«'n.u-. XI.

Cation was i unavailing. The principal Airent

having been instructed by the President to advise with
tlie Governor of Georgia upon the n. ry to

•ition of . when the *

ernor of Georgia appointed ' operate

vrith him in the ta*k of invocation, a- well a,- to «Miard the
interests of Q ..pointriient is pronounced

a usurpation — the coinin' 'reated a- privat.

— c\ i'ltction o-pp.jM-d to the ;

mony — intercourse with the Indian

promises L'is en < !':; mination ot' the Indians,

violated -the word Of an Indian C'hicf received

;st tin- testimony of tho whole wot-! . ..t of

Indian Alia' .i'ed in;. :idrmned lr

••s of th. \vho liad d;

i,Mii>hed themse!\'i'.-. in the e.-unei!.s of their own Natio;

a, prrmiited to sil in the

to aid with their a d to dictate the talks

of ti. M with their •

.: l»y the iViein:!\

In coiiijiliaiiee with the requisitions ot' the >lu-

tions, I transmitted, without dehr>. ••!' the iiieinorial

addressed l>y the ture to ti, .'.the

condiiet of the A P Indian AH'airs, and re«|iu-.-t;.n^

'« a^ from it, in this, as in <

Other ne aut,horit;> .r-ia li;

})lained o,f the conduct of his Agents, h;

ideratio;

cision as unexoueted a< u n -at is factory. ' tran-fer

of a matter by the 1 'resident, who ^

control o* -; which has no >urh control.

The .President has ai;thority to di-miss, at ]>h-asiire, the
• dinjr otticer. military i>ne, tonrder a court for

hii trial, whilst i. u- I'nited Stat«-- I1.;-.

The utmost the ( >, in an

extreme to impeach the ojlieer. if imj>eac!iabi

not, repeal the law creating t] ! thus indii'

removing the incumbent. .inirany securiiy

that he would not immediately be appointed to another
office, or restored to th. e ii' it Hio;;ld b

established by law.

Haying suhmittud. in detail, a narrative of the events to
which our relations with the I'nited States have LMVCH
and e\po>ed the motives and principles which have
erned the conduct of the Executive tin-
to your wisdom to decide upon the mea-ur. ary and

CHIP. XL] AXXUAL MESSAGE OF 1825.

proper to sustain the honor and defend the rights and in-
dependence of the State. It is confidently believed that
the Constitution, the public law, nor the usages of nations,
will justify an abrogation of the treaty ; and it is recom-
mended to you, therefore, in any and every event, to
consider, as heretofore, the Indian claims to the territory as
effectually extinguished by it, and that, whether the survey
be suspended or not ; to order the occupation of it on the
day stipulated in that instrument, in the same manner as
you would have done if its validity had not been ques-
tioned.

In the correspondence submitted to the Legislature, at
their late extraordinary session, will be found the repeated
and final resolution of the Cherokees never to abandon
the territory they occupy within our limits. This resolu-
tion may be satisfactory to the Government of the United
States; it cannot be so to you. Having taken theirs, it
remains for you to take yours, and, in doing so, no time is
to be lost. Your better judgment will suggest and approve
the remedy. AYhatever it may be, I recommend to you
to adopt early and energetic measures for the removal of
all white persons and others, not Indians, inhabiting that
territory, with the exception only of such as are necessarily
employed in the service of the United States, under the
power granted to Congress to regulate commerce with the
Indian tribes. By the second article of agreement and
cession, you will find the following words inserted by our
Commissioners out of abundant caution : The United
States " cede to the State of Georgia whatever claim, right
or title they may have to the jurisdiction or soil of those
lands." Nothing remained to the Indians, therefore, but
the right of temporary occupation for hunting. This
right has been construed so liberally, that, in practice, a
general usufructuary interest has been conceded to them.
But this reservation of hunting grounds is confined to the
Indians exclusively, and designed for their use and benefit
only. The soil and jurisdiction being in Georgia, it was
no more lawful for the United States to introduce other
persons there, than it would have been for them to have
introduced, within the settled limits of Georgia, a colony of
free persons of color, of Indians, or of white people. The
utmost allowable to the United States, in this respect, was
the settlement, within the territory, of such of their own
officers as were necessary to carry into effect their acknowl-
edged power to regulate commerce with the Indians. The
United States have, nevertheless, by permission, toleration,

412 I'TFE OF ftF.ORfiE M. TROi [('ii.u-. XI.

or encouragement, introduced there, from time to time,
white persons, and others, who have made scttlen-:
exercised ownership over the soil, and cultivated it in the
same manner as if the I'nited States, and not Georgia,
i the rL'ht of soil and jurisdiction ; and these very
same persons, a- it is confidently believed, have been
chiefly instrumental in preventing the Indians from :•
ing the country: all such p ''icrelbre, an' t

and intruders upon the soil of

Georgia, and t rt; >nlingly. This is lip and

practice of the I'nited < ioverninen; \vith

regard to its own lands. In every instanc the

United States have claimed the soil ami jurisdiction,
whether the Indians lie in occupation or • em-

inent has exercised the power to treat all such \»-
trespassers and intruders; and an art of Co-
the President to expel them at the point of tin- bayonet.
It is equally competent to the Government of this i
adopt like mcasu ,al of tresp;

own soil ; and, for this purpose, having made the D
statutory pi'" . it is recommended to you to extend

the laws of Georgia over the country.

You have seen how our rights of sovereignty, those of
the elective franchise, of territory and jurisdiction,
been infringed; you will see the same rights violated, in
the independence, character and dignity of the co-istii
authorities occupied in the management of our

A special officer was commissioned l>y I
inquire into the conduct of the Agent 1'or Indian ail
who, on presenting himself here, was received in the D
friendly temper, and with assurance that every ;:
would he rendered to promote the ohjer :on :

not doubting that the object, as he repeatedly j
was justice to all tlif pa; to ihe public, to

liis own Government, to Georgia, to tin: Indians, and t<> the
officer implicated. Any deportment, which miglr>
construed into a disposition to bias or mislead him, was
studiously avoided ; all information required, promptly fur-
nished ; and not a suspicion admitted that he could have
been actuated by other than honorable motives, until, in a
conversation which a gentleman in the confidence of the
Governor was instructed to hold with him, he betrayed
very strong p asions in favor of the Agent : so much

so, and at so early a period, that, with an intention to api
Ms Government of the fact, a letter was addressed to him,
marked (B), which, with his answer, marked ((•), is suit-

CHAP. XI.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825.

mitted. In the latter, you will find repeated professions of
impartiality and disinterestedness ; but you will soon per-
ceive, in his after conduct and writings, the hollowness and
insincerity of them.' They, and the report of the State
Commissioners, show that the Special Agent came here,
not to inquire into the conduct of the Agent of Indian
affairs, but, as counsel or attorney, to advise with him, to
lend him aid and countenance, to collect testimony for his
vindication and acquittal, and, without giving ear to the
testimony against him, to pronounce that acquittal as hon-
orable for himself, and the prosecution as disgraceful to all
the parties concerned in it; seeking, for this purpose, with
great labor and assiduity, the evidence of the outcasts of
society, wherever he could find it, and thus embodying for
himself and his Government, a volume of impurest matter,
by which to justify that acquittal. His patience would
not permit him to wait the closing of the testimony on either
side, as you will see in his letter of the 21st June, address-
ed to the Agent and published by him. It was this letter,
proving iricontestably that the question had been prejudged
at Washington, and that a farce had been playing only to
amuse the authorities of Georgia, which decided the Ex-
ecutive to address to him the note of the 28th June, in-
structing him to hold no further correspondence with this
Government. The letter, of the 4th of July, was subse-
quently addressed to this Department, in which, after justi-
fying his offensive one of the 21st June, he insults the
authorities of Georgia, by referring the prosecution of the
Agent to the most corrupt and reprehensible of motives ;
and, by the affected charity with which he excepted the
Chief Magistrate from the charge, gave poignancy to his
denunciation, and to his sentence a semblance of a legal
character, as if pronounced by a competent magistrate from
the judgment seat. It was not until after the return of this
officer to Washington, that he caused to be published, un-
der the eye of his Government, the declaration " that he
was informed by the acting Agent for Indian Affairs, that
the Commissioners of Georgia had carried with them into
the Nation a large amount of money, say four to six thous-
and dollars," strongly insinuating, at the same time, that
this money was carried there for the purposes of bribery
and corruption. A charge against this branch of the Gov-
ernment, connected with the administration of the finances,
so serious, proceeding from such a person, and made in a
form so specific, deserves your attention, and the more, be-
cause the truth or falsehood of it can be easily established.

414 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cnxr. XI.

Another Special Agent had l>een deputed to this Gov-
ernment, in a civil and military capacity, to ir • the

' the disturbances in the Indian country, to rei:
the causes of discontent, and to rcconeile the contending
parties, lie likewise wa : \viththe n; ;nlly

dispositions, and treated with all the respect due to his rank
and character. He prd'e^ed lobe animated by the love
of truth and justice, to he in the interest of no party, and,
in the execution of h' . the die'

of duty only. Xot doubting

sions the aid a;id C -operation of the Kxeculive of ( reo
in promoting the olijects of his mission, were cheerfully
tendered, and would undoubtedly h;: atforde.d to

anv extent within the powers of the Department. The ih>,t
manifestation -iveii by t!

the autli" f Georgia, which - tiie knowl-

:11 be found in the representation
of the Commissioners, and in the1 letter of the other Special

•it, in which, speaking of his obnoxious ietier of the
of .lime, he says, " tiie ' ,;>probafed hy a man

who for wisdom stands inferior to few, and in honor to
none." If ;' 'ii allud-

ed to hy the writer was the same Airent whose condi;
the subject of this review, it is certain that even at the
time he could not have entertained for the authorities of
Georgia tho- ' /ul sentiments which he profes-ed, nud

which in duty he wa- bound to entertain ; for, in that
noxious letter, those authorities were denounced foropi

. partiality and mji; ! ilaicrant, kind,

j-racticed against the Indian A^ent. On ihe Ji't'n day of
.July, he wrote a letter to the Governor, enclosing a certili-
of the Indian Chief, Marshall, and a white man named
Edwards, to disprove the fact of Macintosh and his Council
having given their as--ent to the survey. Thi- ! 'uld

not liave oil'ercd a greater insult to any independent. ;
ernment. He had seen the public message, in which the
assent of Mclntosh and his Chiefs had been announced to
the Legislature, and the incontestable evidence on which
the annunciation was founded. Disregarding the authority
of both, and professing to rely on the testimony of such
persons as Marshall and Kdwards, known to him to be infa-
mous, he informs the Governor that no such assent was
given. In aggravation of this insult, before any notice was

in of it, he causes tiie . nine letter, with the certihY
to be published on his own authority, alleging, as In-
cuse, that falsehoods and calumnies, by whom or about

CHAP. XL] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 415

what, lie did not inform us, were propagated ; thus making
his appeal to the public from the pretended rumor of the
day, for the purpose 'of bringing the authorities of Georgia
into disrepute with their own people, and separating the
people from their Government. He was soon informed that
he himself was the dupe of the certificate of Marshall,
and that his own conduct was reprehensible in relying on
it to reproach the Government of Georgia with misrepre-
sentation and falsehood ; and, of this his Government and
the public were soon after furnished with abundant proof.
When this officer is rebuked for an indignity which could,
with no propriety, pass without censure, he loses all self-
command, and, forgetting his own station and that of the
person to whom he addresses himself, writes letter after
letter to the Chief Magistrate, couched in the most offen-
sive language, and which, from their manner as well as
matter, and the immediate publicity given to them through
the gazettes, must have been intended as electioneering
papers, to subserve the cause of one of the contending
parties in the State,' to the prejudice of the other ; an in-
ference deriving abundant confirmation from the fact that
the same officer was in the practice, in the common inter-
course of society, of applying to the Chief Magistrate,
and others in authority, the most contumelious and abusive
epithets.

As no further intercourse could be held with him, with-
out compromitting the dignity of the State, it was, in the
first instance, forbidden"; and when, afterwards, he had
proceeded to the greatest extremity, his recall, arrest, trial
and punishment were demanded of his Government. The
Executive of the State would have been warranted by the
public law and practice of nations, in a case so flagrant, to
have ordered him to leave the territory of Georgia, and to
have enforced that order. It was unwilling to resort to 11
measure of harshness or severity, however justifiable. The
United States Government itself is not less tenacious of its
own dignity than others. It has, at least on one occasion,
interdicted intercourse with a foreign minister of first
grade, representing a European power of first rank, _ for
merely contradicting it abruptly ; and the equally merited
treatment of another minister, representing a first-rate
power, for appeals to the people from their Government, is
well known to you. More recently, the gallant Porter has
been punished by his Government, for insulting the petty
authorities of Foxardo, and for making an appeal from that
Government, through the public prints, much less excep-

41G LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROT: P. [CHAP. XI.

tionable than lli.it nuide l>y this otlicer in the publication
of his letter of the 10th -July. Whether the constituted
authorities of Ueor^ia are of raor importance than

thosi- of Foxardo, in the- view of the General Government,
will he seen in th r of the President. The answer of

the President to the demand of the Governor .if Georgia,
for his recall and arre<t, is as little creditable to the func-
tionary from which it c sati<factory to the, one to
v.'honi it is addressed.

The President is hound, hy .•.institutional obi'

tion, to execute the law-. One of t.he-e laws declares, that
•- any otlicer or soldier who shall u<e contemptuous or di
spectfhl words against the Chief Magistrate or f.eirMature
of any of th 'ied ollicer, shall he

;ered." The Pi'. ;;eknowl -• to

have used contemptuous and disrespectful words, for which
his conduct is simply disapproved; and lie is informed that
if the Governor oi this State had not previously used
ward him off •iemand would :

.iplied with. S.i tli;. iini: 1" lhi> construe-

tiou of the President, his milit:1. irs may conduct,

them-eh yy please \vithin the jurisdiction of the

respecth matter how exccpti.malily : and the

least reprehension ,,r cen>ure hy tiie Chief M;i^i>trale

i, is their sufiicient warrant to retort in ahusive and
insulting lan^ua^e, and to gratify their resent me'
at the exjieu-e «>f the independence of the elective fran-
: a construction which makes the law a nullity.
;se it privileges the military ollicer to do that which,
hut for the law, he mi^ht legally nave done ; in>uit a Chief
Mairi-trate of a State as he would insult a jjrivale citizen,
for any real or imaginary grievance ; a ))rivile^e which
law was intended to ]>rohiliit tohim. Hut ..the fact assumed
hy the President as true, is not true. Nothing offen
was written to this officer hel'ore he had three several
times offended the dignity of this ( Jovernmenl, vix: hy his
approhation of the oll'ensive terms of the letter of the
other special agent, hy his disrespectful treatment of the
Commissioners, and hy his procurement and publication of
the false statement of Marshall and Kdwards. This ex-
position of the law hy the Executive of the I'nite*
will satisfy yon of the expediency of depending on your
own measures for defence against the repetition of such
outra

The Governor of (ieor^-ia denies the rigiit of the Presi-
dent to excuse or justify his officer in the violation of the

CHAP. XL] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 41 Y

law of the United States, which he is bound to execute,
because of any act or supposed act of the Governor, which
is in violation of no law. The President, by such excuse
or justification, takes the place of the Agent ; and when, in
one of his authorized communications, he says, " there is
no part of his duty which the President more anxiously
pursues than that of maintaining the most scrupulous
decorum in his official intercourse with the State authori-
ties, a line of conduct from which no circumstances,
however aggravated, have or will tempt him to depart," he
only means, that what he does not choose to do by himself
he will do by his Agent.

The published addresses of the different agents are sub-
mitted with the rest, only to show the unity of feeling,
sentiment and action, which has signalized the deportment
of the United States officers of every grade, in their in-
tercourse with the Government of Georgia. It can be
submitted to no longer. The sovereignty, independence
and dignity of the State must be maintained ; and to sup-
port them you must depend on your own means. I advise
you, therefore, to have recourse to those means : no matter
whom you place in authority, all strangers must be com-
pelled to respect, in their exterior demeanor at least, those
authorities. The sacredness of the elective franchise can
be protected by regarding every private person, not a
citizen of Georgia, who interferes with that freedom, as an
alien and stranger, violating a right of sovereignty, and
exposing himself to punishment. If an officer of the United
States, not being a citizen of Georgia, he renders himself
the more obnoxious, from the double capacity in which
he offends that sovereignty ; and if an officer representing
his Government, in a diplomatic character, before this
Government, he can be made amenable under the sanc-
tions of your own laws, and the laws and usages of nations,
for offences committed against either; and to this end you
have only to define the character of the offence, and to
prescribe the punishment.

In the expose of the state of our relations with the
General Government, other grievances, minor and second-
ary in importance, are adverted to, not for the purpose of
accumulating wrongs into a formidable mass, and making
an appeal the louder and deeper to the justice of that Gov-
ernment, but to satisfy our fellow-citizens, that, if we have
complained in vain, we have not complained without cause,
and that our cup of bitterness is almost fall.

4-18 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

[These two paragraphs — one relating to claims of the
State against the United States, for militia services against
Indian hostilities — and the other relating to claims of cit-
izens of Georgia against the Creek Nation, under the treaty
of 1821, are omitted.]

The Government of Georgia had reason to expect that
the United Status would not refuse their concurrence and
co-operation in the running «»f the line between this State
and the State of Alabama : 1st, !•-. '. viv proprie-

tor- of the soil on one side of it ; and, I'd, because Georgia
was concerned that the pn -id authority of the

United States should be a security to the Indians that their
rights should hi: respected — a security which would sa
Georgia the expense of a military force in the prosecution
of the work, as the Indians, in the absence of that security,
might be excited by evil - to interrupt its

execution. The J'rcsident, in the first instance, signified
no objection to a co-operation, but the one founded on a
mistake in fact, that Alabama had not given her a~
Subsequently, however, the co-operation was declined, it be-
ing, as was said, a matter in which Georgia and Alabama
were alone concerned, and with which the I'nited States had
nothing to do. More recently, as you are informed, the
State has been absolutely forbidden, at her peril, to enter
her territory for the purpose of running a line or making
a survey of any description ; the sum of all which is that
the United States claim for themselves the power to enter
upon their territory wherever the soil and jurisdiction are
in them; to settle there whom they please, and to expel
whom they please, even at the point of the bayonet ; but
deny the same power to Georgia, where the soil and juris-
diction are in her, and forbid her, under the pain of
military chastisement, to run a line or make a survey there.
The late correspondence with the Governor of Alabama,
will show that we may soon expect the concurrence of
that State in our resolution to run the line ; and it is very
desirable that no further obstacle should be suffered to pre-
vent its execution.

A request made to the Executive of the United States,
under authority of a resolution of the Legislature, to co-
operate with this State in running the dividingline between
it and the Territory of Florida, was also refused, on the alle-
gation that Congress had made no provision for such co-
operation.

CHAP. XI.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1825. 419

[The portion of the message, here omitted, relates en-
tirely to Internal Improvement, and has been copied into
the eighth chapter of this work. The next three para-
graphs are also omitted : the first relates to the Banks, the
second recommends a " revision of our military system ; "
and the third, the establishment of a " Court of Errors or
Appeals," as " a remedy for evils no longer tolerable."]

I transmit, as a matter of duty, two resolutions of the
Legislatures of Connecticut and Illinois, received since the
late extra session, recommending to the Congress, and to
the States, the abolition of slavery.

Nothing has transpired to change my sentiments on a
subject, to which, more than once, it has been made my
duty to call your attention. It is my settled conviction, and
the more confirmed than ever, that neither the other States,
nor the Congress, have any right to bring that subject into
question before them, in any form, and that every attempt
to do so by either, should be regarded in the same manner
as an attempt to destroy your- sovereignty, of which it is
an essential part ; and that you will have no security for
this property, against the efforts which will be made, from
time to time, to impair its value, and eventually destroy it,
but in the equally settled conviction on the part of the as-
sailants, that you will defend it as you would defend your
lives. Independently of any precautionary measures which
you may deem proper for the permanent safety of this
property, every proposition which may be addressed to you
on the subject, either by the State or the United States
authorities, being unconstitutional on the face of it, as it
cannot be received otherwise than offensively, and conse-
quently ought not to be received at all, should be returned
to the authorities from which it emanated.

[These paragraphs, referring to various resolutions of the
Legislature ; to " Institutions for the instruction of youth ;"
to Franklin College, which was stated to be "in an onward
course of prosperity ; " to County Academies, and the Poor
School Fund, omitted.]

In our lamented differences with the United States,
the constituted authorities of Georgia have been ungener-
ously reviled— sentiments and feelings have been adopted
for them, to which their hearts and understandings are
strangers. The charge of hostility to the Union is indig-
nantly repelled — Georgia is not behind the foremost of her

420 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. XI.

sisters in devotion to the Union — she is laboring at this
moment to cement and perpetuate that Union, by bringing
it back to the principles of the Constitution. AW mean a
Union of definite signification — a Constitutional Union
for all Constitutional objects — a Union tor safety, for se-
curity of life, liberty and property — a Union to* enforce
the powers of the General Government, M \\-ell as to pro-
tect and defend the rights and powers of the States — a
Union which means something, and which we love and
cherish :i< a Messing. P>ut the Onion which is construed to
mean any thing or everything— a I'nion for absorption and
consolidation, which would prescribe no limits to the pow-
ers of one Government, but t' ,sl welfare, and which
would reduce the DOWen "fall the rest to a shadow of
sovereignty — which claims supremacy and
dience — which construes the Constitution for itself, and
issues its mandates to the States, backed by the purse
and sword — which threatens to decide for us what is pro-
pert}' and what is not property, and whether we shall hold
any property of a certain kind, »r not— -which sends its
officers and agents to insult and defy the public function-
aries of the ^ if they were subaltern in rank and
consequence to themselves — such a Union is not the Union
adopted by the State.--, and it is believed is not such a one
as the States will support. The Chief Magistrate especi-
ally disclaims any other motive as the governing; one of his
conduct, than the sincerest attachment to the I'nion, with-
out tincture of prejudice against the persons who compose
the councils of the United States ; but, on the contrary,
with the strongest predispositions to give every aid and sup-
port to those councils to promote the peace, interest and
happiness of the country.

It is asserted, without fear of contradiction, thai sil
Georgia was a party to the Revolution, the Confede:
or the Union, she has fulfilled with sincerity and fidelity
all her obligations and engagements ; in peace and in war,
under whatever administration, not merely answering with
promptness to every requisition, but, according to her
means, sustaining that Government with as much vigor and
patriotism as any of her sisters — as little querulous as any
of them — more complying than most of them, and never
bringing into question the constitutionality of its ordinances
or decrees, but when, from the honest impulses; of her heart,
and the strongest convictions of her judgment, she lias
believed them unconstitutional. If opposed to any partic-
ular administration, it has been an opposition of frani

CHAP. XL] ELECTIONS, &C. 421

and firmness ; and if, with these characteristics, always
honorable, she has at any time mixed a spice of indigna-
tion, it may well have been pardoned by the head and
members of a family who cannot themselves claim exemp-
tion from the frailties of our nature, and who, when honor
and principle were at stake, might have seen a color of
virtue in a momentary departure from meekness, humility
and patience. But Georgia can still contend, that, in re-
spect to all questions of mere interest, to which her con-
nection with the Union may have given rise, she has
discovered as little of selfishness, as much of generosity,
and of forgiveness, as could be expected from a sovereign
and independent State, claiming rights of property °of
great value, demanded by the wants of her citizens, and
indispensable to the complete organization of her social
system. Georgia has not demanded justice of the Federal
Government in her day of tribulation, of difficulty and of
embarrassment, in war, or in the midst of divided councils,
but at a moment when, with an ample treasury, at peace
with all nations, and prosperous beyond example, she had
her option to do us justice, or, refusing it, to present a mil-
itary chest and armed men. If the United States choose
to rely on these, and Georgia, taking counsel of her fears,
shall make an inglorious surrender of her rights, what will
remain of the fruit of her toil and blood and public virtue,
but a consolidated Government, in which the sovereignty
and independence of the States being merged, nothing is
left her but the power of a municipal corporation to settle
the strifes and contentions of individuals within the freedom
of it?

By encroachment on the one side, and acquiescence on
the other, every day brings us nearer to this result ; and if
we cannot find safety in the first principles of the Cpnstitu-
tion, we can find it no where.

Your fellow-citizen,

G. M. TROTJP.

One of the first duties of the new Legislature was the
election of Judges, an Attorney and Solicitors-General.
This is said to have been the first application of party rule
to the choice of judicial affairs. Judge Wayne, of the
Eastern District, was the only member of the Troup. party
who was re-elected — having had no opposition. Early in
the session, the Governor communicated to the Legislature

422 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

" copies of an official document" just received, u by
which," he remarked, " you will see that the two Cherokee
Chiefs,* who, on a late occasion, were admitted by the
I'nited States Agents to participate in the Councils at
P>roken Arrow, and dictate the talk there, have been de-
nounced and punished by their own Government, for an
unauthorized interference in the ail'alrs of the Ore

On the 21st of November, he also sent to the Legislature
" certain testimony recently taken by the Commissioners on
the part of the State, additional to that furnished at the
opening of the session," Arc., Arc. — a part of which, in the
form of affidavits, we have already inserted ; but we have
not room for further extracts, or lor the " exposition" of
the United States Conn- . ' 9. Campbell and

Meriwether, " in relation to the late treaty concluded by
them with the Creek Indians,'' which occupied two closely
printed pages of the Georgia Journal. In the conch.
of the exposition, the Commissioners said :

" Let the treaty, then, be estimated according to the cir-
cumstances which attended its negotiation, or let it be tried
by itself, and it seems to us that the most rigid observer
would be at a loss to discover a competent reason for its
revision. The circumstances were such as ordinarily at-
tend such transactions, except the perfidious opposition
which we encountered, and a treaty was never formed
with Indians, ImJf so benelicial to themselves as this. No
error, then, being detected in the treaty itself, or in the
manner of its obtainment, we are to look, for the cause of
the mischief, to the manner in which both have been
mim •/. Let those who have originated the mi<-

representations, and those also who have given them cur-
rency, be arraigned before their own consciences and their
country, and we know that their trial will be more fearful
than ours."

As an act of justice to these gentlemen, (now both dead,)
and as intrinsic to the subject of the treaty, we should be
glad to publish the preamble and resolutions

* John KM;.;.' and David Y;mn, \vlio wi if di-poxd from the National Council uf tli^

Ch'Tok'Ts, fur •• having thought proper to as*>ri;iti' tli'-insclvrs »•
•ion," without authority uf UK- General Council.— KD.

CHAP. XL] ACTION OF LEGISLATURE. 423

adopted by the Legislature, and approved by the Gov-
ernor on 2<ith November. We make room for the resolu-
tions :

Resolved, unanimously, therefore, by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, in
General Assembly met, That they feel deeply and grate-
fully impressed with the important services of the honorable
Duncan G. Campbell and James Meri wether, in obtaining
the late cession of lands from the Creek Nation of Indians,
and that their confidence remains unimpaired in the lionor,
uprightness and integrity of those gentlemen.

Resolved, further, That the General Assembly, repre-
senting the feelings and wishes of the good citi/ens of this
State, do not hesitate in saying that they conceive that the
treaty contains in itself intrinsic evidence of its own fair-
ness, in the liberal and extended provisions which it
contains for the removal, preservation and perpetuity of
the Creek Nation : Such treaty, so beneficial to the United
States, the State of Georgia, and the Indians themselves,
having been negotiated under circumstances requiring the
most devoted zeal, persevering industry and firmness, .we
pronounce upon the conduct of the Commissioners our
most cordial approbation, and that a copy thereof be trans-
mitted to each of said Commissioners, and also a copy to
each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress.

The Committee on the state of the Republic, in the
Senate, made a report on the subject of Indian relations,
which was passed in both Houses, and approved by the
Governor, concluding with resolutions expressive of their
full reliance " in the late treaty," &c., " that the title of
the territory obtained by said treaty, within the limits of
Georgia, 'is considered as an absolute, vested interest,
and that nothing short of the whole territory thus
acquired, will be satisfactory ; and that the right of entry,
immediately upon the expiration of the time limited in the
treaty, be insisted on, and accordingly carried into effect" ;
also approbatory of the conduct of the Governor ; request-
ing the removal of Col. Crowell ; and concluding with a
protest against a reconsideration of the treaty, and express-
ing the opinion, in regard to that treaty, that " if there
is to be a revision, it is due to the interests and rights of

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XI.

the State that she should be represented in the entire
proceedings, as well preparatory as final."1

During this session, the Legislature passed Acts for lay-
ing out and organizing the counties of Thomas. Lmvndes,
Baker, Lee, Taliaferro and r>utt< ; and an Act " to or<j<
the /• fa-tihj a .••-•, li/iiKj

lictn'i.' a tli> Flint and ('lniff,i/t, ><>,-],,, I,''
the Chattahoochct Bioer." Four counties were thus laid
out, and named, respectively, ]\I .1 '

and CAKKOLL ; the iirst, it is said, " in honor of Mclntnsh,
and to perpetuate the memory of the Creek }»eople.v

The Legislature adjourned, without day, on 22d Decem-
ber, after enacting various other laws, which we cannot
particularly notice.

CHAP. XII.] NEW TREATY WITH THE CREEKS. 425

CHAPTER XII.

New Treaty concluded, at Washington, with the Creek Indians. —
Difficulties, Debates and Correspondence growing out of it. —
More trouble with the CheroJtees. — Position and firmness of
Gov. Troup and the Georgia Delegation. — Gov. Troup pro-
nounces a eulogium on Jefferson and Adams. — Dinner at Indian
Springs. — Survey of lands ceded by old Treaty. — Threatened
interruption of the Surveyors. — Boundary between Georgia and
Alabama. — Meeting of the Legislature. — Governor's Message.
— Legislative action. — Events of 1827. — Threatening posture of
Indian question. — Settlement of it, &c., &c.,

Whilst men of all parties in Georgia were uniting to
give effect to the treaty of the Indian Springs, under which
it was fondly expected Georgia was to come, within less
than a year, into possession of the Creek Country, by the
actual use and occupation of this valuable portion of terri-
tory within her acknowledged limits, controversy, of a
most serious nature, and threatening discord and strife, un-
expectedly arose. Congress had assembled on the first
Monday of December, 1825 ; and the reports of General
Gaines and Major Andrews, and the opposition of the hos-
tile Indians, backed by the interference of others, had not
failed to produce their effect on the mind of Mr. Adams.
In his opening and first annual message, the President, after
referring to the treaty of Indian Springs as having been
" received at the seat of Government only a few days be-
fore the close of the last session of Congress and of the late
administration," added :

"The advice and consent of the Senate was given to it, on
the 3d of March, too late for it to receive the ratification of
the then President of the United States ; it was ratified on
the 7th of March, under the unsuspecting impression that
it had been negotiated in good faith, and in the confidence
inspired by the recommendation of the Senate. The sub-
sequent transactions, in relation to this treaty, will form the
subject of a separate message."
54

426 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP.- XII.

The " unsuspecting impression" of the President can be
accounted for only on the idea, that, having just come into
office, he was not aware of the existence of Col. Crowell's
letter of 13th February, 1825, on file in the War Depart-
ment; or that no faith was given to its statements; or that
the statements, even if regarded as true, were not deemed
sufficient to shake the President's "impression." Be these
conjectures right or wrong, itis certain that on 24th January,
"1 *:><>, the Secretary of War, by authority of the President,
concluded a new treaty with certain persons styled the
" Chiefs and Head-men of the Creek Nation of Indians,"
at Washington City, and that the President sent it in to the
Senate on the 31st of the same month. The Chiefs, who
signed, were thirteen in number, and the treaty was wit-
nessed by (amongst others,) John Crowell, Agent for Indian
Affairs. On communicating this treaty to the Senate, the
President stated that the old treaty had been ratified by
him under the firm belief " that it had been concluded with
a large majority of the Chiefs of the Creek Nation, and
with a reasonable prospect of immediate acquiescence by
the remainder," &c., tfcc. He proceeded to state that this
expectation had not merely been disappointed, but that
troubles had ensued, resulting in the death of " the two
principal Chiefs who had signed it," and that the " families
and dependents" of these Chiefs, whilst in their " fugitive
condition," &c., had " been found advancing pretensions
to receive, exclusively to themselves, the whole of the
sums stipulated," &c., " in payment for all the lands of
the Creek Xation which were ceded by the terms of the
treaty," &c., &c.

After referring to the anxious desire of the United States
to carry into effect the treaty of Indian Springs, until that
was found impracticable, &c., and the hope that the assent
of the Indians would, at least, " have been given to a treaty,
by which all their lands within the State of Georgia should
have been ceded," and that this also had proved impracti-
cable, the " excepted portion" being " of comparatively
small amount and importance," he stated that he had

CHAP. XII.] PRESIDENT'S VIEWS. 427

assented to this exception, and placed it before the Senate,
" only from a conviction, that, between it and a resort to
the forcible expulsion of the Creeks from their habitations,"
&c., "there was no middle term." After stating that
the "deputation" with which the new treaty had been
concluded, consisted " of the principal Chiefs of the Nation,
able not only to negotiate, but to carry into effect the stip-
ulations to which they have agreed," and referring to
another deputation, then also at Washington, which he
characterized as " from the small party which undertook
to contract for the whole Nation," &c., "but the members
of which, according to the information collected by Gen.
Gaines," did u not exceed four hundred," &c., he added :

" In referring to the impressions under which I ratified
the treaty of the 12th of February last, I do not deem it
necessary to decide upon the propriety of the manner in
which it was negotiated. Deeply regretting the crimina-
tions and recriminations to which these events have given
rise, I believe the public interest will best be consulted by
discarding them altogether from the discussion of the sub-
ject. The great body of the Creek Nation inflexibly refuse
to acknowledge or to execute that treaty. Upon this
ground, it will be set aside, should the Senate advise and
consent to the ratification of that now communicated, with-
out looking back to the means by which the other was
effected. And, in the adjustment of the terms of the pres-
ent treaty, I have been peculiarly anxious to dispense a
measure of great liberality to both parties of the Creek
Nation, rather than to extort from them a bargain, of
which the advantages on our part could only be purchased
by hardship on theirs."

Accompanying this message, was a letter from the Secre-
tary of War to the President, giving an account of the
negotiation for the treaty, &c.

The principal differences* between the two treaties, were :

1st. By the new treaty, there was, with a small exception,
no cession of any land west of the middle of the Chatta-
hoochee — making, as was supposed, a difference to Georgia
of about 1,000,000 acres of land, besides involving the ques-

* For the precise differences, the reader is referred to the treaties in the 7th vol. of United
States Statutes at Large, the Governor's Annual Message of 1826, &c.— ED.

428 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP [Crur. XII.

tion of jurisdiction, between Georgia and Alabama, of the
western half of that river within the Creek limits.

2d. The new treaty fixed the time of removal of the
Creeks at two years, instead of 1st September, 182G, as
fixed by the old treaty : although possession was to be yield-
ed on or before 1st January, 1827.

A supplementary article was added to the treaty, on
31st March, not important to be noticed here.'""

As the matter of this treaty was an Executive, and there-
fore a secret, proceeding, until the ratification in April,
nothing official was known when Governor Troup addressed
the following letter to the President :

EXKCUTIY i; DKPAKT.M i
Jlilledgeville, \\th J . IM.JI). i

Sir : As I will proceed, on the second day of September
next, under the authority of the Legislature of Georgia, to
occupy the country ceded by the treaty concluded at the
Indian Springs, on the twelfth day of Februar : and

as the running of the dividing line between this State and
the State of Alabama must necessarily precede the su;
which will immediately follow that occupation ; as the
Government of the United States, having been formally
invited to co-operate, has, in declining it officially, n
known to the Government of Georgia, that the running of
the line is a matter in which Georgia and Alabama fire-
alone concerned, and with which the United States have
nothing to do ; as Alabama did consent, and, it is believed,
notified that consent to the United States, as she certainly
did to Georgia ; as Alabama is well disposed to co-operate
with Georgia in the execution of the work ; as it can have
no assignable connection with the existence or non-existence
of the treaty, it having been fixed unalterably by the Con-
stitution and the Articles of Agreement, as the permanent
boundary ; and as the treaty recognizes and confirms it ;
as the Government of Georgia is resolved, after having en-
countered very many obstacles, equally unlocked for and
unnecessary, to carry into effect its repeated decree ; as the

* It was, evidently, in reference to the critical situation of Indian Affair-. ;h.it il.r, .
Troup. on 28th January, 1820, issued two military orders— one for enrolling and classifying
the militia, and the other for their review and inspection. In this latter order, he said :
"It is impossible that the General ofllcers should be indifferent to the crisis in which th«
country finds itself; and, from his personal knowledge of tliftr., thy Commandur-ii
would feel ashamed to address himself to their patriotism and military pride.'' — ED.

CHAP. XII.] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 429

season will soon arrive most favorable to its execution with
accuracy and precision ; and, as General Gaines, in his
letter of the 14th June last, had, in the name of his Gov-
ernment, expressly forbid the running of the line, as well
as the survey of the lands, and had assembled troops" on
the frontier, to enforce the prohibition ; and, as the Secre-
tary of War, by the order of the President, notified the
Government, that no entry upon, or survey of, the country
would be permitted ; and, moreover, directed the Com-
manding General to employ a military force to prevent
any such entry or survey ; it is respectfully asked of the
President, whether his resolution in these respects remains
unchanged, and, if unchanged, whether the military force
will be employed against us, with or without the auxiliary aid
and co-operation of the savages, or whether these, last will
be restrained by the authority of the United States from
interposing their arms at all ; or whether they will be left to
the indulgence of their natural feelings, under the artificial
excitements of the day, to assume the character of neutrals,
or of partisans and marauders, as those feelings and ex-
citements may dictate ? It is hoped and expected that the
frankness of the President's answer will correspond with
the importance of the occasion which prompts to this
inquiry, so that nothing hereafter will be chargeable to the
imperfection of our language, or the insincerity of either
of the parties. And that the president may be in full
possession of the considerations which influence this Gov-
ernment, and, more especially, that he may acquit the
authorities here of precipitancy, prejudice, or undue
diffidence in the wisdom and patriotism of the councils
of the Union, I will take the liberty to submit the docu-
mentary and official evidence, which, it is trusted, will
sustain and justify this Government in the eyes of the
world, in the measures to which, for its own safety, it
may be obliged to have recourse.

First— then, the running of the dividing line between
Alabama and this State, has no assignable connection with
the existence or non-existence of the treaty ; the right to
run the line having accrued to Georgia, by the articles of
agreement and cession, of 1802 ; a right undisputed until
now, and which ought to be indisputable now, because i
that time made by the Constitution the permanent bound-
ary of the State.

» Gen. Gaines iTtxTlieved to have had one thousand regulars in the Indian country,
at the time to which the Governor refers.— ED.

430 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CHAP. XII.

Tlie Constitution, in tin 'Ction of the 1st article,

after defining the boundaries of the State, proceeds to au-
thorize a sale to the (Tinted State?, under the authority of
the Legislature; but, that sale being effected, (as it was by
the articles of agreement and cc-sion, of 1802,) the remain-
ing territory is declared to be the property of the whole
body of the people, and inalienable but by themsc'

Secondly, — the repeatedly official assertion of the right
of Georgia ; the official concurrence of Alabama ; and the
official acquiescence of the Government of the United
States.

Thirdly. The public acts and resolutions of Georgia,
have kept separate and distinct the subject of running the
line, and that of surveying the lands, any farther than that
the one must necessarily precede the other. But, with
respect to the right to run the line at pleasure, never hav-
ing entertained but one opinion concerning it, and disclaim-
ing any authority on the part of the United States to
bring if int •> coir :it all, whilst, in deference to the

Councils of the : .ature consented to ]

pone th< , they did not consent lo postpone the

running of the fine, and • left it where they found

it, viz.: discretionary with the Executive to run it when-
ever he might deem proper. When the Legislature au-
thorized the Executive to postpone the survey until the
expiration of the time limited by the treaty, but to pro-
ceed in it immediately at Hie expiration of that time, they
could not have intended to postpone the running of the
line, because, as that must necessarily precede the sui
such postponement would defeat the survey.

Fourthly. The Legislature were therefore indifferent
whether the treaty was declared null and void, or not, as
regarded the running of the line ; the running having been
ordered long before the treaty was even in contemplation,
had nothing to do with it, and therefore was to be carried
into execution, whether such a treaty was ever brought into
existence or not. If the treaty expedites the running now,
it is only because the running must necessarily precede the
survey, which Avill commence on the 2d day of September
next, the day after the time limited by the treaty for the
occupation of the Indians.

Fifthly. We are prohibited, by military force, from
running the same description of boundary line which we
are almost daily in the practice of running, without murmur
or complaint from the General Government. 1 mean the
exterior boundary line which separates our frontier counties

CHAP. XII.] LETTER CONTINUED. 4.3!

from the Indians. Here the Indians are equally liable to
trespass, encroachment, and interruption of all kinds, from
the whites ; to be cheated and defrauded of their effects,
ill treated in their persons, and even their lands taken from
them by the unskilfulness or dishonesty of surveyors. It
has been shown, that, in the contemplated measure, the
Government of the United States has been repeatedly in-
vited to participate, not only to protect its own interests,
but those of the Indians ; the Indians themselves would
have been invited. In running the line between the Chero-
kees and Georgia, under the treaty, both the United States
and the Cherokees would be invited to be present. If the
Indians, therefore, should, in either instance, suffer detri-
ment by an act of the Government of Georgia, the Govern-
ment of the United States would be there present to correct
or redress it.

Sixthly. Other States have run lines, separating their
territory from that of the Indians, without permission of
the General Government ; the States of Tennessee and
North Carolina and Georgia have done so, and their legal-
ity has not been questioned by that Government. In many
instances, too, these lines have passed through territory in
the exclusive occupation of the Indians. (See the Reports
of the Commissioners of the State, one dated 15th October,
1819, the other dated 13th July, 1818, running the lines
between Tennessee and North Carolina and Georgia.)

Seventhly. The Executive of the United States has re-
peatedly, uniformly,. and without reservation or condition,
admitted the right of Georgia both to run the line and
make the survey at the expiration of the time limited by the
treaty ; and, in the letter of the Secretary of War, so late
as the 30th day of August last, viz : after the Government
had been placed in possession of all the information which
it now has, of the bribery and corruption and abuse of in-
structions, practiced to procure it, the Executive of the
United States expressed itself highly gratified and delighted
that the Executive of Georgia had consented to postpone
the survey, even until the meeting of the Legislature of
the State. It will be seen, on comparing the correspond-
ence and official message of the Governor with the para-
graph of the letter of the Secretary of War, (marked E)
that the Secretary has committed a very great error. So
far from the Governor consenting to await the decision of
the Cono-ress, he protested, in the most positive terms,
against a reference of the treaty at all. The Governor

432 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP, XII.

never engaged to do more than to postpone the survey un-
til the meeting of the Legislature of the Statf.

You have perceived, Sir, from every past indication of
public sentiment, that nothing can shake the confidence of
the Government and the people of Georgia in the validity
of the treaty of the Indian Springs ; and, as I flatter myself
with the hope that the preceding illustration may afford
some insight into the absolute right of the State of Geor-
gia to run the dividing line between Georgia and Alabama,
whensoever she pleases, I have taken the liberty to trouble
you thus far.

It is my unpleasant duty to trespass upon your attention
yet a little longer. Information, not wholly of official
character, has been received, that, in the new treaty lately
negotiated with the hostile Chiefs, a line has been desig-
nated as a true dividing line between the two tribes, by
which something like 300,00* > acres of land, as acquired
by the treaty of the Indian Springs, are taken from us and
given to the Cherokees. For this treaty. < . we

care nothing; because, in declaring the inviolability of the
old, we have already proclaimed the invalidity of the '
But neither yourself nor myself can be altogether indiffer-
ent to the consequences of this ill-judged measure. A false
line has been adopted, which favors the Cherokees ; the
true one, which favors the Georgians, blotted out. The
true line will be the one followed by the Commissioners of
Georgia, who are appointed to run it. The false line will
be the one claimed by the Cherokees as the true one. I
much fear you have not been made familiar with the terri-
torial history of both tribes ; it is short, but not, on that
account, the more appropriate to the subject of this letter.
But I cannot help saying to you, that, of all the measures
which you have thought proper to adopt in relation to the
matters in controversy between the two Governments,
there is no one which has given me more pain or solicitude,
because, no one partaking of more injustice, hardship,
and oppression, than that now complained of. In giving a
new boundary to the Cherokees, you have given them new
feelings, hostile to the interests and people of Georgia :
they will recognize no other line, in future, than that you
have thought proper to prescribe ; they will suffer none
other to be run, but by coercion of the sword. Without
any controversy between the Creeks and Cherokees, in-
volving territorial boundary, or bringing this line into
question, but such as might easily, according to their
usages and customs, have been settled among themselves,

CHAP. XII.] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 433

you have become, gratuitously, a volunteer in the service of
the Cherokees, to procure for them, by cession, from the
hostile Chiefs, lands which belonged neither to them nor to
the Cherokees, but which belonged more particularly to the
friendly Creeks, and which now belong to us, by cession
from both friendly and hostile Chiefs ; thus giving to the
Cherokees a little more space for the pursuits of agricul-
ture and the civilized arts, by a permanent location assured
to them, adverse to the claims and demands of Georgia,
and preparing them for the promised admission into the
Union as an independent State. Not only so ; you will
probably have caused, on all these accounts, an expenditure
of blood and treasure to the State of Georgia, from which
she would have been otherwise exempt. And suffer me,
in no unkindly spirit, to inquire, if such be the consequen-
ces resulting from these, what will be those which must
follow the ulterior and not distant assertion, by Georgia,
of her right to all the territory of the Cherokees within
the limits settled by the articles of agreement and cession.

One of two things has happened : either the people of
Georgia, and the authorities who represent them, have, by
the illusions of interest or prejudice, or both, been over-
whelmed by sudden and impenetrable darkness, benumb-
ing and stupifying their faculties ; or the councils of those
of whose measures they complain, have been directed by a
strange infatuation.

The old treaty is proposed to be annulled, either because^
of corruption practiced to procure it ; of an abuse of
powers by the Commissioners ; of an inadequate represen-
tation of "the nation ; or of the boundary on one side being
an artificial, instead of a natural, boundary. If an irre-
versible sentence of denunciation and annulment is to be
pronounced against the old treaty, because of these, what is
to become of the new ? The old treaty, negotiated by your
own agents, in the woods, seven hundred miles from the
seat of government, with nothing but their written in-
structions to direct them, in a simple, unostentatious man-
ner, without any display of power, not even a guard or
an escort, and with a comparatively limited command of
money, with a fore-knowledge of their accountability to
you, both for the fulfilment of their instructions and the
appropriation of the money, and, finally, the formal rati-
fication, agreeably to the forms enjoined by the Constitu-
tion.

The new treaty, negotiated at Washington, in the pres-

4: 14 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTT. [CiiAP. XII.

ence of the Government, -with enough of pomp and circum-
stance to dazzle or over-awe ; where a smile gives animation
and buoyancy to despair ; and where the lion-hearted savage
himself can he made to quake and cower heueath a frown ;
where moneyed means lead into temptation, and the annals
of Indian diplomacy furnish no moral nomenclature by
which to estimate the terms, perfidious, treacherous, &c. ;
where instructions could be varied, from hour to hour, to
every exigency ; where, indeed, any party might bo con-
sidered as the Xation, and any boundary a good one: it
is under all these circumstances that, at Washington, we are
to presume the existence of per! v/ill, un-

controlled and unconstrained, united to the romantic love
of country, dictating every article and paragraph <>i' the
new treaty: wliils:, in the ia, the same

freedom has been corrupted by gold, and the will n
rected to the ruin <-f Indian rights and ii •:

"We cannot look upon these things v.-ith the yes;

but, when the effects and consequences come, however they
may IK; regarded by oilers. I can assure you they will in-
flict a deep wound upon ourselves. Ti itedexp*
and the almost inevitable bloodshed, in running both the
Alabama and Cherokee 1: . itiiing of the multi-
plied obstacles opposed to the Executive of Georgia, in the
execution of his duties, by these unfortunate events, com-
bine to make this a long, complaining, and, perhaps, impor-
tunate letter.

rlhe same public duty which impels" me to write, will
incline you to a patient reading. We are never better
employed than in hearing the griefs and lamentations of our
friends, unless, in the kindliest of all offices, thi nag-

ing and comforting them.

With the highest consideration,

11 your obedient servant,

G. M. TRO;
The President of the United States.

Accompanying this letter, as exhibits, were several doc-
uments; but their insertion here would be of no special
importance.

The new treaty was ratified on the i;iM April, ls:_'i;.::-

: YEAS —

BouKgny, ];
-

Mills, Noble, Ramloli mour, Smith, Tlioi:: \Villry-30.

NATB — Mcr-srs. BSKF.IKN, Cous, II

CHAP. XII.] SUBJECT OF NEW TREATY. 435

As early as 24th December, 1825, the Secretary of "War
had addressed a letter to the Georgia Delegation,'-" in Con-
gress, stating that, " with the strongest desire to relieve the
controversy with the Creeks, so far as Georgia was partic-
ularly concerned," &c., the Executive had been " negotiat-
ing, for some time past, on the basis of a surrender of all
their lands within the limits of Georgia," &c. — that " the
prospect of success was, for a time, flattering," but " recent
events" had " entirely dissipated it, as to the whole of their
lands in Georgia ; " that they were, however, " willing to
make a cession to the east of the Chattahoochee, insisting
on the necessity of a natural boundary as a protection
against those trespasses which they suffer when separated
only from the white population by an artificial line,"&c. —
that the Indians having " encumbered this proposition with
some conditions which" were " exceptionable, " &c., the
President had " refused to accept any proposition short of an
entire cession within the limits of Georgia," &c.; that, "to
a communication signifying this determination on the part
of the Executive," the Indian Delegation had returned a
" reply," which the Secretary of War submitted to the
Georgia Delegation, stating that Georgia's " wishes on the
question which the Executive finds itself obliged to decide,
would have a great influence on its decision," &c., &c.

The substance of the " reply" of the Indians, may be
condensed in the following paragraph :

" Our Nation respectfully demands the repeal of the treaty
of the Indian Springs in February last. In doing this, suf-
ficient reasons are assigned, and none stronger to be found
on earth, than the fact that our Nation, in its legal capacity,
was not a party to the treaty, and that they have refused to
ratify a bargain calculated to annihilate the happiness of
our people."

In replying to the Secretary, on 7th January, 1820, the
Georgia Delegation stated that their answer had been de-
layed, by the absence from Washington of some of their

* Then consistin- of Messrs. Berricu ana Cobb, in the Somite., and Uamn. C.«ry. A. Cutli-
bert, Forsyth, Haynes, Meriwether, (one of the Commissioners who had negotiated th- ti
at Indian Springs, of 12th Feb., 1825.) Tattnall and Thompson, in the House.— ED.

4-36 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

number, and "not that any difference of opinion among
them would be anticipated,'' &c. — that they had learned
with pleasure the anxiety of the President " to relieve
the controversy with the Creeks from all difficulty,'' &c. —
that whilst they had u no express instructions <m the sub-
ject," and " did not feel authorized to determine what were
the wishes of the State;" yet, in regard to the question
"whether it is most advisable to refer the treaty, with the
objections to its validity, to Congress, for their decision, <>;•,
accepting a new basis of the Chattahoochee us a boundary,"
&c., " to resume a negotiation, with a hope that certain
exceptionable conditions coupled with it," &c., " may be
satisfactorily modified," &c., they expressed the opinion
that " neither branch of the alternative" proposed " would
meet the wishes of the State of Georgia," &c. They
said :

"The State, we believe, does not. and cannot suppose that
Congress will entertain a question concerning the original
validity of a treaty ratified and promulgated by the propv-r
departments, with all the solemnities required by the Consti-
tution ; to which no objections are now urged which were
not distinctly presented to the President, prior to its sub-
mission to the Senate, and by him as distinctly brought to
the view of that body, when asking their advice and con-
sent," &c.

Adding a suggestion, that the " evidence" on which the
treaty was assailed, had been " obtained by means totally
adverse to and inconsistent with the ju of the

President of the United States, because adverse to and in-
consistent with the ascertainment of truth," they concluded :

" They know and they feel that the Indian Agent, pr
ing by the excitement of feeling into which the Special
Agent of the Government had unhappily fallen, has unduly
exerted the influence of his station, to obtain from persons,
for the most part subject to his control, a statement of cir-
cumstances which have no foundation in fact, and, from
those untutored savages who were committed to his protec-
tion, an expression of feelings which the great body of the
Nation do not entertain. They know and they feel that to
lift the veil from this transaction, to expose its real charac-

CHAP. XII.] OPPOSITION TO NEW TREATY.

ter to the President of the United States, it is only neces-
sary that that influence should be withdrawn. They still
hope that the earnest wishes of a faithful member of the
American Confederacy, will not be urged, in vain, before the
Chief Executive Magistrate ; and, with this knowledge,
this feeling and this hope, they cannot permit themselves
to believe that the President will ultimately adopt either
branch of the alternative which you propose. On the con-
trary, they rely, that, with a just respect to the rights of" the
State, and a paternal regard to the wishes and feelings of
her people, he will, by the recall of this officer, remove
the whole source of this unhappy controversy, give to
Georgia peace throughout her borders, and tranquillity and
happiness to the children of the forest."

With what effect these appeals were urged, has been
seen. It is with deep regret we find our limits will not
permit us to record here the efforts of Messrs. Berrien and
Cobb, on the floor of the Senate, to prevent the ratification
of the new treaty. Before he had learned of the action of
the Georgia Delegation, as above detailed, Governor Troup
wrote to them the following letter:

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milledgeville, §tk January, 1826.
Gentlemen : I am supported on a sick bed, only to
express my confident expectation that you will not enter-
tain, for a moment, the proposition submitted by the United
States, on the part of the hostile Indians, that proposition
being inconsistent with the treaty of the Indian Springs,
which is to be considered inviolable, and the more so, as
the Legislature of this State has again explicitly recognized
that inviolability, and directed the Executive, as hereto-
fore, to carry the treaty into full effect, according to its
stipulations. The treaty being the supreme law, and the
Articles'of agreement and cession having established the per-
manent boundary, in conformity with the 23d section of the
first Article of the Constitution, no human authority exists
to change or alter one tittle of it, save the whole people
in convention assembled. I even regret that you should
have considered it of any importance to make the con-
cession that Georgia might have been satisfied by a further
partial extinguishment of territory, as it had been my
settled purpose, from the beginning, so far as depended on

LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

me, never to receive from the United States one square foot
less than the entire country within the limits of Georgia.
You now see that if Georgia had received le<s, she n*
would have received more: nevertheless, I know you to
have been governed l>y the most pure and patriotic mo-
tives throughout

"With irreal consideration and respect,

G. M. TROIT.

Again, on 7th February, he wrote the Delegation, that,
from a suggestion contained in a letter received l>y him
from Washington, he was apprehensive that a sentence in
the foregoing letter had been misconstrued ; that, " in
speaking of a concession made by the Delegation, noth-
ing more was meant than .vhich, in answer
to the Secretary of War," the Delegation "thought it of
sufficient importance to make, \\/.: thai <u-org:a might
have been satisfied, for the time, with an extinguishment
of Indian claims to a less amount than that embr;
within the limits prescribed by the Article^ of Agreement.
and Cession ; a most innocent ion, indeed," said he,
"because you could not know that the Legislature would
or would not accept such a treaty," Arc. Referring to his
" entire correspondence with the General Government,"
from his first letter to Mr. Calhonn, then Secretary of
War, he said the Delegation would see that he had " con-
sidered the surrender of the whole as a aim <pm non? ivc.
After speaking of '• the hostile Indians dictating the
permanent boundary of the State, to suit their convenience,
aird the Executive Government of the Union deigning gra-
ciously to receive that dictation," &c., he added :

" Xot one word was written, or intended to be written,
about your having made a concession of aright of any kind :
a concession which the writer knew it would be as difficult to
extract from you, as from your friend and humble servant.'"

Meanwhile, the Governor's health was suffering from
the cares of office and too close confinement to bust]
The following extract from a private letter, is not without
interest :

CHAP. XII.] SENATORS BERRIEN AND COBB. 439

MlLLEDGEVILLE, 20tll Feb., 1826.

My Dear Sir : *

If I could spend a fortnight with yon, my health and
spirits would be restored. As it is, I am oppressed to death
with business which it is impossible for me to turn my back
on, and which is accumulating faster than I progress
in physical ability to labor through it ; so that, at bed-
time, nature is not only wearied, but entirely exhausted.
Hence, the snail-pace improvement of a condition of body,
which, under more favorable circumstances, would have
been comparatively vigorous and healthful, weeks ago.
God knows what is to be the end of it ; for I dread a re-
lapse more than death : yet, the business must go on.

Very sincerely and affectionately,
Dr. Daniell. ' G. M. TROTJP.

[1826.] On the 22d of April, Messrs. Berrien and Cobb
wrote separate letters to the Governor, announcing the
decision of the Senate on the new treaty, and their unsuccess-
ful efforts so to modify its provisions, as to render them less
objectionable to Georgia, and to do justice to the Mclntosh
Indians, &c., &c. The limits of this work do not permit
the publication of these letters of the Georgia Senators.
Mr. Cobb spoke of the able support of Judge "White, of
Tennessee ; and Judge Berrien, of the " frank and cordial
support from General Harrison, of Ohio, from Col. Hayne,
of South Carolina, from Mr. Yan Buren, of oSTew York •
and, though last, not least, from Judge White, of Ten.
nessee."

To Messrs. Cobb and Berrien, Governor Troup wrote :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )
Milledgeville, tth May, 1820. )

Gentlemen : I have received the several communications
which you did me the favor to write, explanatory of the
proceedings of the Senate, connected with the amendment
of the old, and adoption of the new, treaty. It gave me
pleasure to learn that you had disapproved those proceed-
ngs, and voted against the instrument called the new
itreaty.

I recognize no power in the Senate of the United States,
in conjunction with the President, to abrogate, for any
political consideration whatever, any treaty constitutionally

440 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CHAP. XII.

ratified ; much less the power assumed by that body, to re-
voke an Article of the Convention of ISOi*, between the
United States and Georgia, which establishes the boundary
between Georgia and Alabama, and to prescribe a new
boundary different from and inconsistent with it.

I recognize no power, in tin- Piv-ident and Senate, to
guaranty t<> the Indians, in perpetuity, those lands, which,
by the Convention, they were pledged to surrender to Geor-
gia at an' early day, and which ought to have been surren-
der ed long ;:

I cannot admit that the President and Senate can render
null and void, an act of the Legislature of this State,
founded on a treaty constitutionally ratitied. by an arbitrary
revocation of that treaty.

The cancelmentof the old treaty had been resolved, right
or wrong; lor, this extraordinary and unheard of measure
was taken on the naked allegation of the President, unsup-
ported by a single document; whilst the ungenerous rebuke,
by the President, of the friendly Chief's, in his official
message, shows the temper which dictated it.

Unless all the sources of information here, shall prove to
be erroneous and deceptive, the State (if the validity of the
new treaty be admitted,) has been defrauded of one million
of acres of her very best lauds.

Do me the favor to present my best thanks to General
Harrison, Colonel Hayne, and Mr. Van Buren, arid Judge
"White, for their able and liberal co-operation with you. in
the cause of the weak against the strong; and, as F trust,
of the just against the unjust.

With great respect and consideration,

G. M. TKOUP.

To another letter from the Governor, Judge Berrien re-
plied on 30th May, giving, more particularly, the grounds
of opposition to the treaty, the injunction of secrecy hav-
ing been previously removed from the proceedings of the
Senate. Unable to insert the entire letter, we give the
following synopsis.*

Speaking of the opposition of Mr. Cobb and himself, he
said :

"Our course on this subject was plain and straight-
forward. We denied the power of Congress to annul the

* Mr. Cobb was absent, owing to domestic misfortunes, and could not join in thin
letter. — ED.

CHAP. XII.] LETTER OF SENATOR BERRIEST. 441

old treaty, without the consent of Georgia. We de-
clared onr readiness to investigate, and our ability to repel,
any charge of fraud which could be brought against it ;
but we refused to consider the depositions taken by Gen.
Gaines and Major Andrews, as evidence on this question,
because they were exparte, were taken in a collateral pro-
cedure, and while the Indian Agent, retaining his station
substantially, though nominally suspended, was able to
exercise an undue influence in the Nation."

After referring to some intermediate matters, the writer
added :

"It was at this period that my colleague and Major
Meri wether, after examining various maps, came to the
conclusion which has been communicated to you by the
former, and which was announced as our opinion to the
Secretary of War ; but he was, at the same time, told that
the proposed cession, afterwards carried into effect in the
supplemental Article, would riot remove our objections to
the treaty, nor would anything short of a surrender, in
terms, of all the lands within the limits of Georgia. The
course which we prescribed to ourselves, was this : First,
to maintain the old treaty inviolate— Second, failing in this,
to obtain a cession, in terms, of all the lands in Georgia,
under the new treaty — Third, if this could not be done, to
obtain as much land as we could, averring, at the same time,
our determination to oppose the treaty as an infraction ot
the rights of Georgia."

Referring to various unsuccessful motions to amend, &c.,

the letter said :

" In all this we failed. The treaty was ratified, and we
recorded our votes against it. The reason assigned for i
ratification, and which appeared to influence the members
generally, was, that there was no evidence that any of the
Georgia' lands were excluded; and that, if, when the line
between Georgia and Alabama was run, it should appear
that any had been left out, immediate measures would
taken to procure it. It was in vain that I replied that the
wishes and immediate rights of a sovereign State
not to be thus put to hazard— that the uncertainty under
which we were acting, was the fault of the United States,
as she had prevented or delayed the running of the line
between Alabama and Georgia— that, unless we con
have all our lands, we were entitled to ask that the
treaty should be maintained, or the charges against r

442 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

proved, and that the Senate ought not to shrink from the
investigation. My colleague reiterated these ideas, and
made other suggestions ; but they were unavailing. The
Senate gladly avoided the unpleasant investigation which
awaited them, if they rejected the new treaty; and ratified
it, as I firmly believe, rather in the hope than the belief
that all the lands within the limits of Georgia would be
coded by it.

" Defeated in these particulars, I still thought it an act of
duty to the friends of Mclntosh, and interesting to Geor-
gia, to attempt something for their relief, and for the
encouragement of their emigration. In this 1 have suc-
ceeded to an extent which you have no doubt seen, as the
act has been published. Then came the bill appropriating
money to carry the treaty into effect, and with it the
discovery of the fraud which is developed in the report of
the Committee of Conference, which I sent you. This com-
pletely turned the tables on our accusers, and such was the
indignation of the Senate, that, if the new treaty had
been then in our power, it would have been promptly re-
jected," &c.

The letter concluded :

" Such, Sir, is a brief narrative of this affair. "We can-
not say, with Francis, that we have lost everything but
our honor ; but we can say, with honest pride, that it is
unimpaired."

The " fraud," to which Judge Berrien referred, as de-
veloped in the report of the committee, was shown up in
that report made to the Senate on 17th May ; from which
the following is extracted :

" The paper, marked A, is a copy of the statement fur-
nished to the Secretary, by the conferees ; and, as appears
by his last letter, corresponds with that spoken of by Mr.
McKenney* in his report, as having been furnishc-.
him by the Cherokees, Ridge andVann, and by him shown
to the Secretary. From the facts stated <n t!»' <l:><-n merits
submitted* it is manifest that it is the design of the del < 'ju-
t-ion by whom the treaty was negotiated, to make a distribu-
tion ^ of the greater part of the money to le ]«?/'</ hy the
United States, under the treaty, amon<i themselvcf, three
Cherokee Indians, who had no interest in the lands, and,
consequently, were not entitled to any j><>rtion of the money,

• Then at the head of the Burcan of Indian Affairs.— ED.

CHAP. XII.] FRAUD IN NEW TREATY. 443

and a few selected individuals, in gross fraud of the rights
of the Nation. The particulars of the contemplated distri-
bution are stated in the paper marked A," &c.

We have italicized a portion of the above, that the reader
may note some of the influences by which the new treaty
was negotiated ; and now submit " the paper marked A."
The reader will bear in mind, that the " three Cherokee In-
dians" were John Bldge, Joseph Yann and Major Ridge,
mentioned below.

Statement referred to in the letter of James Barbour,
Esq., Secretary of War, and communicated to him by the
committee of conference, showing the terms of the agree-
ment for the proposed distribution of the money to be
received under the Creek treaty.

John Kidge, $15,000 ; Joseph Vann, $15,000 ; Opothle
Yoholo, $10,000 ; John Stidham, $10,000 ; Menawee,
$10,000; Charles Cornnells. $10,000; Mad Wolf, $6,000;
Paddy Carr, $500; Tippee,' a young man, $200; to the
remaining members of the Delegation, each, (seven in
number,) $5,000, $35,000 ; Little Prince, $10,000 ; Took-
enehaw, of Tuckebatchie, $10,000 ; Tuskenuggee Mallow,
$10,000; Major Kidge, of the Cherokees, $10,000; Tuck-
ebatchie Tuskenuggee, $1,000; Tuskenehaw Cusseta, §2,-
000; Hubi Hojo, $1,000; McGillivray, $4,000.

On the 9th of May, the bill to appropriate money to
carry into effect the new treaty, being before the House,
the Representatives from Georgia (through Mr. Forsyth,)
presented a protest, signed by all of them, from which the
following extracts are here made :

That, by a contract, made at the Indian Springs, between
certain Chiefs of the Creek tribe, and the Commissioners of
the United States, on the 12th of February, 1825, the claim
of the Creek Indians to the land occupied by that tribe
in Georgia, was extinguished, and provision made for their
removal by the 1st day of September, 1826 ; that this con-
tract was, on the 7th of March, 1825, duly and solemnly
ratified and proclaimed by the President of the United
States, acting by the advice and with the consent of the
Senate ; and that Congress, anticipating such contract, had
appropriated the sum of 210,000 dollars towards the exe-

444 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Cii.vp. XII.

cntion of it. This contract partially fulfilled, on the part
of the United States, their obligation, under the compact
with Georgia, of L802, and removed every difficulty inter-
posed by the occupation of the Creek Indians to the full
exercise of all the vested rights of the State over a consid-
erable portion of her soil and territory. That the under-
signed are under the solemn conviction, that neither the
President alone, nor the President and Senate conjointly,
nor the Government of the United States, have any con-
stitutional power, without the consent of Georgia, to inter-
rupt or invalidate, on any pretense whatsoever, the right
secured to that State, by this contract, made in obedience
to an Act of Congress, and ratih'ed with all due solen-nity :
That the new contract, for which an appropriation is now
asked, differs from that of the Indian Springs, in this :
that it does not provide for the removal of the Creek In-
dians, prior to 1827, and does not expressly provide for
their removal from til! the Lands occupied by them in Geor-
gia. The undersigned are, therefore, compelled, by a just
sense of what is due to Georgia, to protest, as they do m<-st
solemnly pr<> inst it, as violating the rights of that

member of the Union of which they are the Uepresenta-
tives, leaving it to the Constitutional organs of the State
sovereignty to vindicate or to waive those rights, as their
own sense of propriety, their duty to the people of the
State, and their reverence for the Union of the States, un-
der the Federal Constitution, may did

A long and excited debate arose, in the House of liepre-
sentatives, upon the bill to appropriate money to carry into
effect the treaty, in which several of the Georgia "Repre-
sentatives, particularly Mr. Forsyth, Cols. Tattnall and
Cuthbert, and General Thompson, took part. Mr. Forsyth
denounced the whole affair of the new treaty as " a stu-
pendous fraud," and, in several exceedingly able r.nd elo-
quent speeches, vindicated the State of Georgia and her
authorities, &c. Col. Tattnall, denying the power of the
Federal Government to undo the old treaty, declared his
readiness, if force should be resorted to, to shoulder his
musket, to defend, at every hazard, the rights of Georgia,
and to enforce that treaty.

Mr. Forsyth's speeches were the most elaborate of those

CHAP. XII.] MESSRS. FORSYTE AND BERRIEN. 445

delivered by Representatives from Georgia, and \vere ex-
ceedingly pungent and able ; but we cannot give even a
synopsis. On the 8th of May, referring to the determina-
tion of Georgia to survey the lands, he said :

"This determination of the State peaceably to survey its
own lands, was the pretext for one of the most high-handed
measures ever witnessed in a free Government. "The right
was unquestionably with Georgia. Admitting it to have
been doubtful ; allow even that the President was correct;
that his obligation was to interpose ; see, sir, how that ob-
ligation was performed. No judge was called on, no
magistrate sought to command the services of the Marshals,
Sheriffs, or any other civil officer ; but a direct appeal was
made to force, in the most odious of its forms — military
force — a portion of the standing army, of the hired sol-
diery, were the instruments ordered to be used against a
State law — a military force previously carried to the scene
of action, with the design of preserving peace among the
Indians ! I ask, by what authority the President employed
this military force, in a time of profound peace, against
one of the confederacy ? "

On the 19th of May, the question being before the Sen-
ate, on the report of the committee of conference, consid-
erable debate followed, in which Judge Berrien took part ;
and from his speech we extract the following :

" The murder of Mclntosh— the defamation of the Chief
Magistrate of Georgia — the menace of military force to
coerce her to submission — were followed by the traduction
of two of her cherished citizens, employed as the Agents
of the General Government in negotiating the treaty-
gentlemen, whose integrity will not shrink from a compari-
son with that of the proudest and loftiest of their accusers.
Then the sympathies of the people of the Union were ex-
cited in behalf of ' the children of the forest,' who were rep-
resented as indignantly spurning the gold, which was offered
to entice them from the graves of their fathers, and reso-
lutely determined never to abandon them. The incidents
of the plot being thus prepared, the affair hastens to its
consummation. A new treaty is negotiated here — a pure
and spotless treaty. The rights of Georgia and of Alabama
are sacrificed ; the United States obtain a part of the lands,
and pay double the amount stipulated by the old treaty ;

446 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROITP. [CHAP. XII.

and those pure and noble and unsophisticated sons of the
forest, having succeeded in imposing on the simplicity of
this Government, next concert, under its eye, and with its
knowledge, the means of defrauding their own constituents,
the Chiefs and Warriors of the Creek Nation.

For their agency in exciting the Creeks to resist the for-
mer treaty, and in deluding this Government to annul it,
three Cherokees, Ridge, Vann, and the, father of the for-
mer, are to receive forty tl £02tor0 of the money
stipulated to be paid by the United States to the Chiefs
of the Creek Nation ; and the Government, when informed
of the projected fraud, deems itself powerless to avert it.
Nay, when apprised by your amendment that yon also had
detected it, that Government does not hesitate to interpose,
by one of its high functional'! .our proceeding ;
by a singular fatuity, thus giving its countenance and sup-

Eortto the commission of the fraud. Sir, I speak of what
as passed before your eyes, even in this hall.
One fifth of the whole purchase money i> to lie given to
three Cherokee*. TKX Tn<>rs.\Ni> POM.AKS reward one of
the heroes of Fort Minis — a boon which it so well becomes
us to bestow. A tew chosen favorites divide among them-
selves upwards of OXK Ilrxnurn AND I-II-TY Tn DOL-
LARS, leaving a pittance for distribution among the great
body of the Chiefs and Warriors of the nation. But it is
the price of blood — of the blood of Mclntosh. Shall it not
be freely distributed among those who shed i

Speaking of Gov. Troup, in connection with the '; menace
to employ the military force of the Union" to prevent the
sui vey of the lands, Judge Berrien said :

"To this lawless mandate, her Chief Magistrate submit-
ted. Unable to repress the feelings which had been excited
by the contumely of the Government and its Agents, he
nevertheless respected the peace of the Union, and the
tyranny was unresisted. The Senate will permit me t<-
a passing word of this calumniated individual — the friend
and companion of my earlier years — whose name has been
associated, in the journals devoted to the Administration,
with the epithets of madness and of treason. Sir, there is no
man, however vindictive his feelings, however led aslray
by the reveries of a malevolent fancy, who, in the moment
of retirement, communing with God and his own conscience,
had the hardihood to avow to himself a belief of the cal-
umnies which were uttered against the Chief Magistrate of

CHAP. XII] ACTION OF CONGRESS. 44.7

Georgia. Love for his country — indignation against her
oppressors — these are the qualities of the patriot — these are
the qualities which he has exhibited in this controversy."

Congress passed the bill ; but it provided that the amount
payable under the third article of the treaty, "Repaid to
the Chiefs of the Creek Nation, to "be divided amongst the
Chiefs and Warriors of said Nation • and that the same le
done under the direction of the Secretary of War, IN A FULL
COUNCIL OF THE NATION, convened upon notice for that pur-
pose"

Congress also passed another " Act to aid certain Indians
of the Creek Indians in their removal to the west of the
Mississippi." The Act provided for the payment and dis-
tribution of certain bounties, &c., amongst the warriors
emigrating within a certain time, payment for improve-
ments, &c. ; and is the Act referred to by Judge Berrien,
(in his letter of 30th May, to the Governor,) as an encour-
agement to the friends of Mclntosh in their emigration, &c.

The following private letter may be properly inserted

here :

MILLEDGEVILLE, 12th May, 1826.

My Dear Sir: It is true that something useful might
have" been accomplished for State rights, if my measures
could have had their full effect. As it is, there may be
some merit in having intended well and attempted so
much. With the United States Government and the United
States people against ns, and a lean and shrinking majority
at home, giving a feeble and reluctant support, it was not
to be expected that measures of vigor, and adapted to the
occasion, could succeed. I wished nothing more for their
success, than a firm, unyielding majority ; and, with such,
I would have given no premium for the assurance of a tri-
umph. It is most mortifying to me, that, whilst late events
make it proper to have recourse to similar measures, we
are likely to find similar results. To sustain the old treaty
in its integrity, I would only ask the support of a firm, un-
yielding majority. Yet, what is to be done for principle or
for State rights, if those, who are most concerned, retire from
the defence, and leave me to sustain the burden of it ?
cannot conceive a condition more pitiable than this ; and I
regard it with the more loathing, because you know how

OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

our enemies will rejoice. We have been defrauded of at
least a million of acres of our very best land, In-sides being
grossly insulted ; and yet, you will hear it said 'tis not
worth quarreling about.

Very affectionately, your friend,

G. M. TROUP.
Dr. W. C. Daniell,

Savannah.

The next subject claiming the attention of the Govern-
ment of Georgia, was the running of the boundary line
between that State and Alabama; a subject to which refer-
ence has already been made, and which derived additional
importance from its connection with the Creek controversy.
As early as 1822, the Legislature had recognized the fact
that the line had never been run, and the Governor had
been requested "to take as speedy measures as possible" on
the subject. The same thing was substantially done at the
session of 1823, and, again at the extra session of 1825;
and in December, 1825, nn appropriation was made to run
this line as well as that- between Georgia and Florida.

On 26th January, 1826, the Governor wrote to the Sen-
ators from Georgia, requesting them to learn from the
Secretary of War, whether it was "the intention of the
United States Government to prohibit the running of the
dividing line between Alabama and this State.'" lie added :

" General Gaines is explicit enough, but the Secretary
of War is sometimes obscure on this subject. The object
is to possess myself of an imequivocal declaration, which
will admit of but one construction, and without delay."

In his reply to the application of the Georgia Senators,
the Secretary of War wrote them on 20th February, stat-
ingthathe had been instructed by the President to say,
" that the uncertain posture of affairs in respect to the
lands proposed to be surveyed, and through which the di-
viding line referred to, is to be run, renders it unnecessary,
if not improper, that any definitive answer should be given
to the questions contained in your letter, at this time:" but
that " the earliest moment" which would relieve "the sub-

CHAP. XII.] LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. 449

ject of these difficulties," would be seized to furnish the
most satisfactory answer possible, &c.

On 9th March, Gov. Troup wrote to the President, and
said :

I embrace, with great pleasure, the first instant, after hav-
ing been myself corrected, to correct an error into which,
from the indistinct information received here, of the pro-
visions of the new treaty, I was inadvertently led, in the
communication which I had the honor to address to you on
the llth day of February last.

Necessarily precluded from acting on official informa-
tion, until the fate of the new treaty liad been decided, it
became my duty, for the purpose of averting apprehended
evil, to act promptly upon the best which the nature of
the case afforded ; that, of course, is still the best I can re-
sort to, and it warrants the belief that the 300,000 acres
supposed to be given to the Cherokees, have not been given
to them, but to the Creeks ; and, consequently, that the
dividing line between the two tribes, viz. : Mclntosh's line
of 1S22, will, for any thing contained in the new treaty,
remain unaltered. It is confidently hoped, therefore, that,
with regard to the running of that line, we may experience
no difficulty or obstruction from the Cherokees.

It is the alteration of the other, and most important one,
viz : the line between the Big Bend and Nickajack, ^ as
guarantied by the Articles of Agreement and Cession, which
remains a subject of specific and distinct remonstrance ;
and it is the inevitable permanency of that alteration,
which, replete with evil and full of danger, produces here
inquietude and alarm.

The new treaty having its foundation in the last resolu-
tion of the hostile Chiefs, officially declared, that they will
never surrender the country, but with their lives; the
inference is irresistible that our rights, depending, for the
future, on that resolution, the new boundary is to be
considered a permanent one ; an inference the more war-
rantable, because the old treaty, being as much a matter
of contract, passing vested rights, as the Articles of Agree-
ment and Cession, if the new treaty can rescind the old, it
can rescind the Articles of Agreement and Cession ; and
it is the boundary, as established ^by those articles, which
now constitutes the chief value of them.

The articles of the treaty, either as negotiated or rati-
fied, (if ratified at all,) not being before me, I can only

450 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUl'. [CHAP. XII.

write of what I understand them to be; with respect to
other matters of fact, I may be equally deceived or mista-
ken; with respect to the inference drawn from them, I
cannot be. To avert mischief by timely remonstrance,
and not to misrepresent the views or proceedings of the
Government of me United States, was the only objert in
addressing the letter to you of the llth ultimo; ami it', in
this or that, there be. anything else of error or miscon-
ception, none will be more ready to make acknowledge*
ment and reparation, than,

Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

G. M. TKOH-.

On the 15th of February, Gov. Troup had written to the
Georgia Delegation in Congress, stating that, in summoning
the Board of Public Works to meet on the 3d Monday in
March, he was "obliged, simultaneously, to make p:vpara-
tions for the running of the dividing lines between this
State and Alabama, and between this State and the
Cherokees." He added: "These preparations were in a
state of forwardness, when I was unexpectedly informed
that a new treaty had been negotiated, at "Washington,
with the hostile Chiefs, superseding the old one, and estab-
lishing new boundaries, not only with Alabama, but with
the Cherokees." After expressing uncertainly as to the
precise details of the projected treaty, &c., &c., he added :
"You will see, from the tenor and spirit of the letter" (of
llth Feb. )" to the President, (a copy of which, with ihe an-
nexed documents, is herewith for\\arded for your in.' nna-
tion,)that no time was lost, on my part, if any thing could be
hoped from this last appeal to the Executive Government.
You will, if you think proper, be pleased to make known
to it, informally, what could not with so much propriety be
submitted in that letter, as justilicatory of the immediate
exercise of an absolute right, that it will not be pos.-ihle to
commence the work of Internal Improvement, as author-
ized by the last Legislature, and apparently with the
universal sanction of the people now warmly embarked in
this interesting cause, and for which every necessary
preparation can be made by the opening of the summer,

CHAP. XII.] GEORGIA AND ALABAMA LINE. 451

unless our permanent Western and temporary Northern
boundary are satisfactorily ascertained and marked."

On, the 3d of February, Gov. Troup opened a corres-
pondence with Gov. Murphy, of Alabama ; and, in reply
to the letter of the former, the latter wrote, enclosing to
Gov. Tronp a resolution of the Legislature of Alabama,
authorizing the Governor of that State to appoint two fit
persons, as Commissioners, to co-operate with the Georgia
Commissioners, in ascertaining the boundary line between
the two States, " according to the terms ot the compact
made between the United States and the State of Georgia,
in the year 1802," &c. The Governor of Alabama having
solicited the views of Gov. Troup, on the subject, a long,
but interesting and very friendly, correspondence ensued,
the result of which was the appointment of two Commis-
sioners on the part of Alabama, (with a request, on her
part, to the Secretary of "War, to appoint U. S. Commis-
sioners and an Engineer,) and the appointment of three
Commissioners on the part of Georgia.

The Secretary of War, on 4th June, communicated (to
Gov. Troup) his reply to the Governor of Alabama, in
which he said no provision had been made by Congress,
" for the appointment of a Commissioner," and no money
had been appropriated " to meet the expenses of such an
appointment"; and he added that the President "would
fain hope that this subject may be equitably and satisfac-
torily adjusted by the two States, without the interposition
of the Government of the United States," &c., &c. On
the 17th June, Gov. Troup wrote to the Secretary of War:
" It is not apprehended that any serious difficulty will
occur between the two States ; and the expression of this
sentiment by the President, so favorable to the removal of
one embarrassment, will prove, it is hoped, the precursor
of the removal of all, in the unhappy differences which
have occurred between the General Government and this,
on other subjects connected with it."

[1826.] On this subject of the boundary line between
Georgia and Alabama, it must suffice here to say, that the
Alabama Commissioners, Arthur P. Bagby and Charles

452 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [€HAP. XII.

Lewis, and the Georgia Commissioners, Richard A. Blount,
Joel Crawford and Everard Hamilton, met at Fort Mit-
chell, on the 1st of July, ran an experimental or random
line, and having failed to agree on the true line, the Geor-
gia Commissioners proceeded alone to run the line, finishing
their labors on the 19th of September ; and that line,
although not acquiesced in by Alabama during the admin-
istration of Gov. Troup, was virtually regarded as the true
line then, and has over since formed the dividing line
between the two States . The reader will find this subject
referred to in the annual message of 1

It is pr<i])cr to add, in this connection, that, in June of
this year, the Governor of Alabama renewed the corres-
pondence, giving his • ;' the construction of the
articles of agreement and c ;• as they related
to boundary, " in return" as lie said, for the views which
Governor Troup had presented. He added: "I have
great pleasure in doing so, as it affords another instance of
the undisguised i'nvd<>m of all our communications/' The
concluding part that letter, is, as
follows :

" With respect to the new treaty and the rights violated
by it, I am hap]' between us an entire accordance

oi' sentiment. If hi; leaching by ex-

ample, and the actions of men are to be referred to their
true and appropriate causes, I do not know to what place
in our story arc to ho assigned the strange proceedings
connected with it, or what figure they will cut there. This
much is certain, that, with regard to us, the old treaty is
unimpaired; for it cannot be unknown even to those who
sought its abrogation, that the rights vested by it «ire
vested forever, and that the proclamation which announced
its legal supremacy, remains an unchangeable record, to all
future time, for the government of courts of justice, whose
ministers through a! \vhether of refinement or of

barbarism, must recognize it as passing interests to Georgia
and Alabama, which, by the universal rule of natural
justice and equity, no human power can divest. When
the passions of the day shall subside, and a calm review
is taken of the past, it is not to be doubted that the removal
of the Indians will be considered as an indispensable act
of justice and atonement both to Georgia and Alabama,

CHAP. XII.] LETTER TO DR. DAUIELL. 453

and one of necessary precaution for the preservation and
happiness of the Indians themselves."

The following private letter from Gov. Tronp, to his friend
Dr. "W. C. Daniell, will be read with interest :

MILLEDGEVILLE, Sth June, 1826.

My Dear Sir : I have just returned from my plantation,
and take the first occasion to write an answer to your last
friendly and obliging letter.

The Government of the United States has long since been
officially notified by the Governor of this State, that he
would proceed to survey the lands, in conformity with the
Act of the Legislature, passed in pursuance of the provis-
ions of the old treaty, without regard to any thing which
might be done on the part of the Government of the United
States to impair or invalidate those provisions.

If any thing had subsequently transpired to satisfy me
of the incorrectness or impolicy of this measure, be as-
sured that, so far from its being persisted in tor the sake of
consistency, it would be most cheerfully and unhesitatingly
abandoned. It has so happened, however, that every event
'which has followed that notification, has confirmed my
belief in the propriety of it, and rendered the measure more
indispensable than ever. It is impossible for me, believing,
as I do, in the unconstitutionally of the new, and in the
constitutionality of the old, treaty, to suspend the execu-
tion of a law express and mandatory in its character,
whilst no justification could be rendered for such suspen-
sion, but my own honest conviction of the irrevocability
of the old treaty and the utter worthlessness of the new.
And this would be the very best reason which could be as-
signed in support of the resolution to execute the law : for
I would never permit myself, even in extremity, to say that
we had been deterred from doing what we had a right
to do, what we had an interest to do, and what by the
competent Constitutional power we were commanded to
do, only because we wero threatened with a good whip-
ping if we attempted to do it. This, the people whose
interest it is, have a right to say; but, should they say it,
I assure you, my friend, I will not be with the people.

I think you Will agree with me, now, that if my resolu-
tion to survey the lands, this time last year, had been backed
by a strong and resolute majority, we might have been
spared many humiliations and sacrifices. "We had then
good reason for changing the resolution — none now for

454 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [('HAI\ XII.

changing this. The same reason which would postpone the
survey, would postpone the running of the dividing line ;
for. the one is equally forbidden as the other.

It is quite superfluous to say to you, that 1:0 man in my
station respects public opinion more than myself, i believe
it may sometimes bo wrong — when it is so, it will be dis-
regarded. If I am deserted, it will be no cause of complaint
with me, because both th and the in1< /'• -st involved

are theirs : my share is so small that it is not worth fretting
about.

Affectionatelv, your friend,

G. M. TKODP.
Dr. Daniell.

The 4th of July, ISiM, was rendered yd more memor-
able, by the decease, on that day. of Tn<»i and
JOHN An'

By invitation of the citizens of Milledgeville, Governor
Tronp consented to pronounce a culogium, k> commemorative
of the virtues, the talents and the public services" of these
patriots. In consenting to deliver the eulogy op Jefferson,
(the death of Mr. Adams not being then kno\vn at Mil-
ledgeville,) the Governor, in reply to the invitation of the
committee, said :

"Nothing, but an early attachment to Mr. Jefferson,
made stronger by every incident, of his life to the hour of
his death, could induce me to yield a willing obedience to
your invitation of this morning. On any other occasion,
the duties of my office, my utter ineompetency to the task
;iied me, and especially the obligation to be present at
the approaching commencement of Franklin College, would
have forbidden it."

The eulogy was delivered in the Baptist Church at Mil-
ledgeville, on 20th July, and did justice to both the illustri-
ous dead ; but we have not space even for extracts, and
must refer to his equally eloquent notice of the deceased, in
his annual message of that year. In furnishing a copy of
the address, for publication, the Governor said :

"A copy of the address is reluctantly yielded to your
request. Acceptable as it may have been to the enlight-
ened auditory for whom only it was intended, and who

CHAP. XII.] DINNER AT INDIAN SPRINGS. 455

only could make indulgent allowance for its imperfections,
it is deemed unworthy of the press, and much more so of
the occasion* which produced it."

On the 17th of July, Governor Troup, being on a visit to
the Indian Springs, partook of a public dinner tendered
him by the citizens of Forsyth and its vicinity, in con-
sideration of the " eminent services" he had rendered and
was still rendering the State. The fourth regular toast was :

" Our distinguished guest — Gratitude for his public ser-
vices, honor for his integrity, and admiration for his talents."

In returning his thanks for the compliment, he said :

" It is not the less nattering because it is felt to be unde-
served. 'Tis true I have endeavored something for the
public interest — 'tis not the less true that I have, so far,
endeavored to little or no purpose. You are not ignorant
of the causes. If, however, for any thing, merit be clue to
any, it is most especially due to you, gentlemen, and to
those like you, who have at all times, in the true spirit of
patriotism, and in seasons of difficulty and trouble, been
ready to lend a manly and liberal support in sustaining the
rights and honor of the country."

He gave, in return, the following sentiment :

" The prospect before us — It is brightened by the union
of honest men for the defence of State rights, and Georgia
promises to be herself once more."

Some time in June, the Governor received information,
from Mr. Fulton, Chief Engineer, and Hon. Wilson Lump-
kin, a member of the Board of Public Works, then in the
Cherokee country, of what seemed a determination by the
Indians not to permit those gentlemen to proceed with their
official examination, &c. In communicating to the Secre-
tary of War, on 29th June, the letter of Mr. Fulton, Gov.
Troup said :

The enclosed copy of a letter, this morning received,
from our Chief Engineer, engaged in a reconnoissance un-
der orders, and within the unsettled limits of Georgia, will
inform you that he has been stopped by the Cherokees, and
his further progress threatened to be arrested by force ; and,

* Amongst the other distinguished citizens who pronouaced uulogies on Jofferson aud
Adams, were Mr. Forsyth, at Augusta, Hon. T. U. P. Charlton, at Savannah, and Hon. Thomas
Spalding, at Darien. — ED.

456 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciup. XII.

further, that these infatuated and misguided people threaten
to resist, by force, the execution of the measure concerted
by the Governments of Georgia and Alabama, for ascertain-
ing the dividing line between the twoSta'

On the Cth of Au;.'u>t, the Secretary of "War, after notic-
ing the receipt of the Governor's letter and enclosure, and
stating that they had been laid before the President, said :

" I am directed to - >u, his opinion, that a sunvy

or reoonnoiasance of the lands secured by treaties to the
Cherokee Indians, to which treaties the. United States arc
parties, and to the obs which their faith is

pledged, cannot be lawfully made without the consent
of the Indians. To obtain that consent, the letter, a copy
of which is herewith enclosed, has been written to the
Agent of the Tinted States with the Cherokee IncK
The President i- persuaded that this consent may be ob-
tained by amicable and paciiic means. If, however, it
cannot, he deems ;ts altogether

unwarrantable. If, in the jn.-ti.e-s of this view, the consti-
tuted authorities of ' .uld coincide, it will be
gratifying 1o the I'jv-ideiit. i!nt. to ^uard a-'ain'-t the
consequences of different views on that part, he feels him-
self required to protest, in the name of ihe United States,
against the use of forcible and hostile means to effect the
purposes referred to in your letter."

Gov. Troup, in his reply, dated 2Gth August, said :

To ray letter of the 29th June, announcing the resolution
of the Oherokeea to resist the officers of Georgia in the exe-
cution of their duties, 1 did not receive your answer until
yesterday. Accept my thanks for your politeness in trans-
mitting, by an enclosure, a copy of your communication to
the United States Agent, and tender them, if you please,
to the President, for the counsel he has thought proper to
interpose on this occasion.

As, in my letter to which yours is an answer, no intima-
tion had been given of an intention to resort to force to
execute surveys or rcconnoissances. in the Indian country, I
could not perceive on what author! !y such intention had
been assumed, as the basis not only of a premonition that
the employment of force by this Government, for such
purposes, would be altogether ; table, but of a

formal protest, in behalf of the I'nited States, against it.
Whilst no doubt was entertained of the constitutional
right of Georgia to protect from insult, and against any

CHAP. XII.] LETTER TO SECRETARY OF WAR. 45 f

power, her officers employed within her territory, in execu-
tion of her own orders, whether that territory be in the
occupation of Indians or not, it had not been resolved,
as you seem to have imagined, to resort to force to exe-
cute the engineering reconnoissances or surveys in the
Indian country; it was resolved to give effectual protec-
tion to our Commissioners engaged in running the dividing
line between Georgia and Alabama ; a measure which, if
it had been provoked, the Executive Government of the
United States should have been the last to complain of.
It was not considered possible, that, after having given its
cheerful acquiescence to the running of the line, it should
have denied to Georgia and Alabama the only means by
which, in a probable contingency, the measure could be
executed ; and that, whilst the two States, under the en-
couragement of the United States, were actually engnged
in its execution, they should be enjoined by the United
States to forbear the only means by which their officers
could be protected from a threatened insult. It was
resolved, therefore, to have recourse to force for the pro-
tection of the Commissioners. All the measures were
taken to make this force available; and, it gives me
pleasure to state, as highly honorable to the Chief of it,
that for this purpose Georgia would have had the cheerful
co-operation of the Government of Alabama.

If the President has considered it his duty to interpose
his formal protest against the execution, by Georgia, ot re-
connoissances or surveys of any kind, in her own territory
occupied by the Indians, much more is it conceived to be
the duty of the Governor of Georgia to protest, most
solemnly, against the doctrines on which that protest is
founded.

Sir, it would be unavailing to open a discussion of this
subject ; the United States Government has long since con-
cluded to discuss nothing with the States ; it asserts suprem-
acy, and in the spirit of supremacy it orders and executes.
Within her chartered limits, Georgia is denied power to
ask the Indians to sell to her, her own lands. She is denied
the right of way or intercourse, by her own soil, with her
sister States. Within her own territory she is divested of
all the rights of sovereignty and jurisdiction, which apper-
tain to it, as if she were the greatest stranger, and is treated,
in relation to it, as if she had neither charter, title, claim,
or pretence of claim. The Indians are the lords paramount,
and, whilst we are not permitted to demand right at all, we
58

458 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CHAP. XII.

are allowed the privilege of receiving favors from them,
through you only. My word for it, Sir, these doctrines
may be fashionable for the day, but they cannot last. Geor-
gia must be sovereign upon her own soil, within her char-
tered limits ; she has made no surrender of her territorial
sovereignty and jurisdiction, by entering into the Union.
The power to regulate commerce with the Indian tribes, is
no diminution, much less renunciation, of either. It is not
necessary to the regulation of commerce with the Creeks
and Cherokee?, that the Creeks and Cherokees should be
kept within the limits of Georgia; it is sufficient for the
exercise of your rights in this respect, that the ilbin

your own limits ; but, as in either -y would be with-

in the limits of the United States, you will readily perceive
how vast tho difference i- i controlling things in a

country winch you justly claim, and in one to which you
have no rightful cl- a country where the f-

eignty ;;ml jin isdiction would be acknowledgedly yours,
and in one with regard to the sovereignty and

juri.-di-.-i !<•]>. yon are con- and will be treated, as a

foreign power. The United States Government, no more
than any foreign Go\ permitted to insult officers

of Georgia. v/i:im: the ten-it* --rgia, occupied in the

disc; i ; heir lawful duty. is the right which

she always had, in common with the colonies and colon-
izing countries, t«« pre.sr-ribe limits, within her charter, to
the territories of the aborigines. It is no derogation from
this right, that Georgia has never exercised it but on terms
of treaty ; if she has forborne, from motives of humanity,
she may deserve praise, but ought not to suffer loss. The
exclusive right, claimed by the United States, to purclia>c-
lands from the Indians, is only the right to purchase those
of which she claims the 6 ud jurisdiction. She

has no such exclusive right in relation to territory, thesover-
ty ;md jurisdiction of which are claimed by Georgia.
If Georgia .retains her colonial right under charter, to
remove the Indians I . lands ; a fori'mr'i, she has a

right to enter into pi-aceable purchase of the same lands.
To have sun-end < bt to the United States, would

have been virtually to surrender her territory ; yet, the
United States have constantly exercised it, with our toler-
ance, over the territory of Georgia, as she has over her own.
Georgia, with her rights of territorial sovereignty and ju-
risdiction, unimpaired by the Constitution, has, in practice,
asserted none of these rights; she has forborne them for
the sake of peace.

CHAP. XII.] SECRETARY OP WAR TO GOVERNOR. 459

"When, on a late occasion, she proposed an innocent act
of survey, preparatory to the occupation of her territory,
acquire d under treaty — an act inconsistent neither with
rights o* the United States, nor with the occupancy of the
Indians — she was threatened with a military force, as if she
had been a stranger committing wilful trespass on the ac-
knowledged property of the United States.

You will pardon this brief exposition ; it is rendered
necessary by your recurrence to principles and doctrines,
the implied admission of which might involve the forfeiture
or impair the rights of sovereignty and jurisdiction, which
this State claims over her vacant territory, and of which
she ought never to be divested, but with her voluntary and
express consent.

It was a matter of sincere gratification, when, in a for-
mer correspondence, I perceived, or thought .1 perceived,
symptoms of a kind and conciliatory spirit, which, met by
one equally kind, would reconcile tho parties in controversy,
giving the past to oblivion, and opening a new way, upon
lasting foundations, to concord and harmony ; and now it
is cause of the most painful regret to observe the slightest
indications of a return to opposite principles, on the part of
those with whom the authorities here have no wish or desire
so strong as that of cultivating the most amicable and
friendly intercourse/"

The Secretary of War wrote to Gov. Troup, on 16th Sep-
tember, and said :

By the treaty with the Creeks, negotiated at "Washing-
ton, it was stipulated that they should retain possession of
the lands ceded by that treaty, till the 1st January, 1827.
Through their Agent, John Crowell, they have transmitted
to this Department, a document of the following tenor :

[The document was an order issued Oth March, 1826, re-
quiring the Surveyor-General to give notice to the Sectional
Surveyors appointed under the Act of 9th June. 1825, to
repair to Milledgeville, and qualify, on a given day, for the
discharge of their duties required by that Act, &c., &c.
The order contemplated the beginning of these surveys on

* On the 16th September, the Governor, in a private letter to Dr. ,

" The only step as yet taken by the President against the survey, > the entry of a general
and formal protest against a resort to force by Georgia to run lines or make surveys of any
kind, in territory occupied by Indians, without intimating whether force will ba resorted to by
the United States to maintain that protest. Onr Surveyors are, so far, uninterrupted, and by
this time have, no doubt, carried their lines to the Chattahoochee.'1— ED.

4-60 L1FE OF GEORGE M. TROUT. [Our. XII.

1st Monday of September, 1826, and of the District sur-
vey • >n as they should be required. It is not
important to insert the order entire.]

And direct him to say, in their behalf, that they are much
disturbed at the idea of the Surveyors entering the country
before they can secure their little crops and remo\ .• their
crops, and to express to the Executive their disapprobation
of the measure. That while they are perfectly reconciled
to the terms of the treaty, and will cheerfully comply with
its provisions, on their part, they hope and believe that the
Government, of the Unit' will protect them in their

rights, against, the encroachments of Georgia; and they
express their apprehensions that much mischief will ensue
to them from the proposed premature survey, and the con-
sequences of which it will be the cause. If the Indians
had acquiesced in your mca-uiv. the iVe-id'-nt. so far from
interfering, would have been pleaded in the speedy fulfil-
ment of the wishes of Georgia, in relation to thep
of these lands ; but, when they are dissatisfied, and have
appealed to him to cause to be observed the Article
very treaty under which the lands were ce led, bui p>
sion retained to the Is; of January, lsi;7, he, feels him-c!f

trained, by the plighted faith of the Nation, to
to you, that he PB an entry on the ceded lands,

for the purpo-e of surveying them, as a violation of the
treaty. Ever dispo>ed to promote the wishes of any mem-
ber of the confederacy, to the uttermost of his power, the
Pre-ident has directed the Airent to use b «-flbrts to

reconcile the Indians to the m* >u propose, in which,

if he succeed, you will be duly notified; but, if that be
impractical/!' .pected that Georgia will desist, from

any further prosecution of the survey, till it is antho;
by the treaty ; and when reference is had to the small por-
tion of intervening time, the .President can see no induce-
ment, on the part of Georgia, to enter the territory of the
Indians, against their will, and in violation of the supreme
law of the land.

The following is the reply of the Governor :

EXKITTIVK DKI-AHTMKNT, (!, '(

Sir : I did not receive your letter of the 15th nit., before
the !>0th, it having been delayed, as appeared by the post-
mark, at Charleston.

15e pleased to assure the President, that what has been

CHAP. XII.] GOVERNOR TO SECRETARY OF WAR.

communicated to him, as a remonstrance of the Indians
against the survey, is no remonstrance of theirs, but of 'some
officious intermeddlers in their behalf, who, in misrepresent-
ing the Indians, have only given a faithful representation
of their own sordid interests and passions. Our surveyors,
some of whom have already finished their work, and all
of whom will have completed it in a very short time, have
not only suffered no interruption, but have met with the
most cordial and friendly reception, with the exception of
a single instance, where two of the lower Chiefs, notoriously
instigated by white men, had interposed threats, founded,
as they alleged, on the authority of the Indian Agent: in
truth, the subject of survey throughout, has been theoreti-
cally and practically treated by them as it deserved. The
survey has not merely been regarded as an operation
innocent in itself, and unproductive of harm, either to the
persons or property of the Indians, but it has been con-
sidered as a source of accommodation and emolument,
by opening a market for their surplus commodities, which
are either perishable or not easily removable. The offi-
cers engaged in it having been appointed by^ the Legis-
lature, are presumed to carry with them firmness of
character, which not only forbids the supposition that
they will commit trespass "on the Indians, themselves, but
warrants the belief that they will, to the utmost of their
power, prevent others from doing so; and to this effect
they are instructed. The surveyors operate as a check
upon that description of persons, hundreds of whom, with-
out authority of law, but according to custom, intrude upon
the Indian "occupancy, whom neither you nor I, with our
utmost means, would be able to restrain, and whom noth-
ing will restrain, but the laws, which, in a short time now,
will be extended over the country.

The President concedes the right of occupancy and set-
tlement to G-eorgia on the 1st day of January. If, according
to the established rule, the concession of a right implies
the concession of all the means, without which that right
cannot be enjoyed, the survey on the 1st of September was
an act of indisputable right, without which Georgia could
not occupy the country on the 1st of January.
President cannot mean that the survey of the country is
the occupation of the country, because that would be a
perversion of language ; and if he only means that the In-
dians are not to suffer the least disturbance in their persons
or effects, before the 1st of January, I trust the President
has found a sufficient guaranty for this, in the universal

462 I'H'E OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

and joyous acquiescence of the Indians tliernsolves ; and
here' permit me to say to the President, in all frankness,
that I believe himself, and youvoell1, and the Senate, have
been grossly deceived and imp»,Ldon, i^ framing, at least,
one of the stipulations of the instrument called the new
treaty. Why" with regard to the time for the occupation
of the country, was not the provis'-in <>f the new treaty
made to correspond with that of the old '{ This coinci-
dence would at least h:n ^ne difficulty; but it
escaped his and your observation, that it, rued f ti-
the very purpose, in gn:' . of the wors'

.. to embitter the controversy between the
United States and Georgia, of po>t|>»ni:tg the settlement
of the country one \ :ponement, which, to the

President, might seem to be \ i. but which,

I assure you, would be consid'-iv. :rcat

one, not by our -uly, but. by the Indians and the

United Stat'

The contrivers of this trick believed that you would
prevent a survey before the 1st of January, and they well
knew if you did that, consistently with our system, the
country could not be occcupied before the folio ving year;
'he reasons for this, which you may nor : .:>re-

hend, are universally understood and appreciated here.
With a correct knowledge of the circumstances the Presi-
dent, " consulting the views and interests of the people of
Georgia," would never have suffered this despicable strata-
gem to have passed unexposed or unpunished.

The survey being disposed of, it only remains to invite
the attention of the President to that part of the subject
from which further embarrassment and misunderstanding
may possibly arise : I mean the western boundary of
Georgia, as prescribed contrary to her Constitution and the
Articles of Agreement, by the instrument called the new
treaty. My views on this subject have long since been
submitted, in all possible candor, to the President. The
President, however, consulting the views and interests of
Georgia, as well as the interests of the United States, will
not suffer, if he can avoid it, a conscientious difference of
opinion to be a source of mischief and calamity to either.
I may be mistaken or deceived, but the impression here
has been uniform, from the beginning, that the Indians who
negotiated that instrument, intended to cede to Georgia all
the lands claimed by Georgia, and that the President, the
Senate, and the Georgia Delegation, so understood it;
rumor has lately said that the Indians still so understand

CHAP. XII.] STATE ELECTIONS.

it. Of, all this, however, you possess the more ample means
of information ; and it is only permitted to me to say, that
if these things be true, it depends on the President to
remove, by a single word, every obstacle to the adjustment
of all the differences unhappily connected with this subject.
With great consideration and respect,

I have the honor to be

G. H. TROUF.

In the mean time, the surveys of the lands ceded by the
old treaty, were proceeding ; and, as is seen by the forego-
ing letter, some of the surveyors had already completed
their work when that letter was written. There were many
rumors and some threats of interruption ; but these amount-
ed to little, and the Governor took the proper precautions
and measures to protect the surveyors.*

On the second day of October, the general election for
Kepresentatives in Congress and members of the Legisla-
ture, took piace. It resulted in the choice of Edward F.
Tattnall,t in the 1st; John Foray th, in the 2d; Wiley
Thompson, in the 3d ; Wilson Lumpkin, in the 4th ; Charles
E. Haynes, in the 5th ; Tomlinson Fort, in the 6th ; and
John Floyd, in the 7th, Congressional Districts ; and in a
decided majority of Troup men in each branch of the Gen-
eral Assembly.

The Legislature convened on the 6th day of November.
In the Senate, Hon. Thomas Stocks, of Greene, was elected
President ; and, in the House, Irby Hudson, Esq., of Put-

* Nor was ho inattentive to the interests of the Indians. Having received information
that " certain disorderly and evil-disposed persons" had, " on divers pretenses, passed beyond
the temporary limits of this State, into the vacant territory of the same, making settlements
therein, or otherwise committing trespasses and depredations of various kinds, on tho property
of Indians, both Creeks and Cherokees ;" he, on the 26th day of August, 1820, issued his proc-
lamation, " warning and cautioning all such persons against the penalties which" awaited
" their disobedience and violation of the laws of the United States and of this State, in the
premises," and particularly ordering "all property unjustly or unlawfully taken, us aforesaid,
and brought within the jurisdiction of this State, upon due proof thereof, to bs restored," &c.,
ic.— ED.

t On the 23d Julv, 1827, Col. Tattnall resigned his seat in Congress, on account of ill
health, and was succeeded by lion. George E. Gilraer.

Mr. Forsyth having been elected Governor on the 1st Monday in October, 1827, resigned his
place in Congress on the 13th of the same month, and was succeeded by Hon. Richard H.
Wilde.

LIFE OF GEOKGE M. TROUP. [Czur. XII.

nam, was elected Speaker — both members of the dominant
party. The result of these elections indicated a majority,
on joint ballot, of twenty-five v<>'

On the second clay of the session, the Governor sent in
the following • to the two Houses, which we are re-

luctantly compelled to abridge :

Exirrnvi: 1 )I:I'.\UT.M: N :. (i:->i:<;rA, )

< nil" i\

F< : Tin1 political year just terminated has

been distinguished by nothing so much as the 'lecease of
Thomas Jefieraon and John Adams, v. • laving the

foundation of American Independence, and filling the
highest offices of State, through a Long of time, sur-

vivei] to the fiftieth anniv> f the Independence they

had declared ; and on that, day, almost at the same h
died, full of years and full of honor, deplored by the whole
nation, whose grief u ',..-d hy a universal mourning,

accompanied with every demonstration of Love, re> peel and
veneration. Among the many tokens of the tender me;
of Divine Pr<-\ :, . ard our country, none have been

more signal than those which accompanied this memorable
dispensation ; so much so, that our sorrows have found solace
and comfort in the admiration and gratitude due to Al-
mighty (rod, fur the special interposition, which, by its
circumstances, made their deaths not less glorious than their
lives had boon exemplary and illustrious.

It was known to the last Legislature, that, for certain rea-
sons expressed by the President of the United States, he
would call the attention of Congress, at their first meeting,
to the validity of the treaty negotiated at the Indian Springs,
i;i ls±>; and, in his message to the Congress, a! the opening
of the session, after announcing that "the treaty had been
ratified under the unsuspecting impression that it had been
negotiated in good faith," he promised to lay before that
body the subsequent transactions in relation to it. The
President tailed to do so. Toward th< •!' the session

of Congress, he did submit to the Senate a new treaty, in
abrogation of the old one, with a general declaration of the
falsehood and deception practiced by the Commissioners, in
their official communications with the Government, of the
numerical inferiority of the party which signed it, and of
their consequent inability to carry it into effect, but unac-
companied by a single document or voucher to support any

CHAP. XII.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1826. 465

fact or principle contained in that declaration. The Senate,
as you know, ratified the treaty ; and the one of the Indian
Springs, of prior date, of prior ratification, and passing
vested rights to Georgia, was declared null and void. The
objections to this proceeding, considered altogether hovel
and unprecedented, were obvious. Georgia, for whose
benefit alone the treaty was negotiated, was deprived,
without her consent, of interests already vested. The party
with whom the old treaty had been negotiated, was not
recognized as a party at all in the conclusion of the new ;
and, in the execution of the new treaty, without their con-
sent, and even against their consent, they have not merely
been deprived of every right which they could claim, un-
der the old or new, but have been, to all intents and
purposes, denationalized, and forced either to submit un-
conditionally to the power of their enemies, or to abandon
their country. It was with a knowledge of what was in
prospect, from the first annunciation of the President to
Congress, that the Legislature of Georgia, at the close of
its session, again reviewed and again confirmed the validity
of the treaty of the Indian Springs.

This confirmation was the more imposing, because the
Legislature which first acknowledged the authority of that
treaty, had returned to the people, its conduct had been
passed in review, and of course a favorable verdict pro-
nounced upon it. The act of the Legislature, founded on
the provisions of the old treaty, having been, as it were,
re-enacted by a succeeding Legislature, was to be regard-
ed as mandatory and imperative, to be carried into effect
by the Executive under his oath of office, according to its
requisitions, unless forbidden by paramount considerations ;
there could be none paramount, but what would be found
in the Constitution of the United States, and none such
were found. The Constitution itself, in denouncing an act
impairing the obligation of contracts, recognized the sacred-
ness of the treaty of the Indian Springs. The Executive
of Georgia, therefore, had no alternative but to carry that
treaty into effect, in' conformity with the repeatedly ex-
pressed will of the Legislature. His intentions were early
communicated, in the most frank and ingenuous manner,
to the Executive Government at Washington, and, from
that time to the present moment, he has never ceased to
remonstrate and protest, on every occasion requiring it,
against any act injuriously affecting interests of Georgia
derived under it. But there were other reasons for inam-

466 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROTH*. [CHAP. XII.

tainingthe inviolability of the treaty of the Indian Springs.
By that treaty, Georgia had acquired all her territory with-
in the Creek limits ; by the new, she was to acquire less;
and the difference between them was, by the stipulations
of the new, guarantied to the Indians forever. rlhe Gov-
ernor could in no manner recognize the power of the Presi-
dent and Senate, by the abrogation of the old treaty, to
violate the Constitution of Georgia. The Constitution of
Georgia, as well a- the articles of agreement, entered into
in conformity with it, had settled her permanent boundaries
irrevocably. The new treaty proeribed ne\v boundaries
for Georgia, and by its perpetual guaranty made them per-
manent. Lands, the rightful property of Georgia, were
taken from her and ceded to- the Indians forever, and the
jurisdiction over the river Chattahooehee, which had been
secured exclusively t» her by the original Charter, by her
Constitution, and by thearti-- yreement, and cession,

was divided by the new treaty between Alabama and Geor-
gia. As no power is given by the Constitution of the
United States to the Government of the United State
alter or revoke the Constitution of a State, it would have
been not merely an unpardonable indilference to her lights
and honor to have submitted in silence to these palpable
infractions of them, but the Chief Magistrate would have
believed himself guilty of a criminal desertion of the inter-
ests of the State, if his sanction or countenance had been
given to such an instrument. If the difference between
the provisions of the old and ne\v treaties had been a nom-
inal, not a real, difference, the United States and Georgia
could have proceeded in good faith, and without collision
of interest, to execute either, as the one or the other was
believed to be the Constitutional law ; but as those provis-
ions were variant in several particulars involving essential
rights, and as one of them especially, whether so designed
or not, would have effectually postponed the settlement of
the country for an entire year, it could not be expected
that Georgia would surrender rights, interests, and principle
too, because the President of the United States considered
the new treaty the Constitutional law.

The Government of either State is to be considered as
an independent moral agent, having a conscience of its
own, the arbiter within itself of right and wrong, to be
influenced or controlled only by Divine authority; and
the conscience of this Government has already passed
definitively on the validity of the treaty of the Indian
Springs. And here permit me to remark, that, with re-

CHAP. XII.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OP 1826. 467

gard to the rights of sovereignty and jurisdiction generally,
which Georgia claims under her charter, to the territory
within her limits in the occupancy of the Indians, there is
such a radical difference of opinion between the authorities
of Georgia and those of the United States, that the har-
mony and tranquillity of the two Governments, so much to
be cherished by all good men, can never be maintained
uninterruptedly until those Indians shall have been removed.
In illustration of this, it is sufficient to inform you, that,
on a recent occasion, the right of Georgia to make even a
reconnoissance within that territory, with a view to event-
ual internal improvement, was denied, and that denial
accompanied by a formal protest of the President of the
United States against it ; and, morever, that when, about
the same time, there were indications of an hostile feeling
on the part of the Indians, which threatened interruption to
our Commissioners engaged in running, with the consent
and approbation of the United States, the dividing line be-
tween Alabama and this State, and precautionary measures
were taken for their safety, Georgia was given to under-
stand that she had no right to extend her protection to her
own officers, engaged on her own soil, in carrying into effect
an act of her own Legislature, against such hostility. It
is vain to look into the Constitution of the United States
to find what rights of sovereignty and jurisdiction, acquired
under the charter over the territory within her limits,
Georgia has surrendered to the Federal Government. No
such surrender has been made ; and yet, Georgia, in her
late intercourse with the United States, has been treated in
this respect as if she had no rights of sovereignty or juris-
diction at all ; and this, too, whilst the laws of the United
States, as well as the Articles of Agreement and Cession,
distinctly recognize and proclaim them, and of course to
the very same extent as they are asserted by the treaty
of Hopewell and others.

The forlorn and helpless condition"^ which the Mcln-
tosh or friendly party of the Creeks, have been reduced
by the continued persecutions to which they have been
exposed, is submitted to you as claiming your humane and
benevolent consideration. This portion of the Creek tribe,
having fought the battles of the United States, and van-
quished the hostile part of it, who^were at once their
enemies and the enemies of the United States, it was
hoped that they would have been regarded with some
degree of favor by that Government and people, in whose
defence they had expended their blood, and put to hazard

468 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. XII.

everything dear to them. For a time this hope was not dis-
appointed ; General Jackson, by his treaty of 1^14. had
recogni/ed their services and their claims; their chieftain
was distinguished by the favor of the Government, and he
and his followers were regarded not only as the faithful and
devoted friends of the whites, but as the conquerors of the
Red Sticks, then numbering two-thirds of the whole na-
tion, whose rights of territory, by the laws of war, parsed
to the victors. It was the conviction of the jn- heir

cause, and of the rights acquired by it. which dictated the
letter of the Secretary of War, of the 17fh day of March.
1817, recogni/.ing in full the power of Molntosh and his
followers to sell the country. When, in obedience to the
expressed wishes of the I'nited States. Mclntosh. with of i
proceeded, at the treaty of the Indian Spring /cise

this acknowledged power, the power ' . :ed, and

the murder of himself and chiefs, which followed, !«>,,ked
tipon without emotion, whilst the murderer !ied.

caressed and honored by th "merit of the I'nited

vStates; his follower-, left without home, without pr
tion, without bread, and iinally denationalized and put
under the ban ; so that, at last, they were con>iden-d :
part of the nation, having no claim of territory, and, of
course, no rightful participation in the consideration for
which the territory sold ; and, what is worse than all.
money which should have been given to them under the,
treaty, not only given to their enemies, but made th'
strument of seducing from their allegiance the frien
Mclntosh, who had no alternative but to take the bribe or
share the calamities of the party. To complete their
degradation as an unworthy and ignoble race, the 1'-.
dent, in his official message to the Senate, has dei.uned to
stigmatize them as "an impotent and he' :iv."

"unable to execute their engagem -as fugi

instigated by a vindictive fury," " making extravagant
and unwarrantable demands, whi] ;•»; eating

bread and begging the protection of the I'nited Sta
and again, as "a party making unwarrantable preten-ions
and extravagant demands, and having no claims on ih.-
United States, other than of impartial and rigorous justi
Is it to be wondered, that, under such treatment, the friendly
party should be reduced to a mere remnant. <n> '< mj.
told hdjpleM minority: or is it not a subject of wonder,
that, instead of the luoO which remain, there should be
one left bearing the name or rallying under the standard
of Mclntosh? We cannot permit ourselves to believe that

CHAP. XII.] ANNUAL, MESSAGE OF 1826. 4(59

the Congress of the United States will not itself regard with
tenderness and compassion a portion of the human family,
reduced by reverses to piteous distress, deserted by the in-
constancy of friendship, and abandoned to the sports of
fortune.

Whether, in reference to that part of the territory of
Georgia yet in the occupancy of the Cherokees, you will
think proper, in conformity with the recommendation to
that effect, contained in a late message, to extend the laws
over it as a right resulting from your general sovereignty
and jurisdiction, or whether you will abide the result of
future negotiations by the United States to extinguish
their claims, in virtue of the compact of 1802, will be
for you, as the only competent authority, to decide. A
state of things so unnatural and so fruitful of evil, as an
independent Government of a semi-barbarous people co-
existing within the same limits, cannot long continue ; and
wise counsels must direct, that relations, which cannot be
maintained in peace, should be dissolved before any occa-
sion can occur to break that peace. How ungenerously
tantalizing to this unhappy tribe, would be a policy invit-
ing them to a local habitation and repose, when the fates
had already decreed their destiny to be fixed and irreversi-
ble upon another soil ! To perpetuate the remnant of a
noble race, we ask of the United States to give them a
resting place within boundaries of their own, fruitful, am-
ple and salubrious ; such as they command, and such as in
humanity they should bestow ; where the arts of civiliza-
tion and the lights of Christianity can reach them, unmixed
with the corrupting and contagious vices of the whites, and
where their perpetuity and independence can be assured.
If the United States hesitate now, a few years will bring
them to just reflections, but too late to save from irredeem-
able waste and decay the numerical strength and moral
energies of a people, so far preserved by the encourage-
ment and patronage of the United States, with the toler-
ance of Georgia.

[The portion which is here omitted, of this paragraph,
refers to the running of the line between Georgia and
Alabama, by the Georgia Commissioners, with the assist-
ance of J ames Camak, as Mathematician, and E. L. Thomas,
as Surveyor, also, the Chief Civil Engineer, &c., and to
the Governor's " entire satisfaction ;" and his regrets at the
non-concurrence of the Alabama Commissioners, &c., &c.

470 I'IFE OF GEORGE M. TROTJP. [CHAP. XII.

If tlie first bend above Ucliee and Coweta and Cnssctah
towns, from which a line to "JX'irkajack did not strike the
river, would not satisfy the requisitions of the articles of
agreement and cession, it was not to be expected that, any
other bend above it, and farther removed from Tehee and
the towns, would. It was the less to be expected that the
Commissioners of Georgia would consent to paw thai bend,
for no other reason than that Alabama would take more.
and Georgia less, of territory by it. And when the Com-
missioners, without the concurrence of those of Alabama,
finally adopted the point <>f Miller's IJend, it was the point
which was about midway between that assumed as the true
one by the Governor of Alabama, and the one ultimately
proposed by her Commissioners to ours. As the Commis-
sioners of Alabama would not agree to run from the iirst
bend, immediately above Uchce, and. as a line running
from that bend intersecting the river, would have made the
boundary not a straight one as contemplated by the articles,
but a devious one, straight upon the land and meandering
on the water, it isdillicult: to perceive how the Government
of Alabama can withhold its assent from a boundary, which,
contemplated in all its aspects, would seem, at least to us,
to reconcile more differences, and present fewer objections,
than any.

[The residue of this paragraph refers to the expense of
running the line, <fec., and1 is omitted.]

[This part of the message, referring to Internal Improve-
ment, will be found copied into the eighth chapter of this
work.]

It is proposed, in concert with the General Government,
to commence running the dividing line between this State
and Florida, on the iirst day of December next. The cor-
respondence in relation to i't, is submitted ; and it will be
seen that no difficulties can be expected to arise to embar-
rass the operation, or to prevent the most desirable conclu-
sion of it.

You will receive, with other documents on this subject,
a communication from the Governor of South Carolina,
which looks to the improvement of the navigation of the
Savannah river, by a concert of measures and combination
of resources of that State and this, depending on the authori-
ty of their respective Legislatures, witli my answer, which
will disclose to you my own views and opinions in relation

CHAP. XII.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1826.

to the subject, and to which it may be only necessary to
add that those views and opinions remain unchanged.

[This portion of the message, referring to the completion
of Schley's Digest, its approval by the Executive, &c., and
recommending a digest of Common and Statute law, simi-
lar to recommendation in message of 1824, and again ad-
vising improvement of the " defective organization of our
own" Judiciary system, omitted.]

Our Academic Institutions continue to flourish, and
Franklin College, at the head of them, sustains its merited
reputation. To its other Professorships, a Chair of Moral
Philosophy, Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, has been added ;
and the discipline and subordination maintained by the
proper authorities, are not known to be surpassed by those
which prevail in the best regulated Colleges of the coun
try.

[These portions of the message, referring to the Poor
School Fund, the Militia, the Banks, and especially the
Bank of Darien, omitted.]

The organization of the territory lately acquired by the
treaty of the Indian Springs, will be a subject of early at-
tention. The public reservations will particularly require
a provision, which will not merely place them beyond the
probability of trespass or intrusion, but will make them
available, with the least possible delay, for all the benefits
and advantages expected to be derived from them.
[This portion, relating to militia claims, omitted.]
The militia claims, and the territorial claims of Georgia,
remaining unsatisfied for twenty or thirty years, have
given rise to the unhappy differences subsisting between the
Federal Government and this. It is sincerely hoped that
these differences approach to an amicable termination, and
that enlightened counsels, united to better feelings, will
restore the harmony which it is so much the interest of
both parties to cultivate and cherish. Wrong has been
done to Georgia ; her views misrepresented, and her char-
acter traduced ; but wrong will come to right, and what
prejudice has misrepresented, history will correct
history, from infancy to the present moment, fale
charges by which malignancy has sought to make her odious.
In allherdepartments^lier Representatives and Magistracy,
in peace and in war, have failed in nothing ot their duty to

472 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. | CHAP. XII.

the United States. To the Constitutional law, a ready and
cheerful obedience has been rendered at all times. In
seasons of danger, her contributions have been given with-
out stint, and her sword drawn upon the lirst tippeal. If
for these she claims no merit, she deserves no reproach.
They are the righteous only whom we acknowledge us our
peers; and to their judgment we submit our actions, without
bespeaking for them anything but the award due to their
intrinsic mer

I cannot conclude this message, without congratulating
you on the blessings commuir » society hy that nni-

.il toleration of religion, (the <;uaraniv of our political
constitutions,) by which the intolerant hi: a well as

the believing and unbelieving, are exempt from all respon-
sibility, but t<> their Maker; whilst the numerous sect;:
of the Christian Church, dilfering in creeds, but united in
the faith given to the sermon on the mount, preach and
worship securely, almost in the same tempi--, spreading the
benign doctrines of that sermon far and wide., imprer--
their sacredness by precept and example, and laying the
prosperity of society in the deep foundations of a pure-
morality.

It becomes nations and communities, like individuals
from time to time, to render homage and adoration to the
Supreme C4overnor of the universe, the Author of (.-very
good; to acknowledge His p.iwer; to make confession of
sins ; to ask their forgiveness ; to supplicate II is mercy, and
to deprecate His wrath. It especially becomes us, the :
favored of the children of men, to display our gratitude
and thankfulness for the continued dispensation- of J I is
paternal goodness, by which our Independence and liber-
ties arc preserved, our industry made fruitful, ai.d its fruits
protected — physical evils averted, and moral !>'• mi-

tiplicd; so that the prosperity and happiness we enjoy, not
only transcend our deserts, but promise a destiny i
elevated than any portion of the human family has attain-
ed. To set apart a day of thanksgiving and prayer, for
tlie-e past manifestations of a superintending Providence,
may be thought an act of moral and religious duty not in-
coiisistent with the high political ones which you are re-
quired to perform, and may propitiate t'>r us, in the time to
come, a continuance of the same benignant smiles which
our unworthiness may forfeit, but which His loving-kind-
ness is ever ready to dispense to the humble supplications
of the good and virtuous of all nations.

Your fellow-citizen, G. M. TROUT.

CHAP. XII.] FURTHER MISUNDERSTANDINGS. 473

Although strongly supported at home, in all the promi-
nent measures of his administration, the Governor was yet
to encounter a strength of opposition to the chief of them
all— his policy in regard to the Creek Territory— from the
Government at Washington ; an opposition, the extent of
which was hardly foreshadowed by events then trans-
piring, and which threatened, for a time, to end in civil
strife. Indeed, at the commencement of the session, and
for some time afterwards, every thing seemed to betoken an
early and amicable adjustment of the difference between
Georgia and the General Government. In proof of this,
we need only refer to what follows.

On the 27th of November, the Secretary of War wrote to
Governor Troup, that "a long and distressing illness" had
prevented his replying to the Governor's letter of Oth Octo-
ber; but, since his partial recovery, he had submitted it to
the President, who instructed him to say tha' the Governor
appeared " to labor under a most serious mistake, in sup-
posing that the last treaty with the Creeks" had " affected,
iu any manner, the boundary of Georgia ;" that there was
not "a tittle in the treaty that" had "the most distant allu-
sion to that object ;" that, not " for one moment would a
discussion have been admitted thereon, as it" lay "entirely
out of the competency of the General Government." He
added, further, that, in wishing, anxiously, to get a cession
of all the Creek lands, every effort was made, but the In-
dians refused ; that he thought the failure to run the line
between Georgia and Alabama, was an impediment in the
way, &c., &c.; and that, but for this, the President would
have opened fresh negotiations, &c.; and that the President
would embrace the first occasion, " to carry into effect, by
fresh negotiation, if practicable, the entire cession," etc.,
&c.

On the 9th of December, the Governor communicated to
the Legislature, the letter of Mr. Barbour, by which he
said it appeared " to have been the intention of the parties-
to the instrument called the new treaty, that Georgia should
acquire all the Creek lauds within her limits," &c. He
60

474 LIFE °F GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

denied having committe 1 " tlie most serious mistake'' im-
pated to him. Arc., appealed, for his justification, to "the
language of the new treaty ;" said it was " not necessary for
the President to anticipate difficulties between Georgia and
Alabama," &c.: and that, until the boundary between the
two States, as established by Georgia, should be changed by
them, it must bo considered the true one '' by all the parties
concerned."

To the Secretary's letter, received on 9th December, the
Governor replied on the llth ; and, after acknowledging its
receipt, and stating the pleasure it afforded him •>{' hearing
of .Mr. i'>;iH><>ur's rec<>\r:-y 1'mm his "late illness,'' added:

Whilst I cannot admit the justice of the reproof, that I
had committed a most serious mistake in believing the
rern line of the m-\v to have been considered as

the permanent boundary of Georgia, I have no hesitation
in expressing my satisfaction that the President of the
United States lias thought proper to declare that it was the
intention of the parties to that instrument to cede to Geor-
gia all the lands claimed by her within the Creek limits.
My practice has been, when 1 committed involuntary error,
to make confession and ask pardon. You reprove mi-
a mistake which is not mine, but yours; and, instead
of the double atonement which a fair course of moral reci-
procity would exact, 1 ask nothing but a magnanimous
acknowledgment of the wrong done me, and will be con-
tent with a denial of even that, if there shall be no occasion
in future to ask it, either for myself, or for the State I re-
present. If the construction was a mistaken or erroneous
one, it is made so only by your recent declaration of what
your intentions actually were. The language of the new
treaty fully justified my construction, and I was not per-
mitted to seek your intentions through any other medium
than the language ; that language describes the Western
line as a permanent one, because it expressly guaranties all
the lands, lying West of it, to the Indians forever.

The permanent boundary line of Georgia, as established
by her Constitution, having been run and marked by her
Commissioners, and the Legislature having, within a few
days, sanctioned and confirmed it, by an almost unanimous
voice, it is now considered, and must be considered, by all
parties, as the true and settled boundary, unalterable, but
by the joint consent of Georgia and Alabama. This act of

CHAP. XII.] GEORGIA AND ALABAMA LINE. 4.75

the Legislature of Georgia has been announced to the Gov-
ernment of Alabama, and her concurrence with it is not to
be doubted, because it is in strict consonance with the most
rational and disinterested construction which Georgia can
give to the articles of agreement and cession, and is as
favorable to Alabama as any other construction she could
claim ; unless, indeed, she would assume, what we are per-
suaded she would not, the exclusive right to dictate a
boundary, regardless of the letter and spirit of the articles.

The joint committee on the state of the Republic, to
whom was referred so much of the Governor's Message as
related to the question of boundary between Georgia and
Alabama, made a report, which passed both Houses, and
was approved by the Governor on 8th December, express-
ing the hope that the citizens of Alabama would acquiesce
" after the whole grounds of dispute" should be "maturely
and deliberately considered-;" and concluding with the fol-
lowing Resolution :

"That the line run and marked from Nickajack to
Miller's Bend on the Chattahoochee, is the true line con-
templated by the articles of cession, of 1802, between the
United States and Georgia ; and that it be recognized as
such by the State of Georgia.*'

On the 8th December, the Governor communicated the
result to Gov. Murphy, of Alabama, in a very friendly let-
ter, from which the following extracts are made :

" I cannot but natter myself, both from the liberal views
uniformly disclosed by your Excellency, and those not less
liberal which must animate the Legislature of Alabama,
that your concurrence may be asked with at least a reason-
able prospect of success ; arid that two States so nearly allied
by the ties of interest and of blood, may not be separated,
even for a moment, on a question in which neither interest
nor principle, of any great concernment, is involved.
* * * * Suffer me to entreat your Excellency not to
permit, so far as depends on you, a controversy to be opened,
which is the more likely to prove interminable, not merely
because it is a controversy of boundary, but because, acc<

* In the Senate, there was no divtei^ called for ; in the House, there were only ten votes

In the negative. — ED.

476 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

ing to ray best judgment, Georgia will never be >atisfied
with any construction of the articles different from that ;
adopted; and ought not to he, because you cnn present to
her none more rational or more disinterested."

On the 2?d day of December, the Governor approved a
report and resolution, (understood to have been clra\vn by
the late Judge Clayton,) on tl.o subject of the treaties ^i'h
the Creek Indian-, and the differences with the General
Government The whole document is one of ; :iuty

and ability ; but, for its details, we must refer to the State
papers of that dale. If ;;s>erted the soil and juri>diction of
Georgia to all the icrritory v.-ithin her chartered and Con-
stitutional liniiis; fondemned the tlireat of military force
nst the St^te, the refusal of the President to arrest ami
punish General Gainesfor " abusing and insulting the high-
est authorities of a State," the 'retention of Col. Crowell in
office, the attempted abrogation of the treaty of the Indian
Springs, the assertion of the President that the authorities
of Georgia had no right to enter the Indian country with-
out the consent of the Indians, &e., (fee., (fee.

The Governor, also on the same day. approved a report
of the Senate committee on 1: "f the Republic, (MIM

which had passed both Houses,) 01. tie special

of 9th December, communicating the letter of the
Secretary of War, of i;7t;i "Novi-moer, and which report
protested against the new treaty, &c., &c.

A joint resolution was also approved, requesting the
President to hold a treaty for the cession of the Cherokee
':.-. within the limit^ <.}' Georgia ; also one requesting (he
Georgia Delegation to procure some relief for the friendly
Indians, and satisfaction to the citi/.ens of Georgia for sup-
plies, &c., afforded these Indians during the troubles in
1825, &c., &c.

A resolution was adopted by the Legislature, approving
the Governor's measures for protecting tin? frontier settle-
ments, and authorizing him to employ military force to
repel savage invasion, &c., &c. Ac. Act was also passed,

CHAP. XII.] CONTROVERSY RENEWED. 477

extending-, to 20th February. 1S27, the time for District
Surveyors to make their returns for the contemplated land
lottery.

In response to the Governors suggestion, the Legislature
requested him to " set apart a day of general thanksgiving
and prayer."*

Soon after the adjournment of the Legislature, the Gov-
ernor wrote to the Secretary of War, giving information of
his having called out a military force to protect the South-
ern frontier from threatened danger growing out of a
sudden attack by Se.minoles or Lower Creeks, etc., etc.

[1827.] The reply of the Secretary, dated 16th January.
1^-27. to that communication, and to the previous letter of
the Governor, of llth December, was a renewal of the
Indian controversy. He stated that the President had ap-
proved the conduct of the Governor in calling out the mil-
itary force, and that the expenses attending the means
employed by the Governor, wore " a proper debit against
the United State?." The concluding part is all that is im-
portant for insertion here:

" I trust you will, by reference to my letter, a small part

of wlrich only I have u'hv.i you. pen jive how greatly y.-u

.M mistake?!!, (if I have understood you correctly.)

in supposing tliut the President had declared that all the

sk laud, within the limits of Georgia, was intended to

have been ceded by the new treaty."*

On the I'tkh January, 1827, the day of the receipt of the
foregoing, Gov. Trotip replied to the Secretary of War. in
a long and able letter, which we would be glad to publish
here, in full, but for which room cannot be made. After
answering the preliminary portion of Mr. Barbour's letter,
and stating u that the utmost precaution had been taken to

* In fixing the first Thursday in January. 1S27, the Governor, in his Proclamation, recom-
mended that the various religious denomitiu- .••pentant hearts, make grateful ac-
knowledgment fir tee blessings conferred by the Unirertal Parent, and, viiA holy piety and
fervrnt deration, beseech thef<nrgirentss vfsir.s. and the continuance of His gracious mercy and
gooJnes* to us as a People." Amongst other causes for thanksgiving, was an abundant
treasury— report^!, by th.? joint committee on finance, at $792.122.— ED.

t On IStb J I tlu receipt of the foregoing, Governor Troup, in a private

letter to Dr. Dame'.!, v.U: "Our re' Mid vrLite friends are determined to give me employ-
ment as long as I am in office.7' — ED.

4:78 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CUAP. XII.

make the expedition as little burdensome to the United
States as possible/' he proceeded to state his regret that he
should, " on any occasion, however innocently, have mis-
understood or misrepresented," the Secretary of War ; that
he had immediately informed the Legislature of what he
had considered the " avowed intention of the President" ;
admitted that on the face of the new treaty " it did not
appear to have intended t<> acquire all the lands," but that,
when, "apart from the treaty, we sought the intention of
the parties in matter foreign and extraneous to the tr«
there w;i> some reason to believe it. was the intention
of the parties to acquire all the land," &c., &c. Amongst
other tiling, lie referred to the repeated dischimer of
the President " to interfere in settling the boundary" be-
tween Georgia and Alabama, the rejection by the President
of the line as established by Georgia, his anticipation of a
controversy between the two States, and his intimation
"that if some other line more satisfactory to the United
States, shall not be settled by Georgia and Alabama,"
measures would "not be taken to acquire the fragment,"
&c. The whole letter showed a sincere desire for the set-
tlement of the controversy; and it gave an interesting
exhibition of the unfortunate difficulties which, as the wri-
ter believed, without the fault of Georgia, had been thrown
in the way of an adjustment. It concluded as follows:

"The United States will acknowledge no boundary for
Georgia that is not acknowledged by Alabama. What is
this but virtually to declare the right of Alabama to dic-
tate the boundary — a dictation to which if Georgia will
not submit, she incurs the penalty denounced by the United
States, of fastening upon her and her people, forever, the
boundary <•*' the instrument called the new treaty, as the
permanent boundary established by her constitution '.''

The day following, (27th January,) he wrote to the
President, giving him information of the "frequent inter-
ruptions" suffered by the Georgia surveyors " from the
Indians of the Creek nation, accompanied by indignities
and insults," &c., and stating that the surveyors were " still
threatened with others of more violent and outrageous

CHAP. XII.] SURVEYORS THREATENED. 479

character." He further stated that there was reason to be-
lieve the " Agent of Indian Affairs" was " the prime mover
and instigator of the same ;" and, in support of that belief,
enclosed certain papers ; and he desired~to be Informed
if that officer was acting by " authority" of the President,
or with his " sanction and countenance." Not supposing
that, in regard to the construction of treaties, &c., the
President would " transfer the sovereign attributes to a sub-
altern agent," &c., he added :

" If these powers have been insolently assumed by such
a subaltern, for such purposes, it is not for the Governor of
Georgia to dictate to the President the measures which
ought to follow, as well in vindication of the honor of the
United States, as in reparation of the wrongs done to Geor-
gia. The President is competent to judge them, and
the Governor doubts not his willingness to judge them
rightly."

The first " paper" referred to was a letter from Wiley
Williams, a District Surveyor, dated in Carroll county,
22d January, 1827, in which, complaining to the Governor
of the threatened interruption of the surveys, by Indians,
he, amongst other things, said :

" Eight or ten lusty fellows rode up to my camp, last
night, with a letter written by Crowell, and signed by
several Chiefs, and ordered me to desist from surveying
the land on the west side of the new treaty line," &c., &c.

James A. Eogers, another District Surveyor, wrote on
the 23d :

" Enclosed, you will find a copy of an instrument of
writing, which was handed to me by a parcel of Indians,
on the 21st inst. ; and, after I read the letter, they demanded
of me my compass, which I had to surrender to them ; but
after a few minutes they agreed to give me back my com-
pass," £c., &c.

He added: "They threatened me very severe if I
should be caught over Bright's line again, a surveying.
I have come on to Mclntosh's old place, and have stopped
my hands until I hear from you," <fcc., &c.

The Indian paper referred to, was directed "to the sur-
veyors running the land west of the line of the late

480 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

treaty," was dated 12th January, 1827, signed by Little
Prince and six others, and said :

" We, the undersigned Chiefs and head -men of the
Creek nation, having learnt, with great regret, that you
are engaged in surveying the lands west of the line of the
late treaty, and which was not ceded l>y that treaty, we
have again to request and demand of you, in the m---!.
friendly terms, that you will desist from stretching's chain
over any of our lands not ceded by the treaty," &c., <fcc.

In his opening message to Congress, the President had
not alluded to the difficulties with Georgia ; but, on the
5th February, 1827, he sent a special communication to
both Houses, submitting " a letter from the Agent of the
United States with the Creek Indians, who invoke the
Government of the United States, in defence of the rights
and territory secured," as the message said, " to that
nation by the treaty concluded at Washington," &c., &c.
After stating the nature of the complaint, etc., and the
considerations which had induced him to abstain "from
the application of any military force," &c., &c.,and that it
ought "not to be disguised that the Act of the Legislature
of Georgia, under the construction given to it by the ••
ernor of that State, and the surveys made, or attempted,
by his authority, bc/oud the boundary secured by the
treaty of Washington," were " in direct violation of the
supreme law of the land, set forth in a treaty which" had
" received all the sanctions provided by the constitution
which we had sworn to support and maintain," the >
sage added :

"Happily distributed as the sovereign powers of the
people of this Union have -been, between their General
and State Governments, their history has already too often
presented collisions between these divided authorities, with
regard to the extent of their respective powers. No in-
stance, however, has hitherto occurred, in which this
collision has been urged into a conflict of actual force. No
other ca.-e is known to have happened, in which the appli-
cation of military force by the Government of the Union
has been prescribed for the enforcement of a law, the

CHAP. XII.] PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, &c. 481

violation of which has, within any single State, been pre-
scribed by a legislative act of the State. In the present
instance, it is rny duty to say, that if the legislaiive and
executive authorities of the State of Georgia should perse-
vere in acts of encroachment upon the territories secured
by a solemn treaty to the Indians, and the laws of the
TJnion remain unaltered, a superadded obligation, even
higher than that of human authority, will compel the Ex-
ecutive of the United States to enforce the laws, and fulfil
the duties of the nation, by all the force committed for that
purpose to his charge. That the arm of military force
will be resorted to only in the event of the failure of all
other expedients prov.ded by the laws, a pledge has been
given by the forbearance to employ it at this time. It is
submitted to the wisdom of Congress to determine whether
any further act of legislation may be necessary or expe-
dient, to meet the emergency which these transactions may
produce."

Accompanying this message, were sundry documents ; the
first in order being a letter from Col. John Crowell to the
Secretary of War, dated at the Creek Agency, 15th Jan-
nary, 1827, stating that, a few days before, the Little Prince
had complained to him that " the Georgia Surveyors were
surveying lands West of the line of the late treaty ;" that,
at the request of that Chief, and in his name, he had writ-
ten to the Surveyors, requiring them to desist, but that they
" persisted in their surveys to the line run by the Georgia
Commissioners as the line between Georgia and Alabama,"
&c., &c.; that, " at the request of a number of Chiefs, with
the Little Prince at their head," he had again written to
the Surveyors, " in the most friendly terms," " requiring
of them to stop surveying the lands West of the line of the
treaty of Washington," and that " a deputation of Chiefs"
had " accompanied the bearer of the letter, with the avowed
intention of stopping the Surveyors," &c.

The letter concluded :

" The Chiefs have requested me to apprise you that the
authorities of Georgia had extended their surveys west of
the line of the treaty of Washington, thereby violating the
express stipulations of that instrument, which they held to
be sacred ; and to implore the Government to interpose its

482 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

authority to protect them in their rights under that treaty.
If Georgia is permitted to violate that treaty, with impu-
nity, why may not Alabama? And they ask, where arc
they to look for protection, but to the Government of the
United States ?"

The next document, in order, was the reply of the Secre-
tary of War to Col. Crowcll, dated 29th January, 1827 ; in
which, after acknowledging the receipt of Colonel Croweli's
letter above noticed, with " the message of the Chiefs im-
ploring the Government to interpose its authority," &c., the
Secretary said :

" The President directs me to convey to the Little Prince,
and the Head-men and Warriors of the Creek Nation, his
assurances that he feels the binding obligation of the treaty
of Washington no less forcibly than they ; and that it is hi;.
intention to execute faithfully every clause and condition
thereof. To this assurance he directs me to add, further,
that he will take immediate steps to secure to them all the
rights, as these are guarantied in said treaty. But the Presi-
dent expects it of trie Creek Nation, that it will not frus-
trate his purposes by taking any steps of a hostile charac-
ter, themselves ; and he enjoins it on you so jto counsel
them in regard to this matter, as to induce them to rely
upon the protection of the United States, and leave the sub-
ject in controversy wholly to the Government. They have
very properly made known their grievances, .-.s becomes
good people ; and further it will be expected of them they
will not go, but wait for such measures as the wisdom of
the Government may devise to secure to them their rights,
as these are guarantied in the treaty of Washington/'

The next document, in order, was a letter from the Sec-
retary of War to Governor Troup, dated 2!Hh January,
1827, as follows :

Sir: Complaints have been made, to the President, by
the Creeks, through the United States Agent, against the
instrusions of the Surveyors of Georgia on their lands,
guarantied to them by the treaty concluded with them at
Washington, on the 24th January, 1820. With these com-
plaints they have united an appeal to the President, calling
for his interposition to protect them in thoir rights, by caus-
ing this treaty to be inviolably maintained.

CHAP. XII.] INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFICERS. 483

The pretensions under which these surveys are attempted,
are in direct violation of the treaty, and, if persevered in,
must lead to a disturbance of the public tranquillity. The
treaty of Washington, like all other treaties which have
received the constitutional sanction, is among the supreme
laws of the land. Charged, by the Constitution, v;ith the
execution of the laws, the President will feel himself com-
pelled to employ, if necessary, all the means under his
control, to maintain the faith of the nation, by carrying
the treaty into effect.

I have the honor to be

Your obedient servant,

JAMES BARBOUE.

Besides the foregoing, were two letters from the Secre-
tary of War — one to John H. Morel, II. S. Marshal, and the
other to Ki chard W. Habersham, U. S. Attorney, for the
District of Georgia ; one dated 29th, and the other 30th
January.

To the Marshal, (enclosing the letter to Mr. Habersham,)
he said :

" I am instructed to charge you to lose no time, on the
receipt of the process, which will be delivered you by the
Attorney, in promptly executing it, and taking the steps
directed by law in such cases," &c., &c.

In his letter to Mr. Habersham, the Secretary of War,
after reciting that " official information" had been received
by the President, " that certain persons, under the pretense
of surveying," had " entered the lands of the Creek In-
dians, directly in violation of the late treaty," &c., " and
directly in violation of the law of Congress, regulating in-
tercourse with the Indian tribes," said :

" The chiefs and warriors of this tribe have appealed to
the President for protection, by whom I am now instructed
to direct you, without a moment's delay, to proceed to
obtain the proper process with which to arrest them, which
process you will cause to be delivered to the Marshal of
the District, that they may be made amenable to law,
&c., &c.

* It is hardly necessary to add that no arrests wero made ; but it i»due to the memory
of that patriotic Georgian, Richard \V. Habersham, to state, that, after taking such prelimi-
nary steps as hr deemed necessary to prevent embarrassment to the f. S. Government, be

484 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

The last paper, in order, was a letter from the Secretary
of War to Lieut. J. K. Vinton, of the U. S. Army ; in
which, after stating the "official information" received by
the President, in regard to the conduct of the surveyors,
and other "information, though unofficial," that the In-
dians had " interposed and prevented" the completion of
the surveys, and that the chiefs and warriors had " ap-
pealed to the President to protect them in their right.-," lie-
added :

"In this posture of affairs, it has been determined to
dispatcli a special agent, for the purpose of bearing dis-
patches to the Governor of Georgia, and to the District
Attorney and Marshal of the United States for that State,
and also to the Agent of the Creek Indians, to endeavor,
if possible, to prevent a resort to violent measures, either
by the authorities of Georgia or the Indian?. Colliding
alike in your zeal, capacity and discretion, I have deter-
mined to select you for this service.

"On the receipt of your instructions, you will proceed,
with the least possible delay, to Milledgeville, and deliver
the letter addressed to Governor Troup, with your own
hands, as also to the Attorney and Marshal. Should <
Tronp give you an answer, either verbal or written, you
will communicate it by mail ; as also the receipt from the
District Attorney and Marshal, of the instructions with
which you will be charged for them. Having accom-
plished this part of the duty assigned you, you will
proceed to the Creek Agency, and deliver the letter ad-
dressed to Col. Crowell. Any information you may obtain
in reference to the object of your mission, you will
promptly communicate by mail ; particularly, any acts
of violence which may have occurred, or which may be
threatened. Carefully abstain from any remarks which
may disclose your object, and be still more careful not to
indulge in any commentary on the affair, which may sub-
ject you to personal difficulty."

Lieut. Vinton delivered the Secretary's letter to Gov.

resigned hw office, in n letter to the Hon. Henry Clay, Secretary of State, In which, after
declining to appear for the prosocntiin, hs added: " In » contest in which the interests and
character of Georgia are eo deeply involved, I should feel myself unworthy of the olBce I
hold, and of the confidence) which the President has hitherto reposed In me, if, contrary
to my views of right, and thn higher dutle* I owe to my native State, I ronld array mytelf
•gainst her."— Er>.

CHAP. XII.] GOVERNOR'S DEFIANCE. 485

Troup, on the 17th February. The following is the re-

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA, )
Milledgeville, llth Feb., 1827. j

Sir : I received, this afternoon, from Lieut. Yinton, your
letter of the 29th ult., and read, within the same hour,
both it and the copy of it as published in the National
Intelligencer of the 7th inst. ~No room was left to mistake
the meaning of this dispatch. Lieut. Vinton announced
himself, in an introductory note, a copy of which is here-
with transmitted, as the Aid of the Commanding General ;
and you are sufficiently explicit as to the means by which
you propose to carry your resolution into effect. Thus the
military character of the menace is established, and I am
only at liberty to give it the defiance which it merits. You
will distinctly understand, therefore, that I feel it to be my
duty to resist, to the utmost, any military attack which the
Government of the United. States shall think proper to
make on the territory, the people, or the sovereignty of
Georgia ; and all the measures necessary to the perform-
ance of this duty, according to our limited means, are in
progress. From the first decisive act of hostility, you will
be considered and treated as a public enemy ; and, with
the less repugnance, because you, to whom we might con-
stitutionally have appealed for our own defence against
invasion, are yourselves the invaders, and, what is more,
the unblushing allies of the savages whose cause you have
adopted.

You have referred me, for the rule of my conduct, to the
treaty of Washington, "which, like all other treaties which
have received the constitutional sanction, is among the
supreme laws of the laud," and which the President is
therefore bound to carry into effect "by all the means
under his control." In turn, I take the liberty to refer you
to a treaty of prior date and prior ratification, concluded
at the Indian Springs, a copy of the proclamation of which
under the sign manual of the President, I have the honor
to enclose. On a comparison of dates, the President may
think proper to remind the Congress that the old grant claims
preference to the new ; and that, when vested rights have
passed, the old treaty, like the old grant, has preference of
the new.

You have deemed it necessary to the personal safety ol
Lieut. Vinton, to impose on him the injunction of profound
secrecy, in the execution of your orders, whilst you cause
to be published, at Washington, the very instructions which

486 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

disclose those orders and enjoin that secrecy, and which
in i'act reached this place, by the public prints, even before
Lieut. Vinton had had an opportunity to deliver your
dispatch. You mistake the character ot' the people of
Georgia. Officers of the United States, engaged in the
performance of their lawful duties, have only to deport
themselves as gentlemen, to find the same security and
protection in Georgia, as under the aegis of the govern-
ment at "Washing!

I have the honor to be your obedient servant,

M. TROUP.
Hon. James Barbour, Secretary of War.

The following orders were forthwith issued :

K \ivrn ••. DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA, )

07.

MtiUd ;7>/> F, l>.. 1807

Ordered, That the Attorney and Solicitors General of
this State, in every instance or complaint n;a<le <>!' the ar-
rest of any Surveyor, engaged in the s-.irvey of the late
acquired territory, by any civil process, under the authority
of the Government of the United States, do take all neces-
sary and legal measures to effect the liberation of the per-
son so arrested, and to bring to justice, either by indictment
or otherwise, the officers or parties concerned in such arrest-
ation, as offenders against the laws and violators of the
peace and personal security of the public officers and citi-
zens of this State : That they give professional advice and
assistance, in their defence against any prosecution or action
which may be instituted against them as officers in the ser-
vice of the State, and that they promptly make known to
this Department their acts and doings in the premises. It
is moreover enjoined on the civil magistrates of this State,
having competent jurisdiction of the same, to be aiding and
assisting in inquiring into the cause of every such arrest or
detention, as aforesaid, that the person may be discharged
forthwith, if illegally or unjustly detained, and in afford-
ing such redress to the aggrieved or injured party as by
law he may be entitled to receive.^
By the Governor: K. II. FIERCE,

Secretary.

* In speaking of this reply, tbc Legislature of 1827 said it was "the_more satisfactory,
••-•, unlike some recreant throats, that arc made for rffrct and intimiiMinn.
1 by a preparation so praro and determined, as tr> relievo it from all sns).ir<">n of being
>''k, or unmeaning.'' — En.

t Tli roe days afterwards, the Governor addressed a '• circular'' to the Attorney and Solici-
tors General, in which he said: " In carrying into effort tho order of the 17th inst., you are
instructed to assume and support the inapplicability of tho penal Statute of the United State5,
a* qnoted in the President's late message, to the case of an officer engaged in the service of »

CHAP. XII.] PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS,

HEAD-QUARTERS, Milledgeville, 17th Feb., 1827.
The Major-Generals commanding the 6th and 7th Divi-
sions, will immediately issue orders to hold in readiness the
several regiments and battalions within their respective
commands, to repel any hostile invasion of the territory of
this State. Depots of arms and ammunition, central to
each Division, will be established in due time.
By the Commander-in-Chief :

JOHN W. A. SANFOED,
Aid-de-Cainp.

It is unnecessary to detail the various measures which the
Governor took, to put the State in an attitude of defence,
according to the " limited means" at his command. The
controversy had at length reached a crisis ; the argument
had been exhausted, and either party might be considered
as saying to the other :

" My commission
Is not to reason of the deed, but do it."

Happily, however, better counsels were to prevail at
Washington. It was soon perceived that the threat of mil-
itary force could have no effect upon Georgia or her Gover-
nor ; and, fortunately, a resort to arms was not tried.

The President's Message produced a sensation in Con-
gress. In the Senate, it was referred to a special commit-
tee of Jive', and, in the House, to a committee of seven.''-'

sovereign State, under the authority of its laws— that Statute having relation only to private in-
dividuals trespassing- upon lands in the possession of the Indians. The distinction, too, be-
tween trespasses committed on such lands, claimed by the United States, or by the State, will be
obvious to you. You will not neglect, on any occasion requiring it, to assert, in its most
ample latitude, the right of sovereignty and jurisdiction of the State over all the lands within
her chartered limits, and, consequently, the absolute right of survey at all times, as necessarily
appertaining to that sovereignty and jurisdiction." — ED.

* In moving its reference, with the accompanying documents, in the Senate, Mr. Berrien
made a speech of s.imo length ; and. amongst other tilings, speaking of a resort to military
force, said: " If such an cxe're: -so of po\\vr may find the color of justification, r..ider existing
laws, does it not become u?, as the guardians of the rights of the States, by somo clear and
:-\plicic act oi' legislation, to take from such an exer;iso of prerogative the shadow of pret. ;

In the House, Mr. Forsyth was the principal speaker from Georgia. Amongst other thiugs.
he said: "He rejoiced that, at length, the strange circumstances of this case had been pre-
sented to the House in such a form as to compel the rendering of a solemn decision between
the Executive and the State of Georgia, and that it was called for at this time— not by them,
for they had been demanding' it for years past— but that now the call came from the £x"i;u-
tive. He could not, however, as a Representative of Georgia, consent to sit ;>nd quietly hear
the charges brought forward in this communication against the authorities of that State.

488 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XII.

The report of the House committee, (which, -with the
documents appended to it, occupies more than eight hun-
dred pages of printed matter,) was presented on 3d March,
and was thoroughly against Georgia. It recommended the
expediency of procuring " a cession of the Indian lands in
State of Georgia," and " that, until such a cession is
procured, the law of the laud, as set forth in the treaty of
Washington, ought to be maintained, by all necessary con-
stitutional and legal means."

On the report being read, Mr. Drayton, one of the com-
mittee, moved a substitute, recognizing, to the fullest ex-
tent, the rights of Georgia. " He expressed his readiness
to discuss the questions, but preferred not to do so then."

The report of the Senate committee, presented on 1st
March, although not so elaborate, took a conciliatory view
of the questions, and deprecated, in such cases, " the resort
to force," which, it said, " would be alike vain and nuga-
tory." It concluded with recommending the following
resolution :

" Resolved. That the President of the United States be
respectfully requested to continue his exertions to obtain,
from the Creek Indians, a relinquishment of any claim to
lands within the limits of Georgia."

As Congress adjourned on the 3d of March, nothing
further was done in the premises ; and, indeed, the whole
question was about to be settled speedily and peaceably.

On the 31st of January, two days after the date of his
letter by Lieut. Vinton, the Secretary of War wrote, as
follows, to Col. Crowell :

" Since my letter to you, of 29th inst., the Department
has had information submitted to it, which appears to be
entitled to respect, that, on a proper representation being
made to the Chiefs, of the peculiar state of things as they
now exist in regard to the remainder of their lands within
the limits of Georgia, they will not object, for a suitable
moneyed consideration, to sell. This information, and

They bad done nothing which violated the Constitution of the country. /
the fMe of the Executive." The Senate Com!:ii: : <if .Messrs. Ben ton. E-rrifii. Van

Burcn, Smith, of S. C., and ILirrUrm ; the House Committee consisted of Messrs. Edward
Everett, Powell, Cockcr Drayton, Whittelsey, Lawrence and Buckner.— ED.

CHAP. XII.] PROMISED PACIFICATION. 489

which is from a source of great respectability, is, in sub-
stance, that the Indians would sell this remaining portton
of their lands within the limits of that State, if they were
assured of a prompt and suitable compensation. I therefore
enjoin it on you, as a duty of great importance, to adopt such
mode as may seem in your discretion to be best, to obtain
their consent to relinquish their hold upon these pine bar-
rens, which can be of no value to them ; and thus secure
that state of quiet, which it is so much the desire of the
Executive to realize. On ascertaining the views of the
Chiefs, you will communicate them to the Department ; and
also, at the same time, the amount of the consideration
money which they will be willing to receive for those lands."

The publication of the foregoing letter presented to Gov.
Troup the occasion for writing the following, which is
amongst the noblest of his many noble productions. It
was published, immediately, by the Georgia Delegation,
through the columns of the National Intelligencer, and
must have had a happy effect in tranquilizing the public
mind on the subject of Georgia's Indian difficulties. How
wide of the mark was the observation of the editor of Niles'
Weekly Register, on republishing this letter, when he said :
" We shall only say, for the present, that, if Gov. Troup
has leen right, this Union is held together only by a rope
of sand, and is not worth an effort to preserve it !"

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. GEORGIA, \
MiUedffeoiUe, 2lst Feb., 1827. (

Gentlemen : I was glad to learn, by the mail of to-day,
that measures have been taken by the President, subse-
quently to the communication of the Secretary of War, of
the 29th ult., to procure the lands left out by the instru-
ment called the new treaty. I have uniformly urged tins
measure on the General Government, from the moment ]
professed a willingness, contingently, to adopt it, and m no
part of the correspondence more strenuously than in my
letter to the Secretary of War, of the 26th January, a copy
of which was transmitted to you by the last mail,
known to me, that a sincere desire to procure them, accom-
panied by corresponding efforts, could not fail ot success,
and I had felt both surprise and regret that any reluctance
had been manifested to have recourse to the necessary

490 I'1|-'K OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. XII.

measures without delay. The reasons assigned for the post-
p'oneraent, were, in no aspect of them, satisfactory ; and so
the President was informed in a candid and amicable spirit.
You are at liberty to state to the councils before whom
you represent the interests and rights of this State, what
has been repeatedly represented to the President himself,
that the Governor of Georgia has never, at any time, enter-
tained tlie idea <>f resorting to military force to counteract,
measures of the Government of the United States, but on
the occasion when it wa< deemed better in honor, in con-
science, and in duty, to sacriliee every tiling we hold dear,
than unresistingly to submit. On the last occasion, when
military coercion was threatened, the President was prompt-
ly and candidly informed of my resolution to meet that
coercion in a military manner. So far as a determination
was expressed to resort to the civil process, it was decided
to resort to the like process to sustain, according to the
Constitution and laws of the United States, and the Con-
stitution and laws of the State, the public officers of Geor-
gia engaged in the execution of their duties under the
orders directly of its Legislative and Executive authorities
— an obligation, on our part, enjoined by the very sanction
which the President, in his late message, refers to, as being
paramount to any human power, and, of course, equally
imperative with us as with him. I cannot acknowledge a
power in the United States, to bring before its judicial tri-
bunals, for trial, and judgment, and punishment, the
Governor, or Judges, or Representatives, or other ofli-
as such, acting under the authority of the Constitution and
laws of the States. Whilst, therefore, no intention exists
to resist the civil authority of the United States, I consider
myself bound to afford to officers of Georgia, acting under
my orders, all the protection I can, consistently with the
Constitution and laws ; and I can never admit that wr
done by officers of the United States to officers of the S;
shall not be inquired into and redressed by the State tri-
bunals.

I consider all questions of mere sovereignty as matter
for negotiation between the States and the" United States,
until the competent tribunal shall be assigned by the Con-
stitution itself, for the adjustment of them.

1 am not wanting in confidence in the Supreme Court of
the United States, in all cases falling within their acknowl-
edged jurisdiction. As men, I would not hesitate to refer
our^cause to their arbitration or umpirage. On an amica-
ble issue made up between the United States and oursclvi--.

CHAP. XII.] LETTER TO GEORGIA DELEGATION. 491

we might have had no difficulty in referring it to them as
judges, protesting, at the same time, against thejurisdiction,
and saving our rights of sovereignty. If the United States
will, with or without the consent of Georgia, make a ques-
tion before the Supreme Court, it will be for the Govern-
ment of Georgia ultimately to submit, or not, to the decision
of that tribunal. But, acccording to my limited concep-
tion, the Supreme Court is not made, by the Constitution
of the United States, the arbiter in controversies involving
rights of sovereignty between the States and the United
States. The Senate of the United States may have so con-
sidered it, because it has been proposed to make that hon-
orable body itself the arbiter and umpire between them.
The States cannot consent to refer to the Supreme Court, as
of right and obligation, questions of sovereignty between
them and the United States, because that Court, being of
exclusive appointment by the Government of the United
States, will make the United States the judge in their own
cause. This reason is equally applicable to a State tribunal.
Hence, the difficulties likely to arise even by a resort to
the civil process ; and thus you will perceive how infinitely
preferable it is to carry into effect immediately the meas-
ure contemplated by the instructions to the Agent.

It is indeed to be lamented, that a person so well known
here for his unfitness, should have been charged with such
an office ; but this very knowledge will make the failure, if
the failure happen, not our fault, but the fault of his em-
ployers.

Of all the wrongs wantonly and cruelly inflicted, none
have been borne with more patience than the charge of
seeking a dissolution of the Union. My intentions have
been to cement and perpetuate it, by preserving, inviolate,
the rights of the parties to the compact, without which the
compact would be of no value ; and to this end 1 have un-
ceasingly labored. Time may probably disclose that a very
imperfect judgment had erred in the adoption of the best
means ; biit the intentions will remain the same, and He
who must finally judge, will certainly not mistake them.

Hoping that the President will not fail in _ the contem-
plated negotiation, and that the matters in difference may
be speedily and amicably adjusted to the entire satisfaction
of the parties in controversy, I have not hesitated to make
you this frank disclosure and explanation, that you may use
it, at your discretion, to promote the peace and harmony
which ouo-ht ever to subsist between the States and the

4;»-j LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUF. [CHAP. XII.

United States, and in winch I assure you none can feel
deeper concern than

Yours, vcrv respectfully.

'G. M. TROUT.

The Honorable Senators and Kepresentati
from Georgia, in Congress of the
Tinted States.

[ISt^T. | < >n the lirsl Monday in .May, elections for county
officers were held in the new counties laid oft' from the
lands ceded by the treaty of the Indian Springs; and, the
surveys having been completed, the Lottery was carried
on with so much t-xpedition, that the Georgia Journal, of
L'lM May, announced the organization and settlement of the
new country. What had be wilderness, was

now becoming a garden ; and although Gov. Troup's term
of office expired before the recognition, by the di-
tented Creeks, of the title of Grorgia to all their hinds
within, her limits, yet this was accomplished by Articles
of Agreement concluded with them at the Creek Agency
on the 15th of November, 1SL'7, and which were duly
ratified on the 4th of March, 1828.

By these articles, it was expressed, that " they, the chiefs
and headmen aforesaid, agree to cede, and they do hereby
cede, to the United States, all the remaining lands now
owned or claimed by the Creek Nation, not heretofore
ceded, and which, on actual survey, may be found to lie
within the chartered limits of the State of Georgia.'' [For
these Articles, in full, see vol. 7 of United States Statutes
at Large, pages 307, 3o* and 309.]

The following letter will properly conclude this chapter :

MII.I.KIH;KVII,LF., Fob. 24th, 1827.

My Dear Sir : It was impossible for me, consistently
with my views of right, to acquiesce. in any of the meas-
ures proposed to be adopted by the General Government.
It never was my intention to resist the civil process I
military force, unless they jirst resorted to a military force
to enforce it. It always was my intention, when they re-
solved to proceed civiliter, to give our officers all the pro-
tection which our civil magistracy could afford them under

GIIAP. XII.] LETTER TO DR. DANIELL. 493

the Constitution and laws. Our magistrates are bound to
extend this protection, so far as it is not inconsistent with
the Constitution of the U. S. The Constitution of the U.
S. would not authorize an Act of Congress which would
make the public officers of the State answerable to their
judicial tribunals. The Act of Congress, referred to by
the President, cannot, either in its letter or according to its
intent, embrace such officers ; and of this our own judicial
tribunals are competent judges. What would be our situ-
ation, if the public officers were answerable exclusively
to the judicial tribunals of the II. Sounder any Acts of
Congress which would make them criminals before such
tribunals ? — and what difference is there in this respect
between the Governor, or Judges, and a surveyor ? The
President himself acknowledges, in his message, that the
surveyors are not to be viewed as individuals, but as
agents of a sovereign State, acting in obedience to au-
thority which they believe to be binding on them. No
State can have, rightfully, any claims to sovereignty,
which makes its officers dependent for their protection,
in the discharge of their duties, on the power of another
State. I assure you, my dear friend, I have made as much
of concession on this subject as I thought any of our friends
could reasonably ask of me. Those at Washington ha.ve
been extremely anxious about the measures which might
be taken here ; and I have endeavored, so far as propriety
would permit, not to commit them by any of an odious or
censurable character. I trust that the real friends of the
country will nowhere so consider them. If they do, ]
will lament it, because it has been on their account that I
have been particularly cautious to avoid it.

Eemember me affectionately to the fainilv, and particu-
larly to my little friend. Tell him that I might have been
to see him before this, but for John Quincy Adams.
Yours, very affectionately,

G. M. TKOUP.

Dr. Daniell.

494 MFE OF GEORGE M. TROIT. (fiiAr. XIII.

CHAPTER XIII.

Esccntici Ch<ii,\ — ///'*

i,i>t Ainni'i/ ' ' <!/ J/,7.

/,'if-/, n'//, . innf ,i I'nIJ'r Dinner aA Sur'nnmh. — Election t<> th>

I'll it, il Sf,ll- M. I'nlitu-nl

<>l" 'inn iiml it /'ruin fulfi-

ll <• •

WITH the exception of the (-vents already noticed, the
year 1*27 wa< prolific of not much of interest in the liis-
of Georgia. In March, Governor Troup received
official notice of the adjustment, of the claims of Georgia
for payment of the tro..ps that performed military sen
against the Indians in the years 17'.(2. 170;] and 1791 — a
measure that had l>een urged lor many year-, liefore Con-
gress, by himself and others of the Delegations from
Georgia.

As soon as it was certainly known that Governor Troup
would, under no circumstances, permit the use of his name
in connection with the succeeding canvass for Governor,
the public generally looked forward to Mr. Forsyth as his
successor in that high office. Col. Duncan G. Campbell,
whose name has been so frequently mentioned in connec-
tion with the Indian treaty of 1S25, and one of the noblest
men in the State, was brought forward by his friends, for
the office, but he formally retired from the contest; and
Capt. Matthew Talbot, who was then announced as a can-
didate, died before the election ; so that Mr. Forsyth was
chosen, with hardly a show of opposition.

On the 20th of October, a meeting of citizens of Mil-
ledgevillo was held, with the view of tendering to the
retiring Governor a public entertainment. To the letter of
the committee, in which they spoke of the " personal re-
gard" of the citizens of Milledgeville, the "high estima-
tion" in which they held his "official conduct," and the

CHAP. XIII.] OFFERED ENTERTAINMENT. 495

" auspicious results, for the public good," to which, he had
brought his measures, " under every difficulty and embar-
rassment," he returned the following answer :

MILLEDGEVILLE, October 25th, 1827.

Gentlemen : I take the earliest opportunity to acknowl-
edge the receipt, (last evening,) of your note of the 22nd
inst., and to ask the favor of you — whilst you return my
grateful thanks to my friends of Milledgeville for the unde-
served testimony of their esteem and approbation, which it
conveyed — to make known to them my resolution to decline
the honor so generously intended. It is enough that they
shall have been pleased to consider me worthy of such tes-
timony ; and my regrets at parting with them would only
be increased in the degree in which they should, to the last
hour, have increased their kindness to me.

Accept for yoiirselves, gentlemen, the expression of my
sincere friendship and highest consideration.

G. M. TROUP.

Messrs. Camak, Lamar and
Boykin, Committee.

The Legislature convened on the 5th of November.
Hon. Thomas Stocks was re-elected President of the Sen-
ate, and Irby Hudson, Esq., Speaker of the House. On
the 6th, the Governor sent in, to each House, the following,
being his last Annual Message, whicli is considerably
abridged for want of space :

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, GEORGIA, |
Milledgeville, Nov. Qth, 182T. j

Fellow-Citizens : In making known to you the events
of the passing year, it is equally my duty to communicate
those which give pain as those which afford pleasure, so
that, without concealment or suppression, all may be em-
bodied in the history of the times— our successors will take
counsel from them, and the experience of the past will be
equally profitable, whether it furnish examples of good
to be imitated, or of evil to be avoided.

Before the close of the last session of the Legislature,
hope was indulged that the controversy between the Gov-
ernment of this State and that of the United States, was
happily terminating : and so indeed to all appearances it
was. The surveys of the recently acquired territory, so
long resisted, had proceeded with little or no interruption—

496 L^E OF GEORGE M. TROUT. ]<'IIAI-. XIII

the last of them were about to be completed — the Indian
irritation had exhausted itself in a few demonstrations of
hostility; and when calmness and tranquillity had succeeded
to excitement and clamor, and nothing remained to satisfy
the Indian for his imaginary wrongs, hut a trifling con-
sideration in money, tin- Executive < i»\ -.•rninent at Wash-
ington seized the occasion as a lit one to denounce the
Executive of Georgia a> the violator of the faith of treaties,
and the lawless invader of Indian rights: to forbid the
prosecution of the surveys, and to threaten the employment
of military force to coerce obedience to its commands; a
menace, which, without being unprecedented on the part of
that Government, was yet so ill-timed and unexpi
that but one reception and but one treatment could lie

§iven to it. The documents, herewith transmitted, will
isclose the manner of that reception and treatment ; the
message of the President to Oongreas. communicating this
measure, left no doubt as to its motives and its objects.
The councils and people of Georgia were to lie subdued,
at all events, into a recognition of the validity of the
instrument called the new treaty ; by civil process, if civil
process would answer: by military force, if it would not;
indeed, by all means civil or military, as enjoined by

Seradded obligatl-'ii, (to use th' "f the Presi-

ent,) even higher than that of human authority. It could
not be seen why, under a Government of laws, th-- civil re-
medy might not suffice, being, if not so prompt, at least
ample and appropriate ; or why, if resorted, to at all, it
should not be exclusively depended on. The alternative
of a resort to the military, on failure of the civil remedy, or
the resort to both, concurrently, for the redress of the same
wrong, is not the theory, and has not been, hitherto, the
practice of this Government ; whenever it shall become so,
there will be no longer any difference, in substance, be-
tween our own Constitution of Government and that of the
most arbitrary and despotic. It was impo-^ible to doubt,
therefore, from the unconstitutional character of the men-
ace, from its unreasonableness and from the appalling con-
sequences which must inevitably follow its execution, that
the temper which dictated it was hostile to Georgia, and bent
on her humiliation or destruction. The councils of Geor-
gia could never recede, without the most degrading humili-
ation, from the positions taken in support of the treaty of the
Indian Springs ; it was the professed object of the menace
to produce that recession; and it was obviously better for
Georgia to run the hazard of being stricken from the roll

CHAP. XIII.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1827. 497

of States, than by a passive submission to surrender, with
important interests and essential rights, what was infinitely
more important and more essential, character; but other
rights and interests than those of Georgia were concerned.
The doctrine assumed in justification of the menace, involved
the rights of all the States ; it asserts the broad power for
the Executive of the General Government, in any contro-
versy between a State and the United States, to decide the
right and wrong of that controversy, promptly, absolutely
and finally, without appeal, and to enforce such decision by
the sword; a power most awful, tremendous, and unnatural,
and not given by the Constitution even to the Congress.
In such a contest, Georgia could make no sacrifice too dear,
because she contended in a just and righteous cause, not
for herself alone, but for all the States, whose honor, dig-
nity and independence were alike at stake. Happily for
the country, the enforcement of this measure has not been
as yet attempted ; whether on reconsideration it has been
yielded to more deliberate suggestions and more prudent
counsels, or decided as wholly indefensible, and therefore
impracticable, or reserved for some other and future occa-
sion, is not known to me, and can only be conjectured ; it is
reasonable, at least charitable to conclude, that, what in
this respect ought to be done, has been done, and that wis-
dom and moderation can find no amends for the calamities
of a civil war, in the transfer from Georgia to the Indians
of a comparatively worthless fraction of territory, which,
but for the principle involved, this Go vernment would not
deign to make a subject of angry contention with that of
the United States.

[One of the paragraphs, here omitted, refers entirely to
the extinguishment of the title to Cherokee lands, and is
similar to views presented in the Annual Message of 1826 ;
the other omitted paragraph refers to the memorial of the
preceding Legislature to the President, on the same sub-
ject.]

Connected with other subjects of disagreement with the
Government of the United States, is that of the dividing
line between Florida and this State, directed to be run and
marked by several resolutions of the Legislature. The con-
currence "of the General Government being necessary to
the perfection of this measure, it was repeatedly invited
and eventually obtained. A highly respectable gentl<
man, and late Governor of Virginia, Thomas M. Kandolph,
63

|!l.s F.I IT OF GF.oKi-K M. 'IT |Cii.vr. XIII.

having been appointed the Commissioner on the part of the
United States. and Thomas Spaldinir. the Commissioner on
the part of Georgia. they proceeded in a spirit of harmony
and concert to t! ion of their trust : and I am happy

to inform you, that, without bringing their labors to a
termination mo>t desirable, they closed tliem with no inter-
ruption of that spirit : on the contrary, witli an improve-
ment of it corresponding to ihe intelligence patriotism and
liberal sentiments which distinguish them.

[A portion of this paragraph is omitted: hut it is be-
lieved tliat the concluding part e'mbodies all that is in
-arv to tin- understand!!!/ ' v. Troup's viewfi on the
suhj.-,-t of the lin- M Georgia and

If the point established by Kllicotr. had, by the Commis-
sioners of the Knitcd States and Georgia. been i'ound to
coincide with t; tOOTCC of , Mary's, the

OommiSSioner of (icoi^-ia would have lit-en instructed to
proceed. It \vas a-certained that they did not coincide, and
his proM-re.-s \va< accordingly arrested. Yon wili
that the lirst <|iie-tion pivscntini; it-elf for >ettleme:it be-
tween the two Government-, is. \\ lietlier the point arbitrarily
agreed on by Kllicott and the Spanish Commis-ioner ;.-
head of the St. Mary's. no\\- ascertained not to be the head
even of the -tream pursued by Kllicott, shall be considered
as the true head under the treaty of \~'.>~>. The other and
only remaining >]ne*tioii, \\ill be, which is the true source
or head of the St. Alary'.-. To enable you jo act under
standingly on these <[ue-tions, as well as to afford -
satisfaction to the ( iovernment of the Knifed Slate-, which
mast undoubtedly revise it- proceeding, 1 had instructed
a competent Airent, the -ame who acted as the Snrvi-yor
and Artist under the Commissioners, and who approved
himself worthy of their highest confidence, to proceed to
an examination of th i branches of the St. -MarvV.

for the purpi.. -'-ertaininir, by actual admeasurement.

the true head or source of that river. The correspondence
and documents on thi> subject, together with his report, are
submitted. It will be seen that of the three bnu:
forming the St. Mary's, viz.: the .Northern. We-tern and
Southern brandies, the Southern is not only the longest by
two or three miles, and haying a direction corresponding
most naturally with the general course and disemboguement
of the river, but discharges eight times more water than
either of the other branches and one third more than both

CHAP. XIII.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1S-27. 499

of them united, including various other tributary streams
— that, of the three, the North branch, viz : that pursued
by Ellicott, is the most inconsiderable, discharging, in pro-
portion even to the Western branch, as two to three, and,
in proportion to the Southern branch, as five to forty-three ;
and indeed that it is even more inconsiderable than another
stream, (the Alligator,) south of it, and running between it
and the Western branch. If these facts are confirmed
to the satisfaction of the Government of the United States,
the conclusion will be irresistible, even by itself, that we
must follow, not the error or mistake of Ellicott, but the
language of the treaty ; not the point arbitrarily deter-
mined as the head of the St. Mary's, but the true head ;
and that the true head or source of the St. Mary's is to be
found, not at the extremity of the Northern, but at the
extremity of the Southern, branch ; and that from this
point the line must be run, according to the letter of the
charter of Georgia, of the treaty of 'S3, of the treaty of '95,
and of the Constitution of Georgia. This detail, so inconsist-
ent with the generalizing character of a message, will find
an apology in the extreme reluctance which I feel to open
a new controversy with the Government of the United
States — the great delicacy of the question, (being one of
boundary,) — the extent of territory, (more than two thous-
and square miles,) which may be involved in it, and the
obvious propriety, therefore, in stating the question for
the first time, to state it fairly and fully.

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that recent acts of
the General Government, and of its different departments,
bespeak a return to good feelings, and give an earnest of
future good understanding, which it has been the sincere
desire, as it is the duty, of this Government, to cultivate.
Our militia claims, so constantly and sedulously, but un-
availingly, urged before that Government for twenty or
thirty years, have been recognized, and, under circum-
stances, warranting the belief that some grains of preju-
dice had mingled with the former repeated considerations
of them, and that nothing was wanting to a prompt acknowl-
edgment of their justice at all times, but calm, dispassion-
ate and impartial investigation. They are in a course of
liquidation and settlement.

[The part of the message, here omitted, relates to expen-
ses of military expedition for defence against Indians, and
expenses of running and marking Georgia and Florida line.]

500 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. XIII.

Among the various violations of the Constitution of the
United States, the people of the Son thorn State- have
lately been made to feel and to complain of that prominent
one which has taken from tin- he general guardian-

sliip over the labor and industry of the people, which, it
was Mipposed, exclusively belonged to them, and which, it
i.s believed, they never have voluntarily relinquished. It
is in the exercise of this guardianship that the (
proceed, from session to session, to tax one portion of the
community, not interested in a particular branch of in-
dustry, :ion im in. and
carrying "ii, that branch. 1 ting the liberal prin-
ciples which would leave indu-' 'Wii
employment, and returning to the benighted policy hmg
practiced by other nations, but now abandoned and aband-
oning by all enlightened ones, it claims an absolute domin-
ion over it, to fetter, to restrain, to encoii
U cause it to take any or every direction — th us substi fining,
for the natural order of things, the artificial B;
darker ages. The p aich, in raising revenue or
regulating commerce, incidentally protects manufact
or encourages the fabrics which are indispensable to the
national defence, is a very ditfert" that
claimed by the Federal Government, to protect by any
means, directly or indirectly, all or any of them, than which
a more distinct substantive and important power could not
be given by any constitution to any government. It is in
vain that th< ibr the grant of this mighty power to
Congress. It is in vain we plead the crue! icing
from the small profit iculture, to increase the large
profits of manufacture-. ^Y e are answered, fn>m year to
year, by an amended tarilf. augmenting the tribn •• and
multiplying the exac a ii' the Con-
lacked vigor and animation for the work, a combination of
States exclusively interested in perpetuating the--
resolve themseves into a body nnknov. constitution.
and dictate to the Government at Washing; I kind
and amount of tax which the people of other !iall
pay; so that we ma. ave to ask ourselves, whic
the Government of the United S the assembly of
States which passes the edict of taxation, or the authorities
of more regular and constitutional appointment which
receive it as law and order its registration. I recommend
to you the adoption, without delay. rm remonstrance
to the Congress against th' :i of usurpation, injustice
and oppression. * You will addrc.-s yourselves, 1 know, to

CHAP. XIII.] ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 1827. 501

a formidable government, having the power, for certain
purposes, over the purse and the sword, and now claiming
and exercising the power to direct the national industry
and national improvement, without limitation — in short,
the absolute masters of the fortunes of twelve million
people. Bnt you can yet speak in the language of truth,
if not in the spirit of freemen. Your complaints may lx-
unheeded. If they should be, I recommend to you to
address yourselves to the States having common interest
with yourselves, and to suggest the expediency of concur-
ring in a non-consumption agreement to be carried into effect
by all the means which are constitutionally given to their
respective Legislatures. It is painful to contemplate the
consequences which must follow. That government, whose
parental duty it is make us all friends and keep us so, is
straining its faculties to fasten upon the country a system
which cannot fail to set one part of it in hostile array against
the other. In self-defence, we are first driven to a non-con-
sumption, which, in the end, must prove a non-intercourse,
and, as a necessary consequence of that, to the cultivation
of more friendly relations with foreigners, who, supplying
our indispensable wants, at least so long as the General Gov-
ernment suffers them to be supplied, will take the place of
our own countrymen, in our feelings and affections, leaving
nothing for them but bitterness and heart-burnings. We
are not unwilling to give to our own countrymen the same
profits we give to "foreigners, provided they are fairly
and constitutionally earned. It is the forced consumption
of an article, unconstitutionally enhanced in price, which,
like the forced consumption of the tea, we resist. All things
being equal, we are not unwilling to consume the fabrics
of our own country, and so far to encourage the fabrica-
tors ; but we protest against the artificial encouragement
given at our expense, when we are made to pay, not only
the tax for that encouragement, but to lose the trade in our
staple, which affords the only means of paying it. It is
not to be expected that foreign nations will long continue
to receive our raw material, if we refuse to receive their
manufactures : and we are not used to that despotism which
would constrain us, whether for or against our interest, to
manufacture for ourselves against our inclination.

Conscientiously believing that the Government of the
United States is not conducted according to the principles
of the Constitution— that powers are claimed and exercised
by it, in derogation of those principles, and that m practice
it" is virtually a consolidated government, and therefore

502 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XIII.

essentially clift'erent from th;r i and designed •;

I'ormed b the convention of "S7. i would recommend to

you, at the same time, to addr -pectful and affection -

•;:emoriai foyour sister States. requesting them to unite
with you in all constitutional and legitimate measure- to
i~ hack the ' : rineipKs of Mr.

Jefferson's administration, which arc the true prineipl.
the Constitution. It is a sub;, ucere cdngratnlation,

that, notwithstanding iMjilatioi;

than oth Miain uncorrupted by the assumed

pow-- ' the Internal Im-

provement of the country. Other Stan'- which h;ivc
surrendered this birthright. will lind no compensation in
the promised cipiiva! principle ha- <-t found

its value in the v, ' eioilS

met

A ] . ' i'1-ively

in Internal L .tent, and will ;>ied into the

Kii^hth Chajitcr «>t' rhis w.>rk. The next thirteen ]»ara-
graphs, referring • rtof Errors, to the Penitenti
reports on dci't-i-N in d (.'.ule. the Fin .' the

Stati'. Bl ;i-urv. tin- l'i:i\vr.-it\ . Academics, the

faults of the Militia sy>rem, enconra^C'inenl of Airriculture.
to Banks, and some matters of temporary inhv lu-rc

omitt

Retiring firom office, after four

tho public affairs, it would h:: •, me pleasure to

jjfratulati' you o?i the safety of tin- Republic,!!' -''inijj

condition of the counu-y, anc. ;!, on the union and

happiness of the That liu- Republic -;ifc.

and that the country is still pr.'- -.vc are indei

more to Divine Providence, than !•> oijir own merits. That
the strife- il lone of i»ar!y lia ,! to

distract the public mind, to embitter social intercourse and
impair the energies of society. • to the weakness and

perv. 'niman nature. The boisterous -,>;!— ion<.

the offspring of ju'litieal di ud in the •

flicts of which reason js suspended, are not to be allayed
on the instant, but by Him who can stay tiie ten:'
and bid the waves be still. Xo maticv v/hat the perils —
no matter Avliat the calamities which beset the country.
experience has proven that in all countries these cl
trous passions seek only a seliish gratification, regardless
of the public interest. In our ov.*n, they have had their

CHAP. XIII.] HIS RETIREMENT. 503

ferocious march, and their guilty triumphs. Formidable at
the beginning, and fostered by events, they liarrassed the
progress of this administration under its greatest trials, and
embarrassed its councils at every step. It is well that little
could be claimed from abilities so moderate under circum-
stances so adverse. We may be content and thankful, that
if nothing has been won, everything has not been lost —
that the exasperations of the struggle are subsiding, and
that, in the prospect before us, there is nothing so discour-
age or dismay. You have, therefore, fellow-citizens, every
motive, as men, and every obligation, as Christians, to banish
discord and to cultivate peace — to discard the passions
which become children more than men — to separate your-
selves from names, the best of which are comparatively
worthless, and attach yourselves to principles, which are
unchangeable, and which cannot fail you in your utmost
need : in fine, to think and act as brethren of the same
family, allied by a common interest and a common destiny,
of wliich the universal Parent will be the guardian and
protector. It is the best, as it is the last, advice I can
give ; and, returning to private life, I invoke the blessing
of God upon our countrv, and bid you farewell.

G. M. TROH-.

The inauguration of Governor Forsyth took place on the
7th of November. The following is an extract from his
inaugural address:

"The judgment formed of every administration, is the
result of a comparison with that 'which immediately pre-
ceded it. Difficult, indeed, is the path before me, when the
public mind is occupied, and will long continue to be
so, by the recollection of the zeal, the fidelity and the
success with which the Government has been administered
by my respected and fortunate predecessor.''

The Georgia Journal, of 12th November, said : " Few
men have retired from office, under more flattering circum-
stances, than Gov. Troup. He has, certainly, during the
four years of his service, had more difficulties to contend
with than any of his predecessors ever had, not even ex-
cepting Gen. James Jackson.'"

After speaking of his trials and his triumphs, it added :

" He left town, on Thursday last, for his private residence

;,i 14 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TR01 [(.'HAP. XIII.

in Laurons County. 1; wa- pr« >posed that a company of the
young men of MiUedgeville and the neighboring Counties,
should escort, him sunn.- di-tance from town; but this ar-
rangement was abandoned, at his request. Ill- friends,
who were members of tin- Legislature, and strangers that
were in town, of whom t, re many, called in par

at his lodgiii 'ing, and took their

leave. And, mi Thursday mon • nnmber of

the citizens of Milledgeville met at I. e JIall, and

'•eded in a body to tire. Jenkins', for the same purpose.
They were all received with kindness and cordiality ; and
they left him, expressing their . • the separation

which was about to take pi a

Saving visited Savannah, in February. l^S the com-
pliment of a public dinner was tendered him. In soliciting
his acceptance, the <• -ual and

political friends, -

'' Your fellow-citi/e

and peculiar claims upon your indulgeii'- . r public

career commenced among them: . ••ontinu-

ance, ha- let with their warm and uwmaliiied ap-

probution."

From his letter, dated <Hh l-'ebruary. deciiir :nvi-

tation, the following extract i- made :

"On each occa>i<>n «•}' revisiting your city, in which I
had been reared from earliest infancy, I have felt myself
at home ; and it would have been most gratifying to me, if
it had seemed most appropriate to you, to have been treat-
ed rather as a friend, which I am, than as a public man,
which I am not H^rii to many sorrows, I have sought con-
solation here, ui: j afflictive dispensation, and have

found it in warm and generous b i which the most

delicate sensibilities have been united to the mo^t manly
virtues. You must feel, therefore, how reluctant L have
been in failing to receive your v. : nand-. The

approbation of my public conduct i> of the highest value
to me, because i; conviction that that conduct

lias been right. "':

The Georgian niMi-il : •• It v ill I • • >r,-n 11 :,m i:

1 "1. Trotip has declined the mark of res; liini I>y hi> fclluw -citi/cii^. It wmilil

havii )•• i'l'oni UK.' sn' r. tor innn.v

CHAP. XIIL] ELECTION TO U. S. SENATE. 505

One year after his retirement from the Executive office,
Gov. Troup was, without solicitation on his part, elected
to the Senate of the United States, for the full term to
commence on the 4th of March, 1829. His election oc-
curred on the 5th of November, 1828, and witJwut opposi-
tion. Out of 183 votes cast, he received every vote but
15 ; and was, consequently, elected by a majority of 168 —
a thing believed to be unprecedented in the history of
Georgia. In the sketch of Gov. Troup, in White's Statistics
of Georgia, it is said :

" This appointment was accepted by him with unfeigned
regret. Ill health and other circumstances had determined
him to live in domestic seclusion. It is not generally
known, that, when apprised of the Legislative intention to
send him to Washington, he, to prevent it, hastened from
his home in Laurens, to Milledgeville, where he arrived
only a few hours after his election."

The term for which Gov. Troup had been elected to the
Senate, was to begin on 4th March, 1829 ; but he was un-
able to attend the Executive session then held. On 22d
January, 1829, he wrote to a friend :

': Letters received from Washington, express a wish that
I would be present there on the 4th of March ; and I may
attempt it, at the risk of failure. I am very

sick of politics and of public men, even more so than in
body, which has had and still has sickness enough to com-
plain of ; but I will do anything I can to the contribution
for the public interest, so long as there is a prospect of
serving it.*'

In another letter, of 27th March, to the same friend,
dated at Darieu, after referring again to his health, &c., he
said, in reference to the inaugural address of the new
President :

" I like Gen. Jackson's prologue, much, and will like it
still better, if time shall prove the plain-dealing and honest
sincerity of the author," &c., &c.

Again, on the 8th of June, lie wrote, from Laurens :

" I have postponed writing, that I might be able to
give you a favorable account of my health. Hope is
yet deferred ; and I can only say, in this respect, that a
64

506 UFK «>F GEOR«;K M. TROUP. [CHAI-. xm.

teasing cough hara-se-, without apparently wearing me
away: an<l. u'th does not decline, I flatter

myself, or [•. rha .'.atteis me, that my lungs

are still whole. * The summer will deride

my late: an .nnot in: 'if useful at "Washing-

ton, 1 will not go th<-

On the loth August, writing from Milledgeville, lie said :

•• VL\ r '.igh, without being worse, harasses me, and,
although tea! i not proved enfeeblii

The following, to tin- same friend, deserves a place 1
as giving, not only an account of his health, hut his views
on Kducation.

th August, 1 •

My Dear Friend : .otalitth \ ing and

embarrassing to me. It may he ail'eetion of the lungs, or
liver, or both, or neither. 1 am too little versed in your
science, to trust myself with a conjecture. The cough and
expectorations proceed : as to the former, I cannot say
there is any thing fixed or settled about it; indeed, if gives
me no trouble or UP . compared with the hawking

and spitting, or disci.; phlegm, (vi.-cid.i which 1,<

my throat almost alv •. The cough gives M:

trouble, at night, and sometimes is of rare occurreiv
the day; the other proceeds quite independently of it.
They are such symptoms which induce me to hel;
may be right, when you suppose it a gastric aiiection. and
not of the lungs, i am taking your remedy.

Schemes of Education have been multiplying for the
last twenty years, in every part, of the civilized world,
without public opinion having rested on any one of them
for a longer time than its novelty lasted. I have not much
faith that our inventive faculties in this respect will enable
us to make wiser men than the Greeks and llomans. al-
though our Christian system may make better ones. Cer-
tainly, any contrivance which can make a school-room more
captivating to a child, than a prison-house, must have its
value ; and, no doubt, the plan of the Infant Schools is the
best which can be devised. It requires but little experi-
ence to determine its advantages, and the test is ah
unerring.

It lias never been . 1 that one nation had acquired

a decided superiority over another, in intellectual endow-
ment, all else being equal, by iijji.ri//. ('<//• ,,«>i/< of training
tin; human mind. I Undoubtedly, there are some mod.

CHAP. XIII.] ATTENDANCE AT WASHINGTON. 597

communicating knowledge, which have preference over
others ; but it is difficult to believe that at this time of day
the modes are susceptible of much improvement. More
cannot be communicated than is known ; and I am much
inclined to think that as much can be communicated, either
by the ancient or modern modes, as the mind can receive.
Well organized and disciplined Schools, with good instruct-
ors, have at all times been able to accomplish this. True,
some are sanguine enough to think the mind can be made
to master every department of human learning, when that
learning shall have reached its highest perfection ; but we
remain without the proof. It is probable that no mind
ever acquired more of what is called knowledge, than that
of Aristotle, and it was probably far short of even the
useful knowledge of his time. Pray excuse a treatise on
Education. * * '- •'•'• '::' '•'' '•• '•• * '"' -:' -• # *
Affectionately yours,

G. M. TEOUP.
Dr. Daniell.

On the 25th November, he wrote, from Washington :
" I arrived safely, yesterday, and in as good condition as
could have been expected. The route by Norfolk gave us
some rest, and we lost no time — the Steamboat making up
for the tardiness of the Stage. The members assembled
early and in great number, as if something unusual were
anticipated, and yet I hear nothing that can cause curiosity
or anxiety. On Indian affairs and Internal Improvement,
the President will do as we desire," &c., &c.

" Pennsylvania will, no doubt, fill the vacancy on the
Supreme Bench. I am very anxious to get Mr. Cheves ;
but the prospect is far from flattering. The wishes of the
State are to be consulted, and the State will probably not
discover Pennsylvanianism enough in Mr. C. to recommend
him. They speak of Binney, and Gibson, and Baldwin.""-'

He took his seat in the Senate, on 7th December,
and, on the 9th, was appointed third on the Military Com-
mittee, and second on the Committee on Indian Affairs.
The state of his health was such, during a great part of the
time he continued in the Senate, as to unfit him for debate.

* lion. Henry Baldwin was afterwards appointed to lill this vacancy, created by Judgo
Washington's death. — ED.

508 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. | CHAP. XIII.

It was probably on leaving Georgia to take his pin-
the session of 1829 — '30, that he expres-ed a doubt whether
he would ever return from Washington. On ^Ist Deeem-
ber, he wrote :

"I can give you no better account of my health, than
to say it continue-: very much as when T left you, with the
exception of increase of cough — being mure troublesome
by night as well as b We can

accomplish nothing i'ur Southern interests, here, unless per-
haps the removal of the Indians ; and this, if accomplished,
will be done reluctantly and ungraciously: or, m<>rr pro-
perly, will be permitted only because it cannot but be
vainly forbidden. [ speak of the Congress: not of the
Executive, who is sincerely with IH."

On 8th January. ]*•:',". lie again wn

" I will leave this, for Ath< . possible, if

mv health permit, will return to my duties immediately:
otherwise, will resign, when I may h
than we once expected."

Again, on 4th March, he wrote, from Washington :

"Having resol\ 1 advised you, because of

the uncertainty of my being able, to return in time for any
useful purpose, I wrote to our friend 15.,
take my place. The idea was, if the co: ml diffi-

culty could be removed, to prevail on the Governor to send
the commission, forthwith; but he thought, and perhaps
correctly, that a previous resignation would be neces-
which would have consumed too much time for our object.
So many things occupy me, that I must hasten to beg my
affectionate remembrance to the family," <.Vc., eoc.

And. on 20th March, he wrote :

"Those [members of Congressj who are most unprin-
cipled, form an alliance to cheat the more scrupulous ; and
they are always a strong majority. The constitution stand ;
in the way of nobody, and is never spoken of with any
gravity, except in the way of a rhetorical flourish. A very
common argument is held, that if the honest do not turn
rogues, presently, the plunder will be all gone : and it is
not difficult to see ho\v the argument works. Our Indian
affairs are likely to go well. •• Pray re-

* Judge Berrien, probably, who was then A • ; il 1.1" ill" I. .-. Mr. Korsytli

was at this time the colleague of i < Mi. llrniri,

whnn tli'! l:itt"r cnti-ro.! tli.-Caliiti"!.— Ki>.

CHAP, xni.] JEFFERSON'S BIRTH-DAY.

509

member me affectionately to Mrs. D. and the boys. Tell
the latter that I always think of them, and do not despair
of seeing them once more."

Whilst, however, Gov. Troup was unable to take part
in debate, he was not inattentive to the duties of his sta-
tion. Probably, a slight improvement in his health, and
the unwillingness of his friends for his retirement, induced
him to continue in the Senate. During all this time, and
until his final retirement from public life, in 1833, it is
confidently believed that the record of his votes, in the
Senate, may safely be challenged to show any departure
from the simplicity and honesty of his Republican faith,
and those State Eights principles, which never forsook him
in the most trying times. Although physically too weak
to attempt a speech, his name was a tower of "strength to
his political friends. This will be shown by what follows.

The 13th day of April, 1830, the anniversary of the
birth-day of Thomas Jefferson, was celebrated at "Washing-
ton City, with great eclat. Hon. John Roane, of Virginia,
presided, assisted by six Vice-Presidents. South Carolina
having been toasted, Gen. Hayue responded to the senti-
ment, and, amongst other things, said :

" On a more recent occasion, GEORGIA, (in every sense,
our sister J) under the guidance of one of the noblest of
her distinguished sons, planted upon her borders the stand-
ard of STATE RIGHTS, and achieved a great and a glorious
victory for the good cause. Neither denunciations nor
threats could induce her enlightened and patriotic Chief
Magistrate to recede from the proud stand he had taken in
defence of the constitutional rights committed to his charge.
Public opinion was rallied to his support, liberty triumphed,
and the Constitution was saved."

He concluded with offering the following sentiment :

i; The State of Georgia — By the firmness and energy of
her Troups, she has achieved one great victory for &
rights ; the wisdom and eloquence of her sons will secure
her another proud triumph in the councils of the Nation."

Hon. James M. Wayne, then a Representative from

510 MFK OF « ' TBOUP [('HAP. XIII.

:ment, in a ^peech.
which want of space- forbids the making of extracts.

Speaking "f the stand which (-ieorgia liad taken, even
"when menaced' with military coon-ion," Arc., lie said:

"Our apj hoard by otir brethren : the State tri-

umphed : ire now fully

acknowledged, and the ch in to the

timenta of the gentleman from South Carolina, ;;

that' relations with the <ieiieral<

eminent, stand-; vindicated a: \v the r>

ative deinocraey of the 1 'n:on."

Governor Troiip gave the followin
sion :

" ; -With i.

liinii rs than ' ;l»li<- of | ino, it rules

an Kmpire i:. :ided than t!ie Roman, with the ;.

luteness of Tiberius, with less wi>dom than Augustus, and
:!istice than Trajan or the Anton i

During the se~-ioM of !^i".» -*80, (iov. T. ner-

ally at h: -id always v».ted as became, the principles

of his whole life. It was during this session that the cele-
brated debate, on F< ••Intion, occurred, in which

General Jlayne and >[r. v ,:ly distinpi-

them -eb

This session terminated on uve

abundant evidence that his health continued poor. During
the recess, he was invited to a public meeting and dinner,
by the friends of - ' >lumbia, South Carolina.

In declining the invitation, he v, follows:

LACRKNS ('• . : •,. /

September L'lst. ls:H>. \

:itlomen: Accept my thanks for your ]>olite invita-
tion to a public meeting and dinner at Columbia, directed
to Milledgeville. Whether with you on that interesting
-ion, or not, you have my best wishes for the results of
the wise counsels and patriotic efforts which yon cannot
fail to carry to the discussion of tiie topics. if tiie day : they
are of lirst importance to the whole Tnion.

Whatever the peoph- ..f South Carolina, in convention.
shall resolve for their and liappiness, will

be right, and none will have the right to question it. You

CHAP. XIII.] COLUMBIA LETTER.

can change your own government at pleasure ; and, there-
fore, you can throw off the government of the Union,
whenever the same safety, interest and happiness require
it. If ambition and avarice shall make of the Federal
Government a curse, and the States are to be held to it
against their will, our condition differs in nothing from that
of the Province of Turkey or Persia. The many-headed
tyrant, in the habitual violation of the Constitution, vaunts
his love of Union, as if ready to make a burnt-offering of
his looms and spindles upon the altar of that Union — yet,
not one jot of concession is made to the prayers and en-
treaties, which, if offered to the throne of Grace, would be
received graciously and answered favorably. The cormo-
rant who fastens and fattens on onr substance, may not re-
lease his hold, so long as we are the willing subject of its
remorseless passion. But I do not utterly despair — the
American people will see that the Constitution and Union
can only be preserved by a return to honesty and justice.
It is impossible we can be wrong — ours is the cause of
liberty — of freedom of industry — of the use of the fac-
ulties of mind and body for all purposes, merely innocent,
without governmental interference ; opposed to restraints
and prohibitions and monopolies in every form. If, con-
trary to expectation, the existing system shall become the
fixed and settled policy of the country, the Southern States
must withdraw from the confederacy, cost what it may.
Xo evil is more to be dreaded than a power in the General
Government to regulate industry — a power which can-
not with safety be confided to any government, but with
the most guarded limitations. Direct taxes for the en-
couragement of manufactures, would not have been paid
for a single year. The five cents a yard on our cotton bag-
ging, levied for the professed purpose of enabling the West-
ern States to supply the article on their own terms, when
the proceeds were" to make roads and canals for the same
States, would have been opposed with a spirit not easily
allayed. They have been borne, only, because being indi-
rect, they arc 'unseen ; and because a portion of the _evil
may be avoided by the non-consumption of those articles
which are not of first necessity. There cannot be a greater
fallacy than that the Union is 'to be preserved by a power
in the General Government to coerce the States. The exist-
ence of sovereignty excludes the idea of force. Ours is a
Government of opinion, of consent, of voluntary associa-
tion—the only guaranty for Union is justice. Justice
secures good feeling, fidelity, affection ; and nothing but

512 MM OF GEORGE M. TR<HT. |('H.\P. XIII.

justice can secure t IK-HI, of what value is tliat Union
which is formed of unwilling and reluctant members, who.
but for the > \\-ord Mispended over their heads, would fly oft'
from the common centre wliicli burns only to de-troy {

The Constitution, administered according to its letter
and spirit, can dispense nothing but justice ; and the char-
acter of the American p' .aaranty tliat
no State would s run the Union without justifiable
cause. Regarding the, Uni<> . the
members oi' which can only bo ke}>t together l>y the prac-
tice of strict and impartial justice., it '. 'ii.-tt the non-
contents and the mal - should i :vd to depart
in peace by common consent, than by common consent to
constrain a reluctant -e, which, it' yielded to-day,
may he forcibly withdrawn to-morrov . ;he shedding
of blood which deters us from constitutional resistance to
unconstitutional laws, and which ought to be postponed 80
long a< the faintest, hope remains of a returning sense of
justice. You well know how the same infatuation is con-
stantly pursuing an interest intinitely i red; the
unhallowed touch of which we would be bound in honor
to resist, and with a vengeance never to be appeased. .But
pardon so much on ti. . and accept the
tender of m\

G. M. TBOTJP.

OnGth October, he wrote to his friend. Dr. Daniell, then
a member of the ( Jeorgia Senate :

"I cannot ride on horseback, without suffering much in-
convenience; the carriage is sufficiently irritating. Since
my last, my condition is better.

>% With regard to the Cherokee-, 1 would >ay, enforce the
laws strictly — set the Supreme Court at defiance, and
occupy the country. The hist, can either be

worked by the State, or sold, or k-a-ed. Make it a high
crime and misdemeanor, (treason, if you please.) for any
person in., matter who,) within the jurisdictional limits of
the State, (the chartered limits,) to issue or serve any
judicial process, which shall, directly or indirectly, call in

* On the ICtli •

•^i.i disapprove ..f ;' . ^inim.-, of Hi-- il".

. in his toa^t nt the .1 :.-ition dinner, in Washington City, and

in hi* lotti-r replying to an invitation in the O'lnnibia dinn

The resolution \v;l, iu:mi;di:it-ly lai.l ,,: ,r thn rr-maind-r of the .s..-^i.m, hj

•ys31.— i;n.

CHAP. XIII.] LETTERS FROM WASHINGTON.

question the sovereign jurisdictional or territorial rights of
the State. This system, enforced as it ought to be, will
soon move the Cherokees. They rely on their Northern
friends ; and, as soon as they see that to be a broken staff,
they will surrender."

He wrote, again, on 2d November :

_" The state of things at Milledgeville, from time to time,
will be very acceptable. The majority against you, in the
Senate, is stronger than I anticipated. The horizon is not
very clear, either at home or abroad ; and I fear poor
human nature will work its own ruin at last. '-" '::~ ~::" '•'•'

Suffer much pain, at in-
tervals, and do not know if I can accomplish the journey."

Governor Troup attended the session of 1830-31. Writ-
ing, from Washington, on 18th December, after referring
to the action of the Legislature of Georgia in regard to the
Cherokee lands, &c., he said :

" The poor University has met the fate* anticipated, and
will never recover so long as party and bigotry have any
thing to do with it. * '"• ''•' ''•'•' "::" "::" I do not look for
any modification of the Tariff which would give us gratifi-
cation. If any happen, it will be in furtherance of the
system. We begin to rely somewhat upon a salutary
change in public opinion, of which there are some signs."

On 4th January, 1831, in another letter, after referring
to the resolutions of the Legislature of Georgia, requesting
and enjoining the Governor and other officers of the State,
to disregard the citation, &c., of the Chief Justice of the
U. S. Supreme Court, in the case of the Indian Tassels,
who had been convicted of murder before the Superior
Court of Hall county, &c., &c., he said :

"The result has been hailed by our political iViends here,
as a signal triumph, although it may be but the onset. It
is not believed they will venture to proceed in the con-
tempt."

In another letter, written on 31st January, he said :

"The relations of public men here are worse than this
time last year, and as bad as they can be. The President
is almost the only man who has maintained his position as
it was," &c., &c.

* It is proper to add, that, three days after the date of this letter, an Act was passed
« to pro-vide a permanent additional fund for tho support of :I the University, &c., 4c.— i;i>.

514 I<TFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [CHAP. XIII.

Speaking of the protective lie said, in a letter

dated llth May :

"The danger i :ue imminent, hecai. evi-

dent, for the fir.-t time, that tlie entire capital and popula-
tion of New Fnirland and other interested States, arc
embodying ;••!• tin- permanency <>\' the system: and, if
not i \ve nui-1 rthrown. h<" /nd dra-

goo:

Thi- r-hort session, not much of a ^en

nature wa- done in .:ip vote'

I'd February, i; . . - introdi;

•hat the charter of the IJank of the I'nited
States ought not to lx BOB adjourned on

March.

Meanwhile, tlie health i.f (Governor Troup continued
feeble. He was aide. ! . t,. attend li n of

1831-32. On 21st Januarv. 1^:1:.', lie wrote to Dr. '
iell :

" PubK j-innin^ to occupy ni'

tlie attention •. Imdy here, as it 5- seen in how much

uncertainty I d. The present pi

very gloomy, and w<- can only indulge the hope that
events may transpire to favor tin ''e-irai)].- results.

The Tariff party will attempt to reconcile t iiern

people, by some trilling concession ; which, if it should
succeed, will rivet the system upon us. Our friends
so fa decided, and will not he content with anything

; of justice and equality. For the Bank, there i
doubt a majority in both Jloii<es, but not two-thirds; and
the better opinion is that two-thirds will be required."

The following extract from a letter, to the same friend.
dated 30th 11 ::, will show why ' r Troup took

no part in deba

" I would very gladly have availcdam our friendly

•c-tion, and for the reason assigned, if it had been pos-
. Frequent- occasions hare occurred, making it very
fit and proper, perhaps even n-eful, that my own opinion-
should have been ex; out every essay of that kind
would prove BO di-i res.-ing to myself and others, that it
would be quite unwarrantable to attempt it. The '.
effort, in this May, is followed by a fit of coughing which is
not easily allayed, and which, even in ordinary c<inv,

CHAP. XIII.] VIEWS ON THE TARIFF. 515

tion, has more than once produced a spitting of blood. The
effects, in relation to myself, would be of no consequence,
if the object of the effort, on any profitable occasion, could
be attained ; but I know this to be physically impossible."

Of the tariff, he wrote, on 2d July :

" The bill from the House of Representatives, which is
likely to pass the Senate, is essentially a bill for the fur-
ther relief of the manufacturers, who will be exempted, in
a great degree, from the only burthens to which they had
been subjected under the old system."-'"

This was an exceedingly important session of Congress,
the Bank and Tariff questions being the leading ones. It
has been already stated, in a note to a previous chapter,
that Governor Troup voted to sustain the President in his
veto of the bill to re-charter the Bank of the United States,
having previously voted against the bill itself. At this
period, he was a cordial supporter of Gen. Jackson's ad-
ministration ; as may be seen by the following extracts from
a private letter, written after the adjournment of Congress,
and dated 29th August, 1832 :

"Bad health carried me to the Virginia Springs, where,
having acquired sufficient strength, we took the road by
the higher country, direct for Athens, whence, (having first
entered George of the Sophomore Class, and left his sisters
with him, all in good health,) I proceeded homeward,
where I arrived, ten days since, not much worse than I left
the Springs.

" Have desired much to see you. Every thing, polit-
ically, is working badly for us, as you may perceive _; and,
amidst all the diversity of opinions, no rallying point, or
principle of union, presents, by which the disorder may be
corrected. "::- '- ~::~ * The cause of nullification is so
generally connected with hostility to the President, that,
even if it were more tenable, it would expose to jealousy any
politician in Georgia who would seem to favor it. General
Jackson deserves to be supported most liberally by every
Georgian, and indeed by every Republican, Ho man
would have hazarded more for correct principles."1

* The bill was passed substantially as it came from the House, but, of course, against the
vote of Governor Troup. It was entitled '• An Act to alter and amend the several Acts laying
duties on imports/' and was approved by the President, on 14th July, 1835
the Acts embraced within tho provisions of the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification of
24th November, 1832.— EP.

r,1f, LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROFP. [CiiAP. XIII.

[1832.] C •e^aiseinbled on 3d December, (lov.

Troup was placed second on the Military Committee ol' the
Senate, and was made Chairman of the Committee on In-
dian Affairs.

On the 10th December, the President i>sue<l liis celebrated
Proclamation, having reference to the nulliiiration measures
of South Carolina ; the party divi -n which, belong

to the general history of the country.

The following letter fr< .inds its appn-

priatc place here :

W i Fan'y, 1 -

My Dear Friend: Within ; . 'Merc; has been .-•

iderable abatem* \citement, and the Kxecutivi-

tone has moderated. It is no\\- ascertained that force will

not be resorted to, bn; . ,;nd that regulars \vill

not be employed against citix

The apprehension of civil war, which a lime

§eneral, has :ired before the prmml^ation of the

tate law, which low the merchant to --ive and

pay his bond. It now be- .id, that, . • dy.

nullification has tailed ; and the mamifactur. i to

think that reduction m: •-oiu-.d. On this

question, the Senate i i-mbtlul than the li-

In consequence of the repeated surest ions (.t' you
and others, as well as of a late Me and ill-timed

State paper, I have given my views and opinions generally.
As Major Moore, of Oglethorpe. a very worthy patriot.
was most pr "laudatory, I have given them to

him, and in a very familiar, homespun way. They will,
of course, meet the reception and treatment whi
thing, of like kind, emanating from myself, has in past
time, and perhaps with very little favor from any quar-
ter. * ":> * "::- •'•'

Affectionately,

<i. M. THOI-I-.
Dr. W. C. Daniell.

* On tin' It'ith of .Taiu'.ary. ^Ir. K>
withstanding fhe thraatanl . Th1'

f'liicf v

I'mni t-'diitli Carulinn t"lls in that Sninli ('•in'1in:i 1-

The hope mlgbt be indulged that nil t).

would not In- nsod." — 1>.

CHAP. XIII.] LETTERS ON STATE RIGHTS. 517

The " State paper," to which reference is made above,
was the proclamation of the President. The letter to
Major Moore, to which reference is also made above, will
be found in the Appendix to this volume. On the 10th of
February, Governor Troup wrote his celebrated letter to
Major John H. Howard, which is also to be found in the
Appendix.""' Had he written nothing else, this letter
would suffice to place him amongst the foremost men of
the country. By the last of these letters, it will be seen
that he was not an admirer of nullification as adopted by
South Carolina, under the actual circumstances of the
case, and for the reasons stated by himself. Believing, as
he did, in the absolute and undivided sovereignty of each
State, and that Carolina had a right to do as she did, he
still thought she should have acted in concert with other
States having identical interests. On 20th February, he
wrote to Dr. Daniell :

" I am much gratified that the letter to Moore gave you
pleasure. It does not appear to have been received as well
elsewhere. I see it excepted to by ' BIBB,' in the last
Recorder, who I take to be our excellent friend, ::~ "::"
"::" ""' ~::" •- . It is in this way that our cause is made
hopeless. You must fall in with the whim-whams and
crudities and conceits of every politician on one side, or
you accomplish nothing for union. This sensitiveness is a
prominent characteristic of nullification. It has its seat in
the front of the cranium, and the subject of this infirmity
reminds you of one in a fit of the gout, who is in dread
of every thing that approaches his toes."

During the session of 1832-33, Gov. Troup was frequently
absent, from severe indisposition. A more excited session
never was held since the adoption of the Federal Constitution.
The principles of the Government were sifted to their founda-
tion, in the debates on the proclamation and the measures
introduced to meet the crisis brought about by the nullify-
in D- ordinance of South Carolina, and General Jackson's

* Theso two letters are put in an appendix, reluctantly, and only because the limit*
assigned to this work do not permit their insertion in the large type selected for the body of
this book. Xo admirer of Governor Troup'* State Rights priidples-. will fail to n>;vl
letters attentively. — ED.

518 LIFE OF GEORi-K M. Tl: [Ciur. XIII.

determination to put down what ho deemed a political
lieresv. Some ,.f the ir: 'en that ever tii-'iirod in

American li: -n and debaters, were in that.

CongreaB, Calhoun, Clay and Webster were in the Sen-
ate. !>e-idc- Mini: :s'who would have adorned
any deliberat: lily.

The Revenne Collection Hill, 1110:1- commonly known as
the " Force I>ill,v rame up i'or il Mid third

read! KIT, on ixtli .. Alihouirh unable to take any

}>art in ck-ba in left his >ick l>f<|. and waited

until nearly midniirht. tort cord hi :iin^t the measure.

< >ut of forty - . the only iu ••.

George M. Bibb, John (\ Calhoun. William EL King, Willie

I*. M:i!i:Ml!ii. i ). Mil!

Tuorr and John Tyler. On : .' thehill.on L'uth

February, all the ab..ve Q|

Mr/l'vler, wh • \vas

too >!ck ' • ibllowino- letter from him 1-. one

of 1 he 6

this part of hi- hi>iory :

DAI Decemb

Of the misc. insf: and misivi-r>

tations eonnected with every thinir I write, you are not
insensible; so lhat, if I had i. -:dly and deliberately

mysterious in all things written or -noken, and conspic-
uously distiniru: "f purpose and in-
directio:: iuct, all : .idnotli- -cied
any thinir wo:v.-. Take, for example, the instance to which
you empnaticallj call my attention—" the impression U
attempted to be made tir h would have, Noted for
the Force Bill of the lu-! • had been in
your (my) seat."

I went from my chamber to the < 'a]»itol. at an early hour
of the afternoon, and, suffering much pain, kept.

* In the delate mi tliN bill, n;i l'.".]\ K'-l>riiary. ^r, in a long speech

in ojip . 'i'n.ii|i,

tliin \\hoiu n : tli:iu

• i n try:
and \\\i- <"}\-\ i.l

. --.,-•• 1" til.' I..^i-U;ii:v i ( 111:;'

an extract from \\Iiii-li I mhinit, fmiuinin,^ i< hy tlir attctilioii of linimr-

in t)n-i. ;(ioii." — ICn.

CHAP. XIII.] LETTER OF RESIGNATION. 519

until midnight, when / voted against the Force Bill. If
on my death-bed, I would have been carried there to vote
against it ; because it presented the strange political phe-
nomenon of a mere government treating a sovereign State
as if that State were a corporation or an unlawful assem-
blage of individuals. The vote was recorded, and pub-
lished in all the newspapers of the day ; and yet it is
attempted to make the impression that I would have voted
for the Force Bill if I had been in my seat. So the world
goes.

Your friend, very truly,

G. M. TBOUP.

The 22d Congress expired on the 3d of March, 1833.
Governor Troup never returned to Washington as a public
man. In November following, he resigned his seat, and
bade a final adieu to public employment.

The following is a copy of his letter of resignation :

LAUEENS COUNTY, November 8th, 1833.

To his Excellency, Gov. Lumpkin:

Sir: In execution of a deferred resolution, I resign my
seat in the Senate of tho United States. Reasons, merely
personal, it would concern you very little to receive ; and
others, which are of higher import, belong to my constitu-
ents, who might not choose to be troubled with them. It
may suffice, that, if the people of Georgia are as they were,
another can serve them more usefully ; and, if they are
not, I would be the last whom they would select to serve
them at all.

Your fellow-citizen,

G. M. TROUP.

;,L>c LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. I CHAP. XI\ .

: XIV.

Govenmr • /. /, / Stirfi J!it//itx nan,

:il I'll >".V (

/in. i/.- and Imlc-
1s H>. —

/.< iijipvsi 'I i-, .m-(A

of 1S~)U. — /. ,,. —

Nominated for tl /•// AVy/.v, • «n«N

Allllxl.lli:.

heaft/i ; irth.

— >

ON retiring to his home in Laim r Troiip

lived in as complete seclusion from political alfairs, as any
man, of his commanding position and well known and de-
cided princi] id. Without political aspirations, he
was still unreserved in th -ion of his opinions on all
subjects of general intere.-t, and willingly communicated
them, in writing, to those who solicited hi

convention, composed of State Rights members of the
Legislature, and delegates from various counties in the State,

ubled atMilledgeville, on the 12th of December, ;
At this meeting, Gov. TV nominated for the Presi-

dency, in the following resolution:

"fiewlved, That we recommend to the people of the
United States, Col. GEORGE M. T; a suitable candi-

date for the next Presidency. His zealous advocacy of,
and his lirm attachment to, the principles of State 1 lights,
designate him as the individual best calculated to promote
the Republican doctrines we advocate."

It was evident that this recommendation was intended
more as a compliment to Governor Troup, than as the
expression of a belief that it could be successful. Nothing
more was done about it. In reference, partly,to this
demonstration, he wrote the following :

LAI ; January, 1834.

My Dear Friend : From the information given, and

CHAP. XIV.] THE PRESIDENCY, &c. 521

desire expressed, in your and other letters, for the publica-
tion of the political letter,* I have given my consent ; al-
though I fear it may be construed as a political manoeuvre
in aid of the nomination — a measure, which, whatever may
be my own views of its policy, having originated in the
best feelings and with the best objects, I will say or do
nothing to thwart. I hope, at the same time, that I will
not be asked to do anything to promote it The impossi-
bility of success does not enter at all into my views of the
subject: for, under circumstances much more favorable to
it, my resolution would be the same. I consider it morally
impossible to bring back the Government to its pristine
principles ; but that is no good reason that the virtuous
men of the country should not make an effort.

"" " Remember me, as usual, to all, and believe me,
Very affectionately,

G. M. TEOUP.
Dr. W. C. Daniell,

Savannah.

In July, 183i, Gov. Troup publicly identified himself, in
feeling, with the State Eights party of Georgia. Being at
Macon, on his way to the Indian Springs, he was invited to
a public dinner. In declining the honor, he said, amongst
other things : " the State Eights party of Georgia have my
best wishes for their success." f

This announcement was the occasion of much comment
by Georgia politicians, and will serve to explain the politi-
cal par-t of the following :

LAUKENS, 25th Sept., 1834.

My Dear Friend : -;:' G

* * *• *, of - wrote, in

behalf of *. *. ::", to know if I

approved of the prefatory editorial to my Macon letter.
The letter being dictated 'in a very friendly spirit, I answer-
ed, thinking, it might possibly do some^good. ^ Not know-
ing him personally, but understanding his political position,
I treated the matter with mildness and gentleness, but,

* For this letter, (to Major Howard.) see the Appendix to this volume.— ED.

t Such was tho influence of his name and character, in Georgia, notwithi-tandin:; Un-
decided tone of the letter from which the above quotation is made, that many of his old
political associates, although not prepared to go the length of his extreme State Rights views,
took the name of •'•' Troup Union" men. Personally, ho never lost their affections. — ED.

I. IFF 01 \\. TROFP. [Our. XIV.

with deei-ion. A.tnong Other things, < *

having expressed his great abhorrence of nullifi-
cation.) I rei[iie<ted liini I" say to my old friend,
'•that tlu- denial of ab-olnte sovereignty to the State-.
vronld be more mischievous and ruinous than 10,0011 lmlra<
h> be raised from nullification." How it will take. I (lonot
know — as apt to confirm the apostasy as to shake it. They
force me to write political letters: and have written one to
Hancock, cautioning, at the same time.
and they hear of fragment^ from it.

to challenge the production and implication. Have written
.another to Talliot. in an-wer t«> one from Ureediove and
(iraybill, whom J don't know, but who profess to befriends.
If tliev are not. the letter will <erve them no iiur|)o-e.

'• -

ynur-,

G, ^
Dr. W. C. Danicll,

Savannah.

The following is the letter to I'.ivedlove and

Graybill, to which reference i- ab..ve made. It was exten-
sively published, at the time, as a letter " t-. -ume State
Rights gentlemen in Talbot comity:"

( 'eiitlemen : The State- are sovereign, or they are not.
We prove the afUrmative, by the Declaration of Independ-
ence, and the Articles <»j' Confederation — let the federal
party prove the negative if they can. If a State is sovereign.
it can do any thing — it can nullity any act of Congress, or
secede; is subject only to the law of nature and nations,
which it is bound {.> respect. This exercise of its sovereign
power has nothing to <ln with the Constitution, much
with revolution — it is above the Constitution, because it has
the law of nations for its constitution, and it can have m.
connection with revolution, !• >f all acts of human

power and authority, it is most commanding, peaceable,
legitimate and sacred. < )ur opponents involve themselves
in inextricable difficulty. The Federalists say that the
powers of sovereignty have been divided between the
State and Federal < iovcrnments --if s<>, the higher powers
having been given to theJatter, if ; - the greater sov-

reignty, and on that account must be the judge of its own
powers, which makes it absolute. And yet the Federalists
admit that sovereignty resides in the people, by which tliev

CHAI-. XIV. J STATE SOVEREIGNTY, in: ;,*.:;

mean the whole people of the United States ; when or how
they became one people, they cannot explain. The weaker
among them are divided in opinion; some saying it re-
sides in the United States, without being able to show a
substantive, distinct and independent being called the
United States, and capable of receiving sovereignty ; and
others that the Government is sovereign, because the peo-
ple have vested their sovereign powers in the Government ;
as if a Government, a mere agent, were capable of receiv-
ing sovereign powers. Thus inconsistency follows incon-
sistency, and contradiction contradiction. If sovereign
powers could vest in a Government, that Goverment could
transfer them to any subject capable of receiving them, in
virtue of that very sovereignty.

Carolina had a perfect right to do as she did ; but, as we
do not always wisely what we have right to do, I blamed
Carolina for not acting in concert with those States having
identical interests — if she had done so, a certain and
complete triumph of the Constitution would have been
the result.

You perceive, therefore, that the denial to a State of
absolute sovereignty, is a surrender of the whole question:
as, in any aspect of it, the Federal Government having the
higher attributes of sovereignty, can, in no event, be
checked, or restrained, or limited by a power possessing
only the minor attributes.

Very respectfully, gentlemen,

G. M. TROUT.

The year 18oT is remembered for the severe commercial
crisis through which the country passed. Having been
invited by the State Rights party of Chatham county, to
attend the celebration of the 4th of July, of that year, at
Savannah, and being unable to attend, he wrote a letter,
dated 30th June, from which the following extract is
made :

'•In all past time, and in every country, what is called a
crisis, a panic, an excitement, or any temporary evil, nat-
ural or artificial, has been seized upon by the friends of
arbitrary power, to strengthen the arm of Government al-
ready strong enough. The present state of things, full of
distress, and moving the strongest passions, is also full of
danger for posterity, who may weep in more sorrow and bit-

524 LIFE OF GEDRGE M. TROT [Cmr. XIV

terness of heart, the doings of its aiu
panic. Be pleased to a
expression of a hope^an anxious hop*.
party of Georgi . mnot limit or restrain, will never,

dirtcily or indirc&ly, contribute t
'

To a friend, who desired to .
rency question, Gov. Troup wrote a long let*
. 1840, which the reader will find in

::ie. "The use and abuse of his nan.
tion with" the Presidency, had
stance of his name having been used in
the news-papers in Georgia, for that 01 : con-

ductors came out in support of Gen.
Van Burcn.

On 25th Jv.
and said :

•• Have been much plague
hoped, by abusing everv bod •
but it is not so. and a
publ

In the same letter, i
Buren over the other party, and added: '-hut :

een arsenic and hellebore; and wh
choice, when we can refuseb

The following K -ame 1'ri-

ville,) shows that the writer of it indifferent T

pleasures of social intercourse, and that lie could indulge-
in the sallies of pleasantry :

My Dear 1 ;:in<l invita-

tion. My brotii me.

in J : ami i

possible : ill mak« T in all.

• remain with you as

• The tab-TuMiiij •cknnc-, to wUk h t hi- VM enacted into a law

iUi Julr. 1S4X vhich WM ivpecled 13th Augu»t. 1S41. Tl«« prMeat »y*tem
timiint. trMJsfcrring ml dWmnug the pat4ic rtTmae, WM Adopted \>y Art

CCb Anr«- l^C. •MMkMitATCk.lMMfMHfllrtMMatlMV

XIV.] PRIVATE LETTERS.

as we can. *

I am so much afraid, in these Harrisonian days, of judges,
sheriffs, bailiffs, and their precepts, that, apart from all other
motive or consideration, any one of them would as easily
conduct me to the river Styx as a gaol ; and you know-
gaol or Styx is the alternative — at least, it is so with us. I
hope better things, in your quarter, than molten lead for a
man who is not yet entitled to a place on that side of the
gulf; and shall content myself with the fare of Lazarus,
which, as I remember, was a little worse than I have been
accustomed to under the roof of a gentleman who shall be
nameless.

Many kind remembrances to all yours.

G. M. TEOLP.

To the same Mend, he said, on 15th September, 1 8
••I had heard something of * * * -* *, aforetime,
which prepared me for his present decided attitude. By
the by. is it not sayingsomething for a good cause, that such
men cannot follow the lead of their would-be leaders, and
on questions, too, not only leading, but, to their party, es-
sentially vital? Why cannot our friend * *,
one of the best of men, renounce his Bankism, and suffer
the real friends of the Southern country to vote for him ?
The enlightened men, who are opposed to a Bank, believe
it to be unconstitutional, and most disasirous to Southern
interests ; and they cannot conscientiously vote for even
such a patriot as *."

Again, on 7th [November, 1842, speaking of the Presi-
dential question, and of some things that he regarded as
errors in the Democratic party, he said:

•• Yon are a very bad party, but your adversary is the
d — 1 : and as Milton, an excellent Eepablican, did most
excellently and transcendentally overcome and defeat him,
so I have no doubt you will, and by the same means — the
intrinsic merit and virtue of your cause, according to pro-

•n. at least : and profession is something."
On the 3d of April, ISM, he wrote to the same friend :
• Do me the favor to say to Ben, that, when he resolves
to take np Blackstone. I recommend to him the edition of
Tncker. Although it is not a commentary on Blackstone. it
is a most excellent comparison of English and American
constitutions and laws, illustrated with mirch clearness and
ability, with sufficient candor and impartiality, and afford-
ing, at the same time, the best exposition of the Federal

,V_/t; LIFE OF GEORGE M. TUOl V. [Cn.u-. XIV.

Constitution and government of any work extant. I fear
the Federal lawyers will proscribe and banish it their
libraries."*

On the . 'Hi of June. 1^41. in rej>ly lo a question from two
gentlemen of Putnam county, whether it would be ''politic
and expedient, or rather just, on the part of the (Jovern-
ment of the United Si at,.--. e»nsideriii:.. ing relations

to Mexico, and r \iphical position to that of Texas.

to incorporate immediately the latter Government into the
Union, without the formal acknowledgment on the part
of Mexico," Governor Tnuip wrote a letter, in which he
said he had "not the least doubt" in regard to '-that mea-
ure, not merely a? one of expediency and -oimd policy, but
as vital, in every sense of the word; without which," la-
added, ''the southern and western country are in imminent
peril." We make a few more extract^:

"If Texas, following the example of Mexico, \vere to
pa-s an act <>f emancipation, well knowing that the same
population would simultaneously cross the line to poison
and corrupt and incite their own color to cut the thro;:'
the women and children on this side, no doubt could be enter-
tained by the ~trieii->t casui>ts, of the right of the Southern
States (the Federal Government refusing its aid,) to protect,
themselves by all the means in their power, as a case of
imminent peril, and one not admitting of del;

When the United States ac-
knowledged the independence of Texas, Mexi.v knew
that such acknowledgment would qualify Texas to make
a treaty of cession, or any other treaty : and she did
not then choo.-e to make it a cause of war with the United
States."

He stated, as the substance of his views, that it was
" better, every thing considered, to take the treaty of ces-
sion as a good and valid treaty, than to run the haxard of
occupying Texas by force, (whether a territory of Mexico or

::: Iti tl, .,inl inn. 11. I lit-tir ••f i.M I'l-i'-nds foiling in witli

tlie Federal curreh! * * * ' I'l a- l, 11 mr lmw

yuUlilu! .Mr. • :'. ill li.-;iltll illlil -|Mlil~. ;.!!.! il (,lll ,-\,-l'llrllt IVii-Ild ::

ng, o.iin-. In- «\.n]d l

"ii \vliiuii a -!i.-i.|,. nfMisjiiciuii would n--,| : l.nt tin- \vorlil isch:tii^»ikble : uinl. witliout tlio tanh

:. li |inl"i an.l the PI.I- into jnxtniio-ition ln-Iui-.- wo can

turn ruuud." — UK

<'IMI-. XIV.] CALIFORNIA AND nWT'KO.MISK. -»-

Texas,) as a measure of self-preservation against the threat-
ened aggressions of England, Mexico, or Texas, or all of
them," &c.

From private letters written by him, about this time, it
would be interesting to make extracts, did the limits of this
work permit. They all breathe the spirit of contentment,
and evince a keen relish for the pleasures of social life.
Without active participation in politics, he yet took an in-
terest in what was going on.

On the 14th of June, 1845, he wrote :

"The Federal party seems to be losing ground,
fast, in every quarter, and in a fair way to be reducible to
cipher. May such be its fate, if the omnipotency of the
other should not make it, forgetful of its duties and princi-
ples."

Of his health, he said, on 20th May, 184« :

" To tell you the truth, my health is bad, very bad — an
increasing aggravation of my old asthmatic affection — one
of the consequences of old a::<\"

The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, concluded in .

between the United States and Mexico, secured to the for-
mer that vast extent of country then known as 2sew Mexico
and part of California. The controversy growing out of
the attempt to form Governments for these Territories, and
the connection of the question of slavery with the agitation
which grew out of those attempts, aro of too recent occur-
rence and too closely allied to the general history of the
times, to require particular notice here. It was in refer-
ence to these absorbing questions, that Gov. Troup, in 1S4!'.
wrote two letters to a friend, in Mobile, and which, for a
reason already assigned, we are forced to place in the Ap-
pendix. Although the writer was then in his seventieth
year, and abstracted from public employment of every sort.
these letters show a vigor of intellect, and a spirit of patri-
otic devotion to the rights of the South, entitling them to
the careful consideration of the reader. Of the same char-
acter, are the two letters to his friend Dr. Slappey ; the latest

528 LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Ciur. XIV-

of these two having been written when Gov. Tronp was
nearly seventy-live years old.

Of Governor Troup's allusion to " fanaticism in the per-
son of the good and gallant Lu Fayette," a passing notice
is proper. From the second letter to his Mobile friend, it-
will be seen that "the illustration of fanaticism in the
character of Gen. La Fayette, was not designed to detract
any thing from the merits of that really excellent man."
Gov. Troup was too candid to give countenance t<> what he
deemed political error, when it came in his way. It wu-
well understood, at the time, that, during La Fayette's
visit to Georgia, he uttered some imprudent remarks on the
subject of slavery, in presence of Gov. Troup, which made
the interview unpleasant.*

In February, 1850, the General Assembly adopted reso-
lutions approving the recommendation for a convention to
be hold at Nashville, in June, of that year, by the people
of the slave-holding State-, M as eminently conducive t«>
harmonious and efficient action among them, in defence of
the institution of slavery," Arc., (fee., and lor the appoint-
ment. by the Legislature, <>f four dele j Mate

at large ; and two from each of the Congressional Districts,
to be elected by the people on the first Tuesday in April.
The people of Chatham county having determined to ap-
point a committee " from each of the political parties,'*
Arc., to recommend one candidate and one alternate, each,
for the first Congressional District, the Democratic Com-
mittee unanimously recommended Governor Tronp as the
Democratic candidate.f It is almost superfluous to add

* From an article which appi;!' -aibus news-paper, in 1850, tho following Is

• Wh"ii Gen. La Fay. ' i. Governor Troup, having wavi.-d his hand In

'ion, tunicM • :, 'gentlemen. I hi-artily • ralLa

him ilrpart.' "
think, to Gov. Tronp nnd Gen. La Fayi i •••: WIM-H tli

mo.int

no more Iliau that tho tro; ,ml wau the intural result of anti-slavery «i cmancipa-

ii"!i ..•iifini, 'Hi .-. EBs reference to Mr . Joflfenoi rn.>r Tr.'ii].'.-

i-i-mli'niv in t ' -orh. — KD.

•j- The committi'O f-ai'l : •• Tin'* has necessarily 1>ccn done without consultation with him.
The committ- ivc full confidence that ho who commenced his brilliant oai

pnblic dntip« in Diis Consre^i-.Tiiil District, and in this comity, will now, nflcr a lonR lif- of

«'iur. XIV.] NASHVILLE CONVENTION— PRESIDENCY. 599

that he was elected. On the 3d of April, two days after
the election, he addressed a note to Hon. R. M. Charlton,
in which, after stating that he had received the announce-
ment, only the day before, " in consequence of very bad
weather and high waters," he added :

_" I trust, notwithstanding, that the First Congressional
District may have elected a gentleman who will serve
them at Nashville, with more certainty and more ability
than myself. Be pleased to say to the Committee, and,
through them, to my fellow-citizens of Chatham county,
without distinction of party, that there is scarcely any thing
they would ask me to do, 'which, if I thought I could do it
well, I would not consent to do for them. " In inviting me
to represent them in the assembly contingently to be held
at Nashville, they have, on their part, but performed an act
of pure and exalted patriotism ; on mine, by accepting the
invitation, I would only have performed the duty of a good
citizen."

The Convention met on the first Monday in June, and
adjourned over to a day in November. Governor Troup
did not attend either session."-" Public opinion was much
divided in Georgia, as to the propriety or probable useful-
ness of the Convention.

In 1852, Governor Troup was nominated for the Presi-
dency of the United States, by a convention of the South-
ern Rights party of Alabama, with Gen. Quitman for the
Yice-Presidency. To the Committee who informed him of
the nomination, he replied, as follows :

disinterested and devoted patriotism, yield, with a lively satisfaction, to tbe call of those >
fathers matured and cherished his early aspirations, and gave to the State an eminent patriot
mid statesman, and who has proved himself faithful to his first friend--, by '''incr true to our
common country. The committee deem it of the first importance, at >u<-h a juncture
present, to call into the public service, men of the purest virtue, tli i patriotism,

and the highest grade of talent. All the.sj unit*' eminently in Governor Troiip." — ED.

* On 10th October, he wrote to a friend : "Finding thin 'and

. i nd particularly after the miscalled Pacification by Conjriv--. I iv-olvod, rv.-n H
not to attend the second Convention at Xashville, if one should be hold .-n ; and accordingly, a
few days since, informed the Governor that I would not; so that, if bo <!• • may

nomin.H :•. whether there be really any vacancy or not. It would have given me

much pleasure, if I could have represented the f-w counties, especially Chatham, whieh
for me."

The" Pacification'' to which this letter referretl, embraced !

urcs of Congress, including the Act proposing Northern and \l~estern boundaries for';
to establish a Territorial Government for New Mexico, ic., the Act for •• admis-siou of California
into the Union," and the Act "to establish a Territorial Government for Utah;'' all approved
on the 9th September. l?r,n. gee U. P. Statutes at Large, vol. 9. pases 44*3 to 43$.— Ki>.

;,;;,i LIFE OF < M'IIAP. XIV.

\' ILDOfi . ' . < <\., I

: ember i?7. 1 *."••_'. »

Gentlemen: I am n»w seventy-two years old. and, for
the last twenty or thirty years, if the Presidency had ]
offered spontaneously l.y the people <>f the I'nited S:
I would not ha\. d ir. because <>f my physical dis-

qualification to execute the dutie^ <•!' the- c.ftice. At no
])eriod within that time, could I, as an honest man, .
Not many . ^;ate Rights par;

v/crt- pleased to make that nomination: and mv
ac<p:. was placed «>n the footing that the acv

ance would fullil the<>i>ject of th> <i,viz: that, other-

rty which liad \

native and citizen of ( landcoiilaiio asly

vote for any other candidate, who had a ta'r |.ros;>ect <>f
succi at liherty to vote for me. while «'tlie'

had i.

It was the partiality of friendship which 1 a

similar movement of distinguished citi/.cns oi' South <
lina, on another • . and which I discountenanced for

similar reasons.

"> "iir decided nomination, on tl: !»n,

leaves me no alternative hut t«> submit myself cheerfully
to the will of the State lii-hts convention of Alabama,
recently assembled at Montgomery, in that State ; 1"
the sole puqiose of or^ani/in^that party. It. as well as the
State Rights ]>arty of any portion of the United States,
may rightfully demand that which it has only asked, be-
can-e. in my day and generation I had labored to contribute
a mite, according 1" ir.y humble abilities, to sustain its
principles. They an- the only principles worth any thing
to the Southern country ; and as long as a party of n\
three can be gatheri MI eh a purpose, the

contribution of my name is the least. I could think of mak-
ing— at least, for the purpose of merely organizing that
party; but, for that purpose only.

The increasing use f<>rewarn> me that I

have but a short breathing spell : and I hasten to my con-
clusion.

I would vote for Pierce and King. Mr. King is a CD
excellent man, and 1 have n«>) expected ever to be able to
vote for a .Northern man so pure and disinterested as Mr.
Pierce; and you may never have such another opportunity.
Embrace it — and use my name, a< long as you plca-c. f'-r
organi/ing the State Kights parly, and maintaining and
i-onsecrating its prim-ip!'

CHAP. XIV.] LAST SICKNESS— DEATH. 531

It is honorable to have such an associate in the nomina-
tion, as Gen. Qnitman. He deserves and would adorn
any office.

C. M. TROUI'."

To Messrs. Thomas Williams,
J. A. Elmore, G. B. DnVal,
Montgomery, Ala.

Letters from him to his friends, written between this time
and the period of his death, show much mental vigor, if
not bodily health. They relate to various subjects; and
extracts from them would be interesting — especially those
relating to agriculture — if space permitted. Composed in
the privacy of retirement and the confidence of friendship,
they evince a tenderness of regard for those whom he loved,
and an affection which age had not lessened. His recrea-
tions seem to have consisted in attention to his farming
interests, and occasional fishing excursions. In early life,
he was particularly fond of the chase ; the relish for which
he indulged to a comparatively late period. The time,
however, was approaching, when he was to leave the scenes
of earth, and the associations which had contributed to
make his decline of life tranquil and placid.

Being on a visit to his Mitchell place, in Montgomery
county, in April, 1856, Governor Troup was taken with
hemorrhage of the lungs, which there terminated his life,
on 26th April, 1856, after an illness of five days. His re-
mains were interred at Eose Mount, in the same county,
beside those of his brother, Robert L. Troup. A granite
monument, with a suitable inscription, marks the spot — the
whole being enclosed by a fence of native sand-stone.

Considering the length of time he had been out of pub-
lic service, the testimonials, throughout the State, on the
occasion of his death, were highly honorable to his mem-
ory, and showed the estimation in which his virtues and
public services were held by the people of Georgia. A
detail of these testimonials would lead to iindue prolixity.

* la the publication of this letter, at tho time, an error occureti, not important t
noticed here. The Troup and Qnitraau ticket got a lew thousand votes in Alabama.— EP.

LIFE OK r.EORGK M. TROUP. [Ciur. XIV.

At Savannah, a meeting of citi/ens. irrespective of party,
and presided over liy the Mayor, was held on the .Mh of
May ; at which, feeling and suitable resolution^ W9f9 adopt-
ed. One of these resolutions contained a request that the
Honorable John C. Xicoll "deli' logy on the lite

and character of the deceased." Another resolution was,
to the eit'ect, that " the Chatham Artillery, of which (Jov.
Trouj) was an honorary meniber, l>e requested i<> lire min-
ute-guns corresponding with the number o{' the
deceased," 6

To lion. J< iiry Liimpkin, we are indebted for an

ant tribute to the memory • Troup, con-

tained in a letter dated 1 ."•!", nbtr, ls.~>7. The fol-

lowing extracts are made:

.:;n never

lived, than Geor-v M. Troup. lie arrogated lo him-i It'
no credit for any thing he had e\ • ad in th!

in most other respects, how widely he differed from the
politicians of the present day ! Still. I remember, dlsiinc.tly,
that he was better satisfied with his speeches ;;nd eli'orN in
Congress, in brin^in^ on the last v/ar \vith (ireat I'.ritain,
after her dastardly and <1 ujion the Clu^a-

pealce, than any other portion of his pa.-t jiolitical life.

"Your letter has brought vividly to my feelings, the
fact not only that the tri'eat head, but th- J nil the

members, of his military family, arc dead : Braiisford, and
Jackson, and Bailey, and Randolph ; men without fear :md
without reproach. I alive to testify to the more than

Roman purity and patriotism of our glorious old chief. I
rejoice to have the opportunity of contributing my humble
mite to the merits of one whom I loved as a man and ven-
erated as a magistrate beyond all other uria will
never look upon his like again.

" None dared approach him with any other than public
considerations as motives for his conduct." •}•

* It is greatly t<p !> m t»

prononi. i>i, ]-_'t|i May. niii.i rliidh.im Artill.-ry. Tin-

fullowi:: •• M n.li!i"j 1 ' K'ir-ytli I'luc". -

fix iiii!Uit--,i:un> \\. r |i|yt.i llir M solution "I tli

Mnl t.<

Lieut. C. f,,i- thrir iiis.-rti'Ui. TI." fity < •..tnimU

adjourned over, for ' ' • i f.r ilp' ni-Jiini-y •• — l-i>-

f Vi lilMi',. l)|- tills 1'tl'T. .Illil •: •• I.lllnpKill \\.H

one of Governor Trouji's Staff, ami a warm IH ix,>n;il ;IIP! ]>ulitiral fri.'iiil. nil

CHAP. XIV.] SUMMARY OF CHARACTER.

la person, Gov. Tronp was of the ordinary height, with
light complexion, blue eyes and sandy hair. His carriage
was erect, and his step slow and measured. He would have
passed for a military man, anywhere ; and those who knew
him best, accorded to him military talents of a high order.
The gravity of his mien, and the guttural and almost
solemn tones of his voice, led strangers to suppose that his
dignity partook of austerity ; but this was not so. Re-
served, even in boyhood, he was still open and affable
with his associates ; adding, early in life, a tinge perhaps of
melancholy, to that native dignity which never forsook him.
Perfect candor and the strictest truthfulness were eminent
characteristics. "Where principle was involved, he was a
stranger to the spirit of compromise."''

His domestic life was embittered by the early and sudden
death of his first wife ; and, afterwards, by the prostration
of health, and death of the second, at a time, when, amid
the cares of office and the active engagements of life, the
weary heart looks for comfort and repose at home; and his de-
clining years were saddened by the death of his older daugh-
ter, and the wreck of health of his only son. Nevertheless,
he retained a degree of cheerfulness to the last ; enjoying
the social intercourse of friends at his secluded homestead ;
numbers of whom were attracted there, as well by the cor-
diality of his welcome and the simplicity of his manners.
as by the amount of information he imparted, and the
stores of political wisdom which he was ever ready to
unlock. Of the qualities of his mind and his heart, his
writings are the best delineators. To a vigorous intellect,
he added the faculty of a sound judgment, and the quality
of almost intuitive perception of the characters of men
and the tendency of measures. Whilst his firmness was
as conspicuous as that of any man, his perfect purity of
intention, and his disinterested zeal for the public good,

message, at the extra session iu 1S25, lie savs : " Portions of it have long become as familiar as
household words ; and the day is not distant when its concluding paragraph will become the
watch-word of the patient, long-suffering and dowu-trodili'ii South." — En.

::: On the 19th of April, 1856, just one week before his d.vith. in the postscript In n 1. tt. i .
written to the overseer at his Turkey Creek place, lie said, iu reference to a threatened it:
with a neighbor, about apiece of land: "If I have not right on my side.] will surrender,
but not compromise.'' — En.

;,;;4 LIFK OK OKollCK M. TKOIT. [CHAP. XIV.

were :i standing rebuke to the timidity of the wavering
politician, and the seliUhness of tlie demagogue. AVell
instructed in the ]>rinciples of law, he was deeply read in
history, and was a thorough master of tlie English lan-
guage. The productions of his pen are amongst the mo-t
eloquent on record, and hi- -ivlewas as free from redun-
dancy, as hi< language was remarkable .or directness of
"fntterane:-. WhiUt Governor Troup
not usually ranked with : • intellects <.f tin-

there ar \vho lielieve that some of his writings

will compare, favorably, with any of the political eg
lo which the theory of our federati\

iven ri-e. A-; specimens of profound thought,
and forcible and clear Argumentation, they deserve to
runk with the i . in what were

-idered his extreme views of the ab.-olu!' -rnty

of the America' » iovi-rno>- Tnuip wa- certainly in

a minority; yet. those who conuei'in the-e views as im-
practicable, have nowhere -howii the fallacy of hi? re:i
inir, "i1 proved that there; \- le~- danger from in-actically
maintaining the opposite opinions. Kvery day's obsen ation
tends to confirm the truth of (iovernor Tmup's apprehension
of danger from the usur]»ations of the central government.

Consequent upon his ardent temperament, Gov. Tro
oratory, in the earlii-r portion (,f his lite, was impassioned
and vehement ; but not open to the jeering criticism of his
enemies that lie frothed at the mouth. In later life, his
utterance, whether in public or private, Was slow, distinct
and emphatic. A irentleman'-', who heard his addre>-
before the ]>'>ar«i of Public Works, in 1826, pronounced
him a line public speaker.

Of mere outward appearance, lew men were more care-
In the matter -. he had little taste; and on
tin- subject several amusing anecdotes are told. There is
no doubt, that, during the canvass for Governor, before tin-
Legislature of 1823, some of his supporters requested one
of his most devou-d friend- lo give him a, hint, that the
election would be lost, if he did not appear in better trim.

* J. Hamilton Coii]i"i-. KM]., vim w:i> 11 in--;. i: ml.— l.'i>.

CHAP. XIV.] SUMMARY OF CHARACTER— CONCLUSION.

he duty was delicately performed, and the wish of his
friends was at once gratified. Something similar had oc-
curred, in 1816, when lie passed through Savannah to take
his seat in the U. S. Senate. This did not proceed from
parsimony, or a disposition to appear eccentric. His
clothes were usually of good quality, but often of the oddest
colors or the worst fit. His peculiar and perhaps only
fancy was for a blue coat with metal buttons, a buff vest,
and a fur cap. Whilst his habits were retiring, and most
of his private life was spent at his plantation ; yet it was
usual for him to pass a portion of the warm season, at the
Indian Springs, or some other watering-place in Georgia.
He exercised, even at these places, much on horseback.
His principal diversions, at home, consisted in riding over
his crops, in fishing and hunting ; but more of his time was
spent in reading. Possessed of an ample fortune, he lived
in abundance, if not elegance, delighting in the society and
conversation of friends. His memory of historical events
is said to have been remarkable ; and his published and
official correspondence shows the readiness and facility of
the action of his mental powers. ]^o one can contemplate
his executive career, without awarding to him administra-
tive talents of first grade. Add, to all this, an iron will,
and a resolution that quailed before no difficulty and no
foe ; we have, if not the very model of a statesman, one at
least who could not only inspire confidence in the doubting,
but lead his countrymen through any crisis.

There is no doubt that he would have made any honor-
able sacrifice to avoid the shedding of blood, especially in
civil strife ; and yet it is true, that, rather than yield the
principles involved in the Indian controversy, he would
have marshaled the whole military power of the State, and
have led her troops to victory or annihilation. The wonder
is, that the authorities at Washington, who were not igno-
rant of his character, or of the people of C4eorgia, could have
supposed that the threat of military coercion would cause
him or them to falter in their purpose.*

* There is, probably, truth in the statement which h;i- hem nm.lc. that, iu u cviivursatum
between GOT. Troup and a leading Carolina statesman who did not precisely understand the
difference in the position of Georgia on the Indian, and that of Sonth Carolina on th«

I.IKK OF1 CKOIUiK M. TRori'. nf. XIV.

On the subject of " intense^; interest" to the Southern
people, Gov. Troup spoke in IK. equivocal tones; and his
writings sh..\\- his decided opposition to the folly of forever
arguing a question wirieb is entirely beyond the right of

Federal interference. Treating it as such, lie was always
ready, on this as on -n ..f undoubted

right, that the o • -ituti'-n . the

"option to d<. us ju-tico, ••]•. refn-ing it, to present a mil-
itary chest ami armed men."

Of his religion- M..t much is known, beyond what

is disclosed in his j: and correspondence. Thesv

show a deep reverence for the Supreme Heing, and a real-
ixing sense of the pure and holy truths «,f the Christian
religion. He made no public profession of faith ; but it is
evident that he was far removed from the taint of infidelity
or scepticism.""" lie is >aid to have been an attendant
on the services, of the >anctuary, when opportunity offered :
and his preference is lu-lieved to have been for tlie I'lpisco-
pal forms of worship.

l!y resolution of the General A>sembly. adopted in 1 >.">!,
a life-size portrait of Governor Troiip has been painted, and
hangs on one ride of the President's chair in the Senate-
Chamber of Georgia — the portrait of General John Clark
being on the other. That of < jovenior Troup is said to be
an exeellentlikcness. The engraved likeness in this volume,
is also said to be a life-like delineation of him, who was
pronounced by a devoted and discriminating friend, "a
1 Ionian in feature, and a Roman in soul.''

A county in Georgia, the county site of another, a ward
and <<juare in Savannah, and perhaps other places, com-
memorate the name of TKOIT : but his enduring monument
is the love of the people of Georgia for the memory of one
who was Jirst in their affection-.

Tnriff. i|ii'-.-tion. tin' I'Tinrr

nr;ini.

* An intimate t'rii ml nf i. i.'in " H •'"* man.

Ull '.!!•• iKTIl-i:.!!, ;i- I iil (M.Vllll.'r

.1 il.iiitit <>n
Tlir rf|ily " I'

I't-iiv f'"- • "— Kn.

APPENDIX.

[The following is tho letter to Major John H. Howard, noticed in the thirteenth chapter of
this work. The " namesake," to whom reference is made, was tho late Honorable George Troup
Howard, who died in September, 1856. The letter was published in the early part of 1834.]

WASHINGTON, February 10th, 1833.

My Dear Sir : Knowing that you wish to possess my views of the present state of affairs,
and of the measures connected with them, I sit down to their exposition, with tho conviction,
that, whether they happen to be in accordance with your own, or not, they will receive a kind
and hospitable treatment, more than proportioned to their deserts ; and, if valueless, be dis-
missed with the generosity and urbanity so congenial to your nature : otherwise, it may be a
little legacy to your son, iny name-sake, who, if ho inherit the patriotism of the father, and
virtues of the mother, may find them useful to him, in sustaining, in many an hour o(' trial, us
wo have done, tho rights of the States, against a very strong Government created by the
States, now threatening, by a most unnatural action, to cripple, to humble, and finally to de-
stroy, its creator, which, in tho natural and healthful action of the system, would be also its
preserver.

I am not certain that you are aware of my early and uniform disrelish of the doctrine of
Nullification, as maintained by the ruling party in a sister State. My objections to that
doctrine were unconnected with party of any kind, and were founded on the difficulty of recon-
ciling the peacefulness and constitutionality which it asserted, with that powerful remedial pro-
cess, by which the wheels of tho Federal Government would be stopped, as well as that resort
to construction, (the old Federal sin,) by which alone the doctrine could bo maintained, which
has involved us in all our troubles, and which is equally good at any time to establish a veto
against the General Government, a power to protect manufactures, or a power to doany thing
a majority in Congress pleases. It was easy to perceive, that such a remedy might, by pos-
sibility, be peaceful ; that depending on the other party ; but not certainly peaceful. It was
moro difficult to see how it could be constitutional, because, as no power was given by the
Constitution to the States to resist the laws of tho United States, none such could be derived
by implication or construction :* the derivation of remedies or powers, by construction, being,
according to the republican doctrines, inadmissible. Indeed, no Constitution would .iuthori/i>
resistance to the laws, without defining explicitly, how, in what manner, and by whom, such
resistance could be lawfully made. It is assumed, therefore, that thr 1,».- routed;

and at all events, according to the stipulations of the federal compact. 15ut who, in tho last
resort, are the judges of these stipulations ? None are created by tho compact, other than tho
Courts of tho United States. The jurisdiction of the Courts of the United States must be con-
fined to judicial cases, to the exclusion of political questions between sovereigns: and, so f;ir,

* What are called the reserved rights or powers in the Constitution, are very erroneously
deemed the sovereign power. They, on tho contrary, are only those rights and powers which
are usually exercised by governments, or enjoyed by the people, and whirii have not been
given to tho Federal Government. If they were construed to mean sovereign power, then,
indeed, it would follow, that aState had conceded a portion of its sovereignty to tho Govern-
ment of the United States, and retained only a portion for itself, which would be making that
Government sovereign, when it is only servant. Sovereignty protects both delegated and re-
served powers, but is neither tho one nor tho other.

JL APPENDIX

the Courts of the I'nitc -d.-- .i.imvunt juri.-dii lion. '1 i

two or more States," m<>an only such judicial questions as are presented by '• cases in law or
fquity,'' to which their jurisdiction i- limited by tin- Constitution. Political controversies, or
questions between Govern ii: . intend. 'd. tin y not admittir.:,' tln> in-

terpretation of cases in law or f]uity ; much less could political contri » n tin-

States and Federal Gove: ' they not bi i

etitutiun as parties in .my catea.

It, tli :iro\-i iM'--< 1 'it tribunal luu<borii estab-

lished for their adjustment, we >

parties— if to one, whi< h i < :ii. \vhy? H thepartie*wi -P' equal in a;.

non would prescribe equal participation in the ;nlju-tiiK-nt. which \\ould be mi adjiistnifiit by
negotiation. If tlii-;. •!• «.i> in pn\\.-r mill authority Mipi -ii <r to tin

proportioned to th:n

the United State.", thin equality. i\* they both rc]>r.

Buperi". ..• ,.( tii.- in

Hcntati n, in mas-;, am^niil only to the

powers of dtlO.-OViT ,mi' nt • I (I. In

from t; .;i. in tip- 1 tlic .quality

betwe' ; quiil iiorticij.ation in the

adjostment < i may nri.v U't\vr.-n tin in. J'.i^

the Government ol" '

equality, tho same smnvijr.ty b • .

each other of create

without appeal: sti i tin' ino-t :!-lly. :>11 it>

| r;elll'-Ilt", til

solemn import, not en^i;. nmcnt ol ti.

States in iiothiji^ Imt n^iirernm
States;" aii'l G

States. It is in >jitn.. of r

virtuo . iii;,t tin i i,,

1:1 on,' in,,. i.ninity

a« another, u reaae or iliininntion : ii i-an onl;

• .nMitniioiH

eman:r !,t fi-om the .-MM. whieh ],:irts willi it ron-<tant]v. witlmir

being i

sure, ninl kn r |IU| |ii\ii, •., but tli'' uii i'V that

Divinity, wb!
mode «l' actiiui ot i

conduct of tin; agent or - ment. If the WTO

either with tv
If it can abolish or chan;; • tlic rn

Adiii"

which creal' '1 th<- . i M^t. tin- raii-cs \\liii h sha'1

good to

other . . . il. J'.itt. although :> Si.-

not for 'iiiriu, it may throw it otf: it may

it may, by its own \uliti'-..
good ami jnstiliaM ••:npacl

•:..tt compact: many of \\liirh IMII-C- ;o

I'.und in that imlilii- lav/, «Iii' Ii i the lli\in • U\v, \iliicli is the law of ri.u'ht and ju.-t
which beiux Hi,' parammtitt law, i^asrontrollin:; ovrr roiin.
eign itself. Let it not be r-aidthat lli.'(;o\rrnui'-nt i.f the L'no
i-< paramount ; .< e«mpoiin<l of all tl>

APPENDIX. m

it is repeated: admits of no degrees. It is the same iu a M.iall siato us in a great cue; the
same iu the State of Delaware or Rhode Island, as in the greatest community. It is said that
the States have parted with many of their sovereign powers, as th? power to make war— the
power to make treaties, the power to regulate foreign commerce, .to., &<•., Ac. But this is
a mistake; they have not parted with them: they have merely authorized the common agent
to exercise them, under prescribed rules and limitations: the powers themselves residing in
the States, and inseparable from them as independent communities. It is true, the Constitu-
tion speaks of powers granted and powers reserved ; hut this only m> aus powers of the Stato.*
to he exercised by the Government of the United Staffs, and powers of the States to be
exercised by the States. And. with regard to the powers prohibited to the General Govern-
ment and to the States, it is only a declaration by each to i ' .-, s, that it will not
•.itself, nor permit the exercise by the eommui h powers— the sovereignty
still retaining the unity and indivisibility which are essential to it, and which are indestructible.
The fundamental error has been to consider the United States as s-lf-existent, and independent.

•••. ,'i-eign. a< a party to ;i compact betv. hie of impan.

well as receiving sovereign powers under stipulated . !,:it this error i.s dissipated

• imply by asking, what is the United States? Territorially speaking, there is no such separate
and identical thing as tin- United States. (i Cnit.'dStMes." in ib preamble to the Constitution,
means the thirteen f-ov-'ivi^n and independent Slat* d and limited

purposes therein expressed. The same, words WtM u-ed in the article-; of confederation, one
of which asserted expressly the absolr !i State— in this sens;' it was

universally understood by th- States immediately a!'. uion of the Constitution —

for when it was aitempted to bring one of the

States, it va-i indignantly resented by all of th'".n as an insult, and the Constitution was so
amended, (and, I think, by unanimous con- -i;t.) as io prevent the possibility of its recurrence.
••We. the people."' means tin- people of tin' several States, who alone were competent to ordain

;. -iblis.il constitutions of government, whether for the. management of foreign or domes-
*tic concerns. If Xew Hampshire and Georgia had not ratified the Constitution, they miirlit
have confederated and adopted the same Constitution, in precisely the same words. We, the
people of the United States. What States? The several .- m Ilampshir

Georgia, " united" for certain defined purposes, do " ordain and e>tubli.-h" this Constitution, &c. —
•'united" having reference to Stat"S.and not tothepeople-andthe words "ordain and establish,''
having reference to people and not to t • '.' iy, further, Georgia or Xew Hampshire

might, each of them, have formed two . ::ud two constitutions, the one for the

conduct of its foreign relations, the other for the conduct of its domestic, on the same
principles, and with the same powers as their present State and ! ::ments; yet

no one would believe, that, in the lirst case, the p !• and the people of Xew

Hampshire were one people, or that, in the last, either State had parted with its sovereignty
to one or both governments; it would still p M to alter, new model or

destroy both. The nature and extent of the powers delegated, could not impair the sover-
eignty of the States. If the convention had delegated all powers, Executive, Legislative and
.Judicial, to Gen. Washington and his sueev.--.nrs forever, the sovereignty of the States would
have remained entire. When the monarchists of the Convention, who labored the destruction of
State sovereignty, had thrown everything into disorder, and Dr. Franklin had advised tin-
Con vention to go to praying, and the members were returning home in despair of anything
being accomplished but mischief. Gunning Bedford, a noble patriot of the now misrepresented
or apostate State of Delaware, turned the fortune of the day. by warning them, if they
to touch the sovereignty of his State, that State would call in the aid of foreign powers to
protect her sovereignty; and so the Constitution passed, explicitly recognizing that
tignty, by the organization of the Senate; and not in the least impairing it by the represen-
tation of the people of each State in the House of Representatives. Politically speaking,
there is no such being as the United States: distinct from the States, no such community
or people. There is such a thing as the Government of the United States, an artificial
creature, an incorporeal hereditament— but a government is not a nation, or a people, or a
community, any more than it is a sovereign.

The Constitution, to be sure, speaks of "we the people;" but it only means the people of the
States who formed that Constitution, and who were the only rightful framers of Constitu-

APPENDIX.

tiaaa, A*aa*aaiaa* or eoaaamaity, they have aevarpaHaraMdaaiagle act either to originate the
Government ar to carry it on, nor will they nor can they, perform any to end it— nosach people
i formad, bat by bnaldagap aB the eomanaitie* caDed the State*,
me maai. ahkh aerrr coaM be done bat by fcrca or coaae •

k of • •aiiirfn brta*aa the United State* aad foreisn State*— bat they art only web,
aa» they ata the bmiaaarha batweaa the BtaUa aad aaeh JJtiaa power*. The Govern-
t of the C. &, if the bmiaimrfc • were taefri, eoaM attar theai at phamre, which it cannot
it canaot aeqwr* territory within a State, for the erection of needful bnfldinpi. without
; and then may ban ao jarftaBetfoa withia the anac, if withheld by
: of the United State*, U, ia fact, a corporat'

•

Mt be Tfatatod bat at the riakaf ivtttar*. of which t he Mvrreiga creating
itott iiaajililil toaa»5tatoto)adgaef the Tiobttioa of the charter

ia Tlrtne of the anM aorereigBty, bat tbe
• i-. it woaU be too liable to abaae ; l\.

, by eaprktoas aad bregvbvr
-:•

to a MTCKfcB State, it to tak-n Jbr pr*n ted that nch
witl not r*r*mL it, wffl art from tb» whim «r
> of the moment. Bvt tkk to aot th« hiMery of Statn ; ot

• i- - - . .' : t . -.

s regard to their own tr»e interesti. Jtotr, wfcat to the utroegcX

•

and bow king woold the Cnlon bst »— jn«t M long M it wonld take the 9tat«, c-aun? to hnw
: to O* Union, to withdraw from ft. It ta the beauty of the *y«tnn. wbOe it M the
i «ar tti perptaity, that each Stale fc left tj par*u» ite*w« tetarwt, in it*
of tt« CaiteJ Btrto, which ttht» ifc^lf mMtftmted, to
protect it from «3re%« pr/w?ri itrons^r than iaeir, and to let it ak»e ta all matter, which it
h»< Mot fpecWIy confided to ft» eaW. lbw4Mtr«Bt fa thii f rom the hfc* of kceptegtfae State.

rbyfcic* to taey- luayfhn >y fcrre, tfco»e who were broBght together by eon^
keep Coion by tree, to keen amity by Arc*, to keep brottailj lor , -*j. peace by

force: It fa ilK«r<, «»4 fcrtaMtdy It hi at bapOMftli a«U faabacrd. If ariBgJeState.rtaBd-
tof •*«• berw*m*c^y,naM>tbei»TMloo of her right*, tkfc i* not to be ewtared, became

it endanger! the Union. If aoaM half doaea State* tmi*e and axede, thia> tiwagh it «o far
amaaNai the Pafaa, maat be »abaUtted to, b^eiaan it cannot be walated. Bo that tbe rkhtfal-
aaasof taree iryiaai, aot on the rightftilaeai of the c«a*e, bat oa the relatfre atrength aad

»iatai*> of the aartkv. Bat let n* we what are the nat are aad extent of th« rfek aad
danger to d» Unfcn, of admitting the right of a State to repoat ftarif apoa it* eoTvreigaty,
to reai* an aggreaaoa by the Gorernmeat of the United ?tat«. The aaager and rfck anat
be ana* ait i by the probable trtqaeacy of it* letarreatc: bow often ba* it oecwred riaee the
date of the Union, aad how often i* ft likely to occor f Sareiy, it to not iateadvd to d*
State the right wbJeh to grrea to the worm, the rizht todefmd it^lCand to preaerr
thK iadeed, ««a»t» with the denial of all aaTeretjnty. l,ot I traat that in onr downward
eoorae to the grare, we hare not reached a point »/ near iu brink. A Sate ha* eagagr.

----•-.--.. • - . -• - •

moa agent abanWaatfcutUed to do, toi their aaaae and ia virtas of their authority, cwtoto
other Thing* Here, thca, to a contract, teroMng right* aad obligation* oa the «*ce
parporte to be acrpataal aad frreroeabfe ; bat to it *o ia met? Can It be ao between iade-
ataawat coauaaaitie*, who are boaad, by the bw* of God and nature, to protect aad defend
tJtaaMiiJL*, to take can of their f/wa bipploi** aad tetenato— are tbea* r aaaaiittke to be
boaad, feaamini i alhiu to^a«ia<i*a, aJtb»alt>epo**BitBtyaf fladiag abieUUoii ? I
nrftted to w of the preaent degenerate d»y, to diamberit Boatrrity, by *ea*ng down to it a
WTO, debased a.«i abraded ahfllii^, wnieh they canno-- refc*. bat at the peril of the- 1
?fo— ereTygeaaradOBBwat tab caw of toeKaad by an the moral, political aad pbyaical foro.
it eaa ; alway* bond by the gratt law of eternal taatfae, which it to not penatttedtoiadMdaaii
or eaaaaamtfaa to *Vi*H balmatiaiU.aad nr*j g-r-nf can be vialated by comatmaimai,
t of that aapnaM tew. thto happens when the *oiren<ga JadgM that the
•*..; ..-.• - •• - • -.-. • ,: - . • -

required c.f it tSera-ards, bat to repair waatulu injary or damagi it may hare done talk*
parties interested, of which, of coar*, they are thajaagea m «roal degree, in Tirtue of the

--:: :.:::-•• . ; :.-.:. v-. :; : ir . . . ,- : . .--_..__.. v. ._ __ .

perpetaal, only means that it abail be m aadcr th* a^aer and capreme law, which penaa

the parties to wa^t their salety, kappiaeaa and mterest. Bat with regard to the right* of

the other parties: What can they do? As arereigns they can demand

can go to war; they caa annihilate the party rest-ting— they may satisfy

they may not compel that party to and Senators a

of President w in electoral College. If the party make an the i

::- :-• -.-..:.- -- :.'. . .- .- I--:--; :.:_•-: 1

--' - • .::.--..;...--: . - - - .: ..... : . _. . -- _-_. :

who woald thea be the arattcrs Mw«ai the party Ane VIM& a»d tk* pwty stfer-

. bat eertaiBly «o« by any p«ww of tie

«9C8 af the States: aad theCbagreea, fike the prena* Qmgreas, had tha paver to doctoral

.•>t beiievevi to be a power to declare war against a Staie. Tka i
^olre-i to ni.tk-- » i/ : ' r •.:..••;.•—•.'• •. am -.-. r. kttal U aM 6 aocaawat •

se^tfae^wvr wtk-h the Confederation had aoC to coerce iadtriiaaU. This power it amply
fttmauLU, for afl aataariart pwpiam. and more tta» Ah it canjaot daa*. In the exercise of
this power, it can procsed to any extremity which the Constitatioa aatliMJ»ii Bat it ia
pnx^>Sastothat«xtremity,iteaoi«attnas90TeRa^po<B«raCa State, it mast atop, ae-
«asB9« it is a mere Government withoat sovereignty, artiag against a sorereiga power. It •
true, that, if the action and counter action proceed from tie two Comments merely, and
not from the »ovet%ign pawar, tt» ftdmal Co^arumiaf has tha adiaanpi nsaJting from the
•t%i«lafiumt of the compart, which ita o^a Quarts, ia aU caaes m
if the State, actia? by conrraition of the whole people, shall throw i
the other party may aot proceed witkoa«aa act of war. It b not admitted that tbe Cw»-
gress has power to declare war agaimst a State. Otaer Stataa may i. aafcia i to declare it, hat

K> as MTereigas. to enfcrw stipamtiow of thecontrsr:, if they pjease, «r &r any
ether pwrposes they please. If they decfatfa war and sabjagate a Stata, they may dirtde it
_ : • L\ .:- . : . • - - • . '- - -'-• - -r :. -. .r :'_.

v./ - ; -. r A: •-..--• 1 . •- •--'.:• ..-•:...: - . : .- : - . -

otaerwije thaa as prisoners of wir. Bat it » said that the powen<omicrr«d bythe

contrary. cvtwithstanding—d»as mirilag th* •athority of th*

perior to that of the States— and this is all true: bat who*
Y»hr. theaoTerefea wJuc* Mrfaiiuil fcotn CaaUaatfian Mightaetthe

: bat snparicrity to the StaKN OTW the United States ConstiratioB ! Certainly. They
are both alike the e»«a*ar«8of ttattoren^a, wao Matt aMaUaarimmte tea aft ita wJL,
wMM«ImMHtiM«rratna^«ta«r taaa by the rnws of God aadaatar..

-ut^a by the sovereign power of a State, which decides tkat the law
with: • iht- right to take care of itself? It decides a law to be nnll and TCM

Jlayu f which the Coostitatjon is bat an emaaatijo. *> decide it ? Wkyartas

reUtiva to the sovereign, Vat as a uuTaat «r«f«M? H«««i ta«fc, w an exercise of *»wia%a

? '

wcaMcJteerfaaytrm^ta«aVicigfaatoa»Sa»wa»ttmr^^em^^
byth»aSMtCMat«aay^iaMiamurt(wMAiaitfaaim.atiitedf«c*«^ayta^a9»r^^

I» the Cmited StK

•rmaent? Tbjrf dvvtrine has bog sine* been frptodeO.

APPENDIX. VI

, of the

people: '-von th" mmlern puM!-- law r^anls tl
seven:

ti»IJ. ';

treaB<>:

•VS, till.'

ation express!

any qualifier,; ilmowt all tli

tlii-iu in tin- \ -siu tin.-

soveri-i
1'Y !!.•
lost In
hail £•":

On t:

iternal

rolatk'i: l

baMMMWMk,Md ' : • f> i • . • Q] • : - • : a, rgetting ita obligatioo M •'

Stato* in virtue <•!' i'J h>>\

i i,. I h.tvi- .

uith.mt ili-fluitioii.
it wonl-i

« hi'.'h

Miily, ami not mi tl,
-.' man

crci^'ii in !lt.- i teat vitli th.-it

uhii-h ', u..uM 1«- :i |

I'.y whk-li a r-irnii-r
firtuu- :iiU-r. witlii.i:

ronccivi- a tyranny r

^iiint rcrtain

'.lit to t!n :n— •
with a tix.-ih.'

until on r. In this •

find our ' • -T.nni'l. 1'T the

purpose of dcci'liiii; \\lnil!

p.ll oth'T

* No: .'' which ran-

relative ton singular noun: t. in TK- :io an

act of treason could 1 Ji umild n«.t li" EugliHli, to nay, in tho Constitution of

France, treason shall c«i:i>i-t in Irvyinjr war acr.iin-t France, and adhering to r
— the won), iti nr hrr. w.nild liav" IK-PII .

APPENDIX.

VII.

above all, their right of sovereignty, without, \vhich they consid-r themselves, as (ill the world
must'coflsider thorn, nothing more than petty corporations, the members of which are bound to
the Government of the United States, by a paramount, indissoluble allegiance, in virtue of which,
they are (members, officers and all,) amenable to it, on charges of high treason, and punish-
able accordingly. I think, according to tho doctrines of the day, the most important right
conceded to them in the right to petition and remonstrate. Having thus degraded the
States, they resolve to draw thoHword: for one, I cannot go with (hem. I cannot go with
them, until I satisfy myself, that in all things they are strictly right : as long as there is a
shadow or suspicion of wrong, I will not go with them to shed blood. If they were right
beyond doubt, I would defer it to the last moment, and then I would execute tho laws only
against those who unlawfully resist them; against those who resist by commission and
minority from a State, I would nol. V"ii slicd blood without executing tho laws, becar,
force tho State oiit of the Union, and place her out of tho reach of the laws. Let those who
please to indulge in the revery of keeping this Union by force, go on in their mad <
Deity can do any thing : It can arrest tho motion of the planets, and turn tho sun into blood ;
it can extinguish tho fixed stars, and make darkm's- cuver thu faro of tln< heavens; but it i
infinitely more easy for Deity to accomplish this, than for the (lovn ,
to keep in its orbit, against its will, one of tho States of this Union.

Let the State, therefore, )io ever so vicious or wicked in iis d> -i;;n.,. i \\,,u!u !'.,Hirar the
resort to bloody measures, leaving her peaceably to depart tho Union, as a nufcnn<-'
gotten rid of, or a;> a prodigal, tho repentant return of which to the fold, might one <:
hoped for. But how different is tho actual state of things ! Four millions of people .-.in-
plain of the injustice and unconstitutionally of the laws, and we are ready to shed blood in
their defence. These laws are founded on asserted power to regulate tho industry of the
country. Now, if such a power is sustained for the Oii'-ral <!ov< rnment, nothing can render
that Government more worthless and insupportable in the contemplation of all the American
people, opposed to restraints, monopolies and privileges ; and it may expect, of course, thai
entire portion of them to be, embodied against it. They would as soon think of making a
Turkish bashaw tho regulator of their industry, as the Congress of the United States; and
for tho simple reason, that, for flagrant, abu.-.es one could bo made responsible; win Teas, tin-
Congress, by its multitude, is as irresponsible as the most multitudinous assembly, where the inno-
cent cannot be separated from the guilty; and tho public vengeance, ii it fall at all, must full
alike upon the just and the unjust. Why is it, therefore, that, on a disputed question of doubt-
ful right, or justice, or constitutionality, Congress will run the hazard of o civil war,
when, by an easy operation, not costing them four days, they can adjust tl; Th<-

Union is to be lost by a squeamish delicacy, ora reckless ob:;tin:u-y. Ti: l,ill!puii.".n v
yield to tho Brobdignag, and the Erobdignag will not make a concuss! -'ii of justice to the Lilli-
putian. Tho twenty-three States say to the twenty -fourth, if we do i^'t take yotir blood as an
atonement and propitiation for the rashness and intemperance of your conduct, w.- will
down in history as cowards. Shame! Shame! Is it not enough forth.' stability of the Union, that
the laws will, in ordinary cases, be peacefully executed by th°
traordinary cases, they will be enforced, by all means, against unlawful obstructions and ;,

. To attempt their execution, by military power, against ft 8tW

bywhich a State can be drivenfrom the Union. A single State will not withdraw, until rendered
desperate by the madness or tyranny of the General Government. A
maintain her independence ; and, therefore, could not hope long to maintain her liberty. H, t
rights and obligations, as an isolated sovereign, would devolve on her very great
expose her to difficulties and troubles from which thfl «n ^"lll(1 ''•"' '•-'•""I't "'••'••

The Union is much more exposed to danger, by a combination of States, who could niaintuii
independence and liberty, at a cheaper rate, and with better security against vexations and
humiliating annoyances from abroad; and, when such combinations happen, what v
denial of the right to secede avail ? Would they take sides with thirteen weak £•' i i
eleven strong ones, and make war to preserve the Union? This would, \
puissant Government in a light of no enviable, majesty and supremacy, and is only an in
among very many of analogous character, to show how much this Union must depend, for it.-
duration, upon moderation and mutual concession. The poi

State* oiUcers, in all cases which may arise under tho laws of the United States, by ni
for the United States Courts. nehMta .-rinmu.l jurisdiction, even where the parties are citizens

APPENDIX-

of the can U- d.-rived iueriminal ra,*i*, but by construction:

and thus it is, in a criMj lik • the present, the criiuin:il jurisdiction of a .State, always contem-

w a paramount interest, u attempted to be wrested from it, and transferred to the party

whose long and continued infract! -titutinn, in ,,ther ret-per:-, have produced thi^

an criminal as well

: cases, the power mny be claimed t» aul! -,11 of n State,

of an act of treason against th:it Sti;. an 1 «li.i would N- MIP- to find his justification and
ii.-.iiiit:al hi-fore tlie tribunals of the I'm . , Iu-e to a law

which they were bound to adju<K Now what i- tin-

amount of all this ?
li-t. That • ; i>\ Hi.-

Mi- United S'
That it has all the means adrai--

i-iVllble

from no other source; that . :::idiuiini-hed

— ih • (ioTerumont acting as a comui'Mi . rtj them into eUVct.

4tu. That. ' • .;h their

fxecu;: .:ntioii \\liicli i-i-.iif.-i> tli-m: whieli i« i!

:ind snbnrilii!.. i it.

;i all rt-gpcct-.
:ind according to tip (••nns and letti r ••!' th- . -.d to Inllil it-i

-tivo

Cth. Thai which results from a ftill higher authority, th.- l;iw i.f (J. d und jiaUiti, by
wliich i I'ound (,> wa:

7th. That when. :
ami iritiTe-t-

publi.;

law when the :-..-t;on .-hiili
f\\M liave been unconstitutional, null, and void.

iii.-nl-. stii-ulati. n- or OUti kind, but with t'r

d undi-r the I. • of the public law, whirh admits niany i-au-.- of ju^l

forth.- n m-ol iservance. non-fulflllmcnt or violation, of the most That it

• iti'Mi (.liotil-l • : but t'i>it i

•i;i:itnral nnd

- and just to ronlld>- the nl: Itl nnd

the compart , otlicr

tribunal, tin- tir-t bein^ ind"ed snprem'-. and the la.«t only the creature . . whoso

mu-t. linally. from the nature of thin.
oil.

10th. That the (.'• :dy on foreign

. and not upo that if not co. tie- <iovernuient of the I ni-

:' of all, minht U- found on th«- .-ide (.ft«.l\ .in:: war air:ii

oilier twelvo : thus illu.-tratinp it^ jiaternil eare over union, jn-ti'-e, ilninestic tranquillity,
'imrrated in the preumbl" to th-- Ci.n-tiiution. nnd all in the

llth. That the a!' :im:try and |Mra:nounl, i;- du. to tin- >

sovi-n-i^n. That •.!• • rnment. a.- i' and, M

; lined by tic- - -id. of course no oliedienn- ean ' the (iovern-

. i;inco due tho wiver'-ign.

I'-Ith. That, admitting the above pr be tru.-, tin- »;..v< rnment of the United

.:ii.-nt in tli<- world, for all the ]/urp«!-es for which it wa« con-
stituted—that be.inj;a<!overnment founded on consent, and supported by opinion, it must.
to be sustained by that consent and opinion, be just and righteous ; that it can B'

APPENDIX. IX

jnst and righteous, b > long as its action conforms to the strict letter of the Constitution — that
the slightest departure from that letter, is an abuse, whether it amounts to usurpation, or the
exercise of doubtful powers, and may mid will givo rise to complaint, to discontent, and with
a people so enlightened and free as ours, eventually to resistance.

13th. That a State, for the violation of the articles of compact, is responsible under the
public law to the other States, and may, as between sovereigns, be compelled to make repara-
tion for any injury or damage which may ensue to them in consequence of such violation ;
and that this is one of tho great securities against hasty and precipitate action on the part of
the St-'tes.

14th. That the words, " wo the people," in the Constitution, are to be construed as mean-
ing tho people of tho several States, who alone, in virtue of their sovereignty, were
capable of forming Governments; and that all the powers conferred by all of thorn on the
Federal Government, as well as all tho powers retained to be exercised by themselves, are only
sn. i power? as < ach State would have possessed and exercised, if there had been no Constitu-
tion or Union : and, therefore, that the Federal Government has no more authority than it
would have had. if the same powers had been conferred by a single Stnte.
Your affectionate friend.

<•. M. TROCP.

[At the annual session of 1832, the General Assembly of Georgia adopted a preamble, looking
to an amendment of tho Federal Constitution, in the matter of " the principle involved in a
Tariff for the direct protection of domestic industry," and " a system of Federal taxation,"
which should be " equal in its operation," <fec.; and it passed a resolution, making " application
to the Congress of tho United States, for the call of a convention of the people, to amend the
Constitution aforesaid, in the particulars herein enumerated, and in such others as the people
of the other States may deem needful of amendment." It was in reference to this action of
the Legislature, that the following letter to Major John Moore, of Oglethorpe county, was
written. It was published in the Southern Recorder, of 30th January, 1833.]

AVASHIKGTOX, Dec. 26th, 1832.

Dear Sir : What could have induced our people to think of holding a general convention of
the States? Have they resolved to enter the lion's den, from which no returning footsteps can
ever be seen 1 Is not the Constitution good enough for them '!— or is it so bad that they would
commit it to the hands of their enemies to fashion it as they will '! The power to make
amendments was given to answer no such exigency as the present ; it was given to make that
instrument more perfect, when, by tho workings of the Government, experience having de-
tected defects to be cured and evils to bo remedied, the application of it could be made by
general concurrence, and without hazard t'j tho public peace. Hence it was that so soon as
it was seen that a State might, by construction, be sued by an individual, an amendment wus
proposed and carried to correct the evil. So, too, when it became apparent that the desig
tion of the electoral vote for President an.l Tice-Pre?ident, was necessary to preserve the
harmony of the States, the States concurred in an amendment accordingly: and so, too, whci
a young prince was born of an American alliance with the Bonaparte family, tho Slates
currediu an amendment excluding from office any citizen whoslmuM a.-cept a title of nobi
or honor, from any ErnpiTor, King, Prince or foreign power. These BeTWd arnendm
were made in the true spirit of the Constitution. At this moment, public sentiment
ing two proposed amendments, hich I think would bo an improvement of that i
one, to limit the President to a single term ; the other, to prohibit the appointment o
bcrs of Congress to office, during tho period for which they shall have been elected

Now, by a sudd-n and very strange after-thought, as it seems to me, this provis
Constitution is to be made applicable, in times of excitement, to great and c
exigencies : so that, whenever five or six States shall become dtaatisfled -
tion, they may command the rest to assemble in convention, to alter, new-rnOdc
As I do not read any thing like this in that instrument, and as our old Republic
rejects every power but that derived from its strict letter, opposed to all construe!
not unite with our fellow-citizens in the call of a General Convention. If the power
granted, it must be an efficient, not a nugatory, power. The minority State
B

X, APPENDIX.

tho majority States to assemble, and it must be the duty of the majority State* to obey, they
cannot, by silence, or evasion, or 'iirect negation, escape. If they refuse, if they evade,
if they are silent, it must be shown how, according to the letter of the Constitution, that
silence or evasion or negation is to be taken. Is a sovereign State compel! 'b!e, nt tho point
of the bayonet, to answir aye or no ? And how is silence ' •••!? Jtisca?

how a majority, claiming a given power, mny ask to concur ii> making that

p.mi-r i!i»;v . \| ]•' ;t!y ;i j.:irt i.f t! • . !i..w ii

minority. protesting against the exercise of the power c«n c< n«trnin tl"
make- it a part of the ConMitn: v 'on it. unl.^> it ran 'H- »hn\\n that the Consti-

tution hriji " ' i'Xpr A-c.

Tin ' • -lortoJ by public sentiment, hns. fur n '

abuses and usurpations, so disfigured and disgraced the Constitution, that if all hut
retitoi.T mat tter for grave consideration whether that instru-

ment was D' • ind had, in every legal ..f tin'

•

n two or m ••
should U- bound, and the < "he immutable law is that all iw lnnm-l or

•iieless, a majority of Congress, whether considered a« n : . to carry

the powers express- h >ve assumed tlie right to inter; :

«'t pleasure; nnd have so r mmon

defence >. has been claimed as a fair and

I'j the General Government, until, at last, instead of a li- r defined pur-

POMS, • irwsing or claiming to engross nil the

my government, and even some which ought not to belong to BIP
under - . my good s ;iropose to go in:o a ronv<

••••ial — if int" < ;r<-d to

•

to the ft < "n the shadow of •

a f.wmul reclamation nf n'l • md privileges, whicli, in the exchange of o'|ui

\-M h:i 1 <-\i>: . your peculiar jjoi-itinn an :

if into a tp-- •• pared for a J.T..IV

^iory propo-i- irhcrsccnrity

•lly f ir tin' r n LotO the CoUtttBtlon, of tl>6 T

long and sircnu^'i- ':»imed nnd •

iii'licati'ins of pui>l: • thi-< inorurnt nro noerrtiig, that an orer whelming m

Mii'Mit: anii it may bohoova yon,inall wi«lom. t • for an

impn^ -.\ Cro.sar and thr pu: ae, that

you an? to come out of a -imni and dvspoilcd. it mny ''•> well to think of some

other n <!iinkof

any better than tin- < I'.v which, HO f.ir, nl'liMiiL-li we li."

from stoniH. we luivo fpvTi - • • -I'-.iti'in. if the (jovcnimunt

bo administered ac^ — u« Ixnly asks more than justice; and jn-

. .tt'.-n instruments can wcnro it. For all extf rntil i govern-

ment is stronger t' I ^ttst in the world— its strength depends not less on the

integrity of the States, than on that common consent and enlightened, opinion, on which
all our institutions arc founded, and by whi--h they must be held together: arvl w)> •
aM, is t'.f- foundation of these, bnt jnsti'- il that the right of representation

can gi\ \Vithin the pal- and It-ttor of the Constitution, tlu n

to be sure, as much our r<- •'. Congress as the man of Georgia — beyond that

pale an'l let:T. h< >-. ;ifl much a stranger n« tho represent,-" ' md or

Ireland in the British Parliament; and this i« all. in thi* reppect, that wo could ask. Are
there no means, then, by which Congress can be held to th" letter of tiio C. -i-iitutiun? I
answer, no constitutional means but the MM, lx>r, uiile?s the power of amendment, in the
sense I have interpreted it, be so considered. The right of petition, of remonstrance, of discus-
sion, are only auxiliaries by which the one or tho other may bo supported. But if these fail ;
if that power which decrees its own supremacy, perseveres to enforce it; must every thing
yield to force? Force may vanquish everything— reason, right, truth, justice ; and it Is
because force may do so. that we have erecK-rl barriers to defend reason, right, truth »nd

APPENDIX. Xj

Justice. These barriers are the sovereign States of this Union, which, whatever the old fed-
eralists and monarchy men may say of them, were absolute sovereigns on the Declaration of
Indspendence, are sovereigns now, and will remain so, until, by the voluntary surrender of
their sovereignty, they please to make themselves slaves — but I trust, of all who shall make
that surrender, Georgia will be the last.

But, you will ask, how is this doctrine to work? I gee no more difficulty than is inseparable
from the management of all human affairs. You have the passions and interests of men to
encounter at every step ; and these must bo so met, as to make them work rather for good
than for evil.

For ordinary grievances, we have said there is no constitutional remedy but the ballot-box
— fjr extraordinary and extreme ones, there is no remedy but the sovereign power of the
States ; and in extreme cases, you repose yourself upon the sovereign pnwer, for the very rea-
son that the constitutional remedy fails. This sovereign power, at last, is in communities little
more than the right of self-defence and self preservation— of the exercise of which, it is the
sole judge, because, in this respect, it is independent as well as sovereign. It acknowledges uo
law but the law of nature and nations, which, in the settlement rf controversies between States,
ncknowl dgps 110 means but negotiation and/orcc. Shall wo stop here to inquire which will
serve us best, in the long run, the doctrine which acknowledges the sovereignty of the
States ; which recognizes, in extreme cases, the right of this sovereignty to defend itself, to ne-
gotiate, to make treaties; which, in a spirit of amity that consigns the part to oblivion, wi',1
re-unite dissevered States, who, being generous enemies, are, once more, and on that account,
cordial, and, perhaps, inseparable friends; or that which admits the absolut- supremacy of the
Federal Government, its right to whip a State into the Union, and to hold it there forever, by brute
force ? I know it is said this power in the States is inconsistent with the power confided to the
Federal Government ; that for light and trivial causes, States may and will have recourse to it, by
which the Union will be constantly agitated, and, finally, dissolved. Let us see if this apprehen-
sion is well founded. A State has the undoubted right, (undoubted even yet,) to change Its own
Government at pleasure, consulting only its interests and happiness, regulating all its internal
concerns, with its right of soil and jurisdiction so absolute that the Federal Government cannot
claim to erect an arsenal or fort or dock-yard within its limits, without its express consent. Hero,
then, is a community, by the power of solf-governroent, made free and happy at home, wanting,
for the consummation of that happiness, scarcely any thing but protection against powers strong-
er than itself. Will these be put to hazard for light and trivial causes? Reason says no — the
public law says no. The public law forbids the presumption that communities will act im-
prudently— it presumes them to be governed by a sound discretion — not that they are alwa.< s
so governed, but that their acts alone shall speak for them. Experience justifies the public
law. Fifty years of Union, without convulsion, is no trifling evidence of intelligence, of pru-
dence, of subordination, of contentment. Dow many guarantees, besides, are to bo found
ag linst hasty and inconsiderate action, by which great blessings are to be lost. An insulated
Saite may, for a moment, rescue liberty ; but liberty is not t.i b? maintained without independ-
ence, and independence cannot long be maintained by an insulated State. A solitary
resting on its own limited resources, with great wants for internal and external objects, sur-
rounded by other States, (united for common defence,) must be exposed to evils and
annoyances, from which the wisest councils cannot exempt her. Possessing sovereign right*,
herself, she must so exercise those rights as not to interfere with the sovereign rights of
others. The right of way and of fie1 passage, the regulation of trade and commerce, so apt to
conflict with those of others, framed in a different spirit— these, and many of kindred charac-
ter would bo sources of endless embarrassment and vexation. I would rather say, upon the
whole, that the States would not secede for light and trivial causes— that crave and \v
considerations alone could influence them— that only some grievous oppression or frightful
tyranny, driving them to despair, could divide them from the Union. Arc there not somo
reasons fur this belief ? We hear the cry of Union, Union, from all quarters, as if there were
nothing left in this world worth preserving, but Union— so that the friends of liberty and
union may well doubt whether the people love libarty less or union most. Seo what has been
submitted to for many years, with a degreee of patience and forbearance, which might be con-
strued into something not to be named: Unnecessary taxes, to tmke a splendid, of what was
designed to be a simple and e:onon>ical, Government— the taxes levied on the many to pro-
mote the interests of the fow— the revenues distributed for objects of Internal Improvement,

xn APPEXDIX.

where the taxes wer ' the extravagant expcudituiv of

pnblic moneys — dormant claims on the Government revived, and ]-• Mishcd

on principles so loose, as to • :

:-.r fie Federal Go\ • » hi. h it in authori/rd to do. it

assumes the can- and n-gnlati. 'ii "f nianufai.tmv- : and tin n <l,o tian-ition H • a*y t-> i!
• —HO it the tr.

.•utioii. \\ntild ha\ • , that

rven in

Congr«'-- 'v" :i"'l ' • -|''ii. '

mill to i-hin n : It i-

!, in ordinary and j.eitcrlV.

•II.. I :i
:-.|IV of

..i.wi^'

:\ liiiUVIll.-lit.

il.iwn with lip. If tin-

i ini-ni
large .-

liy which, iniissv'H of -

and if tin- pri-..^. 1- D. It-;

^upiviui- judicial tribunal, wliich.

\ . 11. ainll'. Tli' - •. ymi v.
proiiMiiucc null uud .

' i'.y. It in. i\ : li-T. It I:

it' tli- ' "iiiiuuiiity, within the chartered limit* of a - :>t. and

1'iititli-d t" ti nt. It may ...jitn.l tlr- . riminal juri.vlirtion mid

lli.- ri iinir. • • /•')•(•;«.•

rota f l( tli

in.th' : -li't'. lid

: witli that unity, on"' and indivi-
1 '.ily not. lint thtn i' '-laiin. at tli''

. . Ires, \vr IT..;

and 1'aiiai-i'ju". Thi1 >tat- s f'iniii'd the Qovernment of the United States — th. .-
it. From tli

alter it. a majority.
jority ii !, th -y

If tln-y witlihuM I' , il i- tli'- can;-

is, ind'-i-d, BO .

:• to i-nd ii— it wi'iilil I).- ji
Vi'-nna a n.iti >n. d. -riving its authority '

: .li.'ii "f

f'.r th'- in w ^im-rniiii-nt
powor nt iidopti-d i

•
ci'\ild,,

iiu.-iit \...;il 1 .-iii-Wri- nil thf i-inl-

nal liiiiit.-i.
It i-, the d'^i-arturc from UK-SM iii.,ii. ; .; ig the

APPENDIX. xnr.

exercise of doubtful powers, equally prohibited by the Constitution, which hus at any
time brought the General Government into collision with the States.

lu scribbling: thus much, I think I may have answered, out of order, no doubt, all your
inquiries. 1'he result, according to my poor opinion, is. that there is no power given by the
Constitution to resist the laws of the United States.

The only Constitutional remedy for unconstitutional laws, is the ballot-box.

Amendments of the Constitution, petition, remonstrance, conventions, correspondence aud
o >nsultations of the States — these (if yon pleas*.- to call them remedies.) are not unconstitu-
tional. .

Under a government founded on consent and opinion, evils are to be borne as long m pos-
sible.

The States, in virtue of their sovereignty, when evils are no longer supportable. >iui-i
the evil and the remedy.

The sovereign knows but two modes of settling controversies, negotiation aud w.ir.

tuition admits of arbitration ; and controversies may be referred to other State : but thU
i- by rwgpnt. and 11 t by the Constitution. It is, of course, not permissible to one of the parties
to refer it to its own Courts and Juri"-:.

When States cease to have an interest in the Union, or sutler extreme oppression, it is better
that they withdraw peaceably, than that blood should be shvd in conte<<. whieh s Mom
decide any thing, and which are apt to separate the parties forever.

As States may do very imprudently and unwisely, what they h;m- a right to do, it
becomes them to act very deliberately and cautiously ; becau-e it is lawful for otlin- Sr
unite against them to compel a fulfilment of their obligations under the public law.

You ask what Georgia ought to do? My worthless opinions had been given on formi t
••i' 'i i -.and you know what use has been made of them. Those opinions were unchanged, and
are, as I think, unchangeable — they amounted to this : if the abuses and usurpations, of which
we complain, are continued, and become the settled policy of the Government, the
having identical interests, ought to withdraw — but it was indispensable to' a movement like
tli is. that there should be union ; that this union should be the result of a deep and s, -tiled
conviction, that such policy wa< Inconsistent with the paramount ;. prosperity

and happiness of the State ; and not a temporary union produced by an artificial excitement.
A united people, even of one State, might rescue liberty for a time ; but, without the means of
maintaining ;>' /itiulence, liberty could not be preserved.

It was necessary, therefore, that other States having common interests, should bo prepared
to think and act with us; and it was altogether proper, that, for this purpose, a system of
correspondence and consultation should be organized, as the best means of producing union.
My own belief was, that the Tariff would not yield, and could not be made to yield, but to
Borne interest -,i-. 'iig-.T than the interest in manufactures ; and I knew but one that
and that was the interest in Union. It could not be doubted that tlio Northern State - '
much concerned in preserving the Union n? ourselves ; and it >vas altogether fair, that, in tin-
last resort, we should present to th-ni th ^ plain alternative, either " to return to t/ie bargain
and ttick to the bargain, or ffttx up the Union" If, unhappily, it should turn out that Up-
take more interest in manufactures than in Union, it is my deli! erate opinion the Union
i.s not worth preserving. In all this we have considered n<>t so much what ni^hi be done, raid
rightfully don-, by the sovereign Siati/s of this Union, as what maybe wisely done. Do what
we may, and let what of evil come, we will have the consolation, that, from the ' ginning 10
the end, we have been passive subjects, and the adverse party active agents. The ab;:.-
usurpations practiced, and the burdens imposed, have been of a positive character— wo h.i-.e
done nothing but beg relkf from them.

You hav insisted on my opinions, and I have given them. No one could ask them with
more propriety than yourself. You have been, all your life, a unii'. • republican,

and as mur-li devoted to the prosperity of the State, and Stut s to... :is Uny man in it. Tho
stake which you and all of your name and family have in it, is pledge sufficient for your
loyalty and discretion ; and the passion for liberty that was boru with you, is absolute
jC'i-urity that you cannot be a slave.

Your friend,

G. M. TP.OCP.

xrvr. APPENDIX

[The following letter is the out to which reforence is made in the fourteenth chapter of thU
work, as relating to the Currency quo---..

LAI 16th, 1840.

My Dt-iir Sir: It; i.tken tiny part In President-making. When

Mr. Crawford was m, ^,-ton to

• •
with L- -:•• of men and things, and of sufVi

'. was no

-utes might contnv

havu li .

iily in its sn! :

1!" I t.iil',1 iii my - :it tlii-i

,u the cry of Loafers, Loco Focoa. -
tin- lik> — Irt those who huv

;iof the office-hunt

> the UK and a

me to uso anil a'.;.

|,1 lint: .'ith it ;

I. nt. in tip- MOM w-

•Ion.

The relation in wi.
me, giv .hen you pi

Vfli i:

icr not cmly wi.^o uiiil v«-i

alway: n
unreasonable, that ;i

.
.i:ig to look upon n great :\i-r, a tli-alrr

lll!l UUil \vill.

nit of many •
.v luyiiii: 1 1. .

«..pi,M I..- -i:iK-thin^:uii.l tn i dime nndiH: >ur pocket, \v

tiiii,^ IIIMI ••• : I. ut it" tlii- (U'uk-r >-.i lir.iit, tlmt we soon began to see we could conn;.

: il» fur m.i:l. had derived a pn

and that in^ ii^ countrj'. If the dealer happened so

;i- !••> supply. id uiiiluniily. a small-change circulation, or p

(• in glaring >

;.u 1 which the future wo\iM litiil with t)i:inU»givingonil praise; and tho more joyou
«h:U WH.J. willbp tiu urn- .-. m.il \\\\ . trover, at lcu*t as long

• in L, '1 i ari'l :n be accompli-Oird by n

\'. anything about. .;ings will be large enough. 2dly, it will

be to the same amount, or nearly so, from year to year, la times of pusco increasing gradually,

APPENDIX. XV.

perhaps In proportion to an increasing population, and a consequently increasing expendi-
ture. 3dly, pnying and receiving equal amounts in equal times, or nearly so, the small change
circulation could never be suddenly contracted or enlarged. I will not pretend to ?ay what
the amount of small change in circulation should be in a such a country; it is sufficient, if
it give you only the changa for a shia of beef to the butcher, and a loaf of bread to the baker,
per diem. But it must necessarily give a great deal more — perhaps all we van t. Stating the
average revenue and expenditure at twenty millions, some four or five millions of specie will
suffice to carry on the annual operation ; the balance in the country, whether it be forty, fifty,
sixty or seventy millions, will bo left to sustain the paper, which, whether it amounts to
one hundred and twenty or two hundred and ten millions, will be quite ample for all the
demands of trade and commerce — perhaps quite enough to satisfy the cravings of the most ex-
travagant of the paper-mousy lovers. This paper will he so much the sounder than it would
. i:-o be, because, instead of comparing paper with paper, as you are now forced to do,
you would compare it with an ever present standard of gold and silver. An additional and
certain effect of a merely metallic currency for governmental purposes, would be the check if
would furnish to the extravagances and aberrations of Government, an effect not to be liditlv
estimated.

You perceive I am sanguine in my predictions of the salutary consequences of this much
condemned measure, of which you have a simple statement of my opinion or belief, without
the argument. I supposed you asked no more. An argument on a financial subject is not
worth much ; what would appear a good system on paper, might turn out to be a bad one
in practice, and an indifferent or objectionable one on paper, a very good one in pi-
bat an argument against a system, founded on the dishonesty of mankind, is a very false one ;
men must carry into effect systems ; men must collect and men must disburse the \
revenue ; ami it matters nothing whether that revenue be of gold and silver or of paper.
If, indeed, the paper be good for nothing, that is sufflcieut security against embezzlement : if
equally good, it is more easy of embezzlement than gold and silver. Will it matter much if
the men who collect and disburse, happen to be Whigs or Democrats ? I have pretty much
the same confidence in both; the one set have been already there to steal and plunder; the
oilier have yet to come.

From this project to deal in gold and silver, I have never been able to conjectu 1m .v. l.y
any possibility, loss or detriment can accrue to any body. Is it true the mass of the com-
munity is so corrupt, that it is willing to deal in nothing but bad paper ; or do the politicians
l>?r.<uade them they will have a bank, the extinguisher of all other banks, whose pap<r
will be equal to gold and silver ? Instead of loss or detriment, I have seen no inconvenience
to result to any body, except, indeed, in the first instance, to the merchant ; to bun it will be a
novel operation, for a time, but for a short time ; if it costs him more trouble and expense to be
always ready to meet the custom-houso demand, he knows how to charge that expense to his
customer ; and, my word upon it, the consumer of his merchandise win be the last to com-
plain, if ho sees nothing in an insignificant charge, but a redemption from evil suffering, and
a restoration to the comforts and enjoyments of life, to which, in every country, the pocket and
traveling money in gold and silver coinage so eminently contribute. The very fraction of a
per cent., charged by the merchant, for his trouble and expense of keeping geld and silvr-r to
answer occasional demands, will bo more than repaid by the direct tendency of the operation
to keep that gold and silver at home, which might otherwise go abroad : it will be by so much
the more valuable at home, and therefore cannot leave the country.

But enough ; every body tiros of this dry and hitherto unproducti riie President

should long since have compelled his party to carry out the measure.
Very sincerely and truly.

G. M. Titjrr.

[The two next letters are those addressed to the gentleman at Mobile, and to which reference
's made in the fourteenth chapter of this work.]

YALDOSTA, LAUBEXS COTTXTY, GEORGIA, loth Sept. 1849.

XVT. APPENDIX.

some little eerTice to the State. A -Montgomery li-tti-rn

oune to hand, announcing the Barbecu* \ itation v -ere FO ki

make the san:. motives in t.n- world, have niailc. You

may conceive the roluctancc and unfeigned regret with whi .lerline a com-

pliance with their*, and now to decline a o 'nip! iai.r • with \onr>. Tlj- ^ :\rra', M:L'.
my l.'tte--. was the disinclii; >no»t to abhon •earinp in the news-

papers so often. ai,d especially upou th? same subject, am if I had resolved to force i
• son a tired and unwilling puMic. I had firm my vim, la and out «.i •

and BO frankly, and I tru-

that fur the future I might -.•. ith my I>CM - !f from a i<-|>*-titii>n

of what bad, on former i-ccaclona, bicn ;npntly wit'n

abuse. It i5of noconaoqnc: '•.,> knows those view-

to use them as you pleo«e. i

: give you an illustration of fanat. i

It was one of his virtuen to be «»•- >i lib fault.-- humun

-•«. He had passe.1 ' non, and ahed tears — Unr

Washii • ;civi.l him, l>efor« that, with open an;

i'"ii liim. hi tli>- camp hour If uoiiM hnr>- - women

c nt, and your Btren:,

in the destiny of Pt. I

• irrdi^iouj nn>\ iniiimrnl ! . l>\ tin1

legacy he bequeathed them,
would draw the sword, at any iiu-n

•i try.
It w woritt 'hon uscles* tocon'-fil anything lro;u our».-lv. -

because the civilized world, anil, it may
thanono-half of oiir«w!ii-o:intrymen, areagainrt u«V Tiiis i.i th'-only .

•inimity is n--i night be n-ali/i-d :

"•u? I Bay a ,
Btate, without

powder. i tint our aiher.«orif< •, and

Mi — iilucation

— military resources of all kin'ls; nud these su- "'.\\f in it- military

end naval power — ready for combat at ai> 'anyplace, and «:•

thewori'i? Have you u,,t i ,. that in the. v ry j'n.iH.rtioii our \\< -ukiipsx wan di»-

cloeexi, in tli" sum- )iroi>ortion our advi-ri>ary advanced, until he a-- •)'. .ni'i

nt our firesides? I say, then, ci-a.-iug ail Mr.-ur ami l>ra\ i • n that

'. in whicli. if you !«• well ] . Mows than they can give',

and they know it. Uener ,.' -.voulil n>.t In .

•rrying into practice i p vi:i:;m.l it i- only tip-

Y that in the United States will itajr the band or (top the machiiwtio&i of tlm
That clreail v"ii IM-: to liim. in a vi-ible, j alpiilili- 1""i :n. They kn

have oourape : but v ' \ ins artillery, the most formidalilo nnii in nuxlern v

— where the tnnniti«: th-m in the

field? If united and ready for the la?t r«-cou: • i might yet be .«aved by the very

knowledge of onr adverse —more bl. KI.IV than that of Ghengi* or

'••lie — mi.^lit !)•• inlli-.l tho 1'..^ nf 1'iii.pn, siinl tin- ln>snf ti

accomplish. Victory i< not always to the strong ; and Alexamder OOnqnned ttw world with
littli- more thrvn thirty thou-and men. To be sure, if tho abolitionists - ek di-un:

'inion, by peaceful means — nothing would be more e;i areful as easy, be-

ran-" wi- want no I "'tter Constitution for our Government, than th-ii rnx the abo-

litioni-ts and our?elres; but if th't Union • i iiy fuii'i — t if tlie

aholitionists resolve to force emancipation, or to force dishonor on tlf f-'oiithern States by nuy
net of Congress, then it is my decided opinion, that, with the militot i In i>

indicated, conjoined toagocnl volunteer, instea<l of a militi:'.. s>-ti'ni, tli> S:atr- should march
upon Washington, and dissolve the Government : an •! .in-a ;i- -.omi B< >U'-h overt art of treason
shall have been committal :

APPENDIX. xyn>

AVe have always been in the right-are still in the right, and I advise you to keep so Thov
are the active agents of mischief and persecution : we the passive subjects.. There are

good men on the other side of Mason and Dixon's line, and they might incline to the side of
an innocent and injured people. Even their neutrality mi°;hl 1,,, useful ;t!l t],,.

army and navy: the justice of our cause might divide them. 1 assure you. my dew ib- few
men would be more averse from this latter alternative, than myself: but I have never thought
ot any cure for our evil, short of it: and if you cannot unitedly make up your minds for it or
something better, the talk about it only makes the matter worse. In this familiar and infor-
mal scribbling manner, I write to you, because I believe you would like if

As long as we maintain braggadocia style, th,- North. >,•;, p,,,p|, will |!lmr!i at u< : and 1 d,,
no t care to be laughed at, and despoiled of what we know to be our own. at the same time.

f the abolitionists do not wish disunion, they would keep as in the Union by the argument
of Gen. Jackson. Once in the Union, always in the Union, is the Federal' argument : but
perhaps not as strong as Gen. Jack:on's. I would like to be always well prepared to resist thcs,-
arguments, whether offered in the form of paper or iron bullets. AVhcn the aft
becomes strong enough to alter the Constitution and abolish slavery, what are you t. . do ? You
must submit, or withdraw, or resist; but withdrawal or resistance would be vain, without
ad"(|iiato preparedi;.--- .

Without fatiguing you. 1 dismNs the heart-rending subject, with my K-t w ishe- for your
health and happine-^.

<l. M. TROUP.

VALDOSIA, LAUEEXS COUXTY, OCIOIIKR 1st, ]ii:<.

My Dear Sir: I have deemed it best to submit a few general observations, in addition to
tiioso which I took occasion to offer in answer to your late \cry able, kind and friendly letter.
i-.nd in elucidation of them. They embraced a few reasons or motives for declining, most re-
spectfully, a very reasonable and most patriotic request, which, without a good reason, ought
not to have been declined; and I was willing to submit to your courtesy and generosity the
.sufficiency of the reasons. I superadded a word on the subject of remedy for our present
grievances', to which you were pleased to invite my attention: and now I take leave to trouble
yon with a second but very short letter. e\planaiory. a little more fully, of my pour opinions
in connection with that remedy.

The illustration of fanaticism in the character of tien. |,a Kayctu-, wa.-; not de^ium ,l t,, ,[...
tract any thing from the merits of that really excellent man. It was his limit— his blot— his
sin, in our sight. In the sight of our adversary, it was his crowning jewel. At no period of
our history has the South not suffered from the false opinions, or open treachery, of Southern
men. It cost Mr. Jefferson a life of usefui service to his COT ntry to compensate the iiyurv
done t<> hi-: own South by his Notes on A'irginia ; and your I'lvsident, CJeneral Taylor, has jn-t
escaped from his responsibilities by a trick. In decptie of e TOry thing, men will have their
thoughts ; and our Constitution, a* it ought, gives freedom to the < \pres>ion of them. May it
always be so. Hut when the overt act follows the expression, the overt art being e\il. and of
tin' temptation of the devil, then it is, that a matter of such concernment bn .inn- a deeply
agitating question to all concerned : and the more, if such act In- ib" act of a Government. It
is then, that, in such a controversy as ours, the overt act is likely to prove an act of treason,
and that the action on the one side should be met by correspondent action on the other, ami
so I have advised yon to meet it.

Now, the probable action of Congress will In- to prevent y m, by li.rceofanns. from inhabiting
territory of the United States with your negro property, where -|IM h;:- f,, '^Mm y,,n to earn
it. I say you have a right to go there with your negro property, and the act of forbidding it
is an act of treason* against the South ; producing an actual state of war, by an open declara-

:; I do not use the word in its legal acceptation. If we owe duties and obligations to the
Federal Government, this latter owes duties and obligations to th" States : ami an a -t. tanta-
mount to an act of war against them, is moral treason.

xvm. APPENDIX.

tion on the part of the Federal Government, ut;d makiup m the Uefendai. r.* It

H nut worth our tiin their jiower o\er the siil.jectof slavery.

not elaim it a.- a p '•• within the Stall's — the ino-t inveterate alioli;

renounee it — hut they claim it in : :i- it' they had any in.m- power over a suhjeet

<>( projM-rty there, than they had uv.-r tie- trial by jury— t: I religion — c.f

anm. or any rig) ' .illy to nil the litw-ns iT the I'nite.l

States, whert-vi r tie •> i,.nntry.

Tlicy in vain seek for )K/w<-r in tin1 Constitution — 1!<

of '87. The ( i. Muren tuamert any oth.-r linlit. than tin-

•\. Hy tin- ti-rm-i of theOnlinaii

n the Vnitfii
States, Yirjriiiia.Hinl th" inh.il.it..- .1 mul fntur.-. n..t ;

• -j.art>. It WM IMd> ante tbt Artfcb i- vain :in<l

:hcr rinlitfu!' -itiunally ma .

Modtni

'.•I til'' lllllit-- of ti:

'. ll:l\i-

.•.until
•

\\.iiil.l in..--

fully protest against It as a ; MM- pn--i,.nt < :m<l n-

i ink. that. 11-,:

()nlin:i: •••! i •. \\'ll. h -

1'iiiit Mnv.-ry

In ti ase, Congress h:i. I n. -t i-vt-n th- • !•.

jiation. It F: i vitli tie- I : 'nhabl-

•'vle-lMMiM lu. :ilH.|i-he.l fori-v. r -Aithin

. .. ry in any MI.IMIIT
'• ' i .let IIU'I.-: •

gross had n<> ' li-h it

1 io unite in

trade, is n..* in virtue of any p*.\\ei ulr of th.i

: oii^ tiling f..i Cnn.

• rent thin'.' fir the
v. Therhai.

tbe G'li-tiimi.in. If you e..nl(l, it

\\oiil. ! % ilifl'oreiit thin^. l>oth from \vhrit it i- ami froii, I to he.

. in truth, a voluntary -nrrender. mi your part, \vitlioiit the »Iiarlo\v o| a •
ii a liLickli'Tfy. ).•!• ' vi. n h:i'l h.-eii v\lii|ip'..l into i( liv tin-

wnd, or eat o'nine-tails. Still, at 1 ...luntary Mirreniler. Vuii liouinl your.-. •

..In iinw t" l •-titutionnl ipi

. it is true. t'i •' 10 more than what you aetn.illy a^reeil .it the

•very north of latitr.' .-.'I within w

formerly tie , •••! that, i -ham. t'nl ami s.-amlaloii- as the surrender

von siirreiiilered nothing, n-.thin;,' of fi-rritory. to lie sure, hut you : siirri-ml-n .1 tip-

- It ve make a Volunta- •. >.f \vliat yon

iin, it will only atlonl \..ii a pi, -text, in fiitiip-, to ask m. i

theell,hecnn iiieh. You will n..t even promi-e not t<. a-k t'"i- n...re. and

laratioii oi - at, if IM are >;mply ti.

'•.-turned out at the point of tii i i h y voluntary assiH-iati",;

100,000 men had gone into Callt'. - would have had no remedy l.ut 1-y reeoiu -e |.>

th" army nnd navy.

APPENDIX. XIX.

We .foresee, distinctly, that with regard to the future acquisition of territory, cither by pur-
chase or by conquest, this lino of 36-30 will be regarded as equally surrendered— for, being a
line, marking a boundary of climate, into which we have not, and never will have, any induce-
ment to carry our slave property, the argument, if it bo good for any thing, is as good for
future as for present territory." By the by, although this may have lieen tb" view taken of
it at the time, it has since turned out that, for all mining purpose*, slave labor would In- as
applicable to countries north of 36-30, as south of it. African slavery had its origin in the
necessity of substituting black for Indian servitude, for mining. So that, really, when it was
supposed we had only surrendered a right, we had in fact surrendered a substantial i:iteiv>t
likewise.

Now, the question is, will yon, having once, for the sake of preserving the Union, made a
voluntary concession of rights and interests, bo willing to make a. like concession to preserve
the same, Union now ? I would not have done so then, nor would I do so, now ; but i am only
one of the million. How far are we willing to go, and how much mure are we willing t" -iv.-
up to preserve the, Union '.' It is known to yon, that there arc some who are prepared In give
up everything. 1 trust there never will be found a majority for this. 'What then shall we
do? I say, let us begin and put our trust in a condition of full prcparc'ln • worst

contingency, in defence of all our rights and interests. As we have ni'i-4 unwisely surrender-
ed our birth-right for less than a mess of pottage — as we have surrendered, in the same man-
ner, valuable interests — as. at the same time, we surrendered aline-t the only argument that
ought to have proved available for their preservation, may we, myself not included, not again
make more sacrifices by consenting to extend the same line indefinitely, on the single con-
dition, that all countries South of it shall be opened to us forever, with a distinct understanding
that not a man or a dollar would be supplied to any future wars, but with the full assurance,
on their part, that we were to share equally in their benefits as in their burthens '! So much
might be yielded to avert the greatest of all evils— a civil war. But, still, I am persuaded that
these sacrifices would not, by our adversary, bo considered eiioii-li, if not supported by an
attitude and posture so palpably formidable as not to be mistaken. To bring abou
ends, I fear a convention— more paper rcMilutions— I would prefer a geii"ral informal under-
standing, each State engaging earnestly and heartily in (he work of preparation, as if the
result of a common sense of duty and safety. The States that arc willing to co-op 'rate, would
soon be known and distinguished from those who arc unwilling ; and so you would be able to
estimate your strength, and then, if it were deemed sufficient, a convention might t'-How. not
for paper resolutions, but for the purpose of counseling a- to the be-' modes <>( carrying KIM
effect your already fixed and settled purpa-e.

December 1, 1849.— Two or three days after forwarding my first letter. 1 had written thus
much, when T decided noi to send it, but to await the action of the Com. lifornia.

If the prescribed boundaries are finally adopted, giving the entire Pacific coast to the DOT
and all the country north and south of 36-30 to the southern line of Oregon, beMd
Congress should adopt the same, then 1 advise thai, yon take the remedy as suggested in my
first letter, or the expedient of an armed emigration of slave-holders Into the territory
of 36-30, with a resolution to hold it forever as a slave country, or until eventually its popu-
lation, as a State, shall determine othcrwi-e.

And now, as California itself lias prepared the way for toproWwn tot I solved I
1 have no hesitation in relieving you from the injunction ! • : and j

thus at liberty to make what use you please of my crude letters, with the s
that you must first believe- that some public usefulness may follow.
Verv sincerely Mid respectfully,

[The two remaining letters have boefl noticed i,, the fouileonth chapter of ft* w,,k.]

YUI,OST\. HURKNS Co., (&.. '.i'.'th Octoto

which I trust will prove satisfactory to you

APPENDIX.

Ut. I am decidedly arcrs* u. appearinz in the p«blic print*.
iJ. I h«*e reoeatodtj, of Iato,«
3d. With Tery great lilac ta»ra. I had .
i of Huhfc, o*. the i

l«W«

lil tl* reta.>i.T^»- t,, wkx-h. rf • ,«.- . T w^ol-i i.Vl or Kibtra.1 nothing.
It atnae that ahm the date af that lettor, acts hare hew pagnihy CWgrias which have

• . • . - . ,

I it vwBfcl be Uht ttfieM»a • fcl wartr of trocrS to dfcr y«« the mw eahaUxe iria»i in

•fwMMarf
TWm. bM*ka, M » they aadraarud

t'ii- «.". --:: v,. -,:;-;.- the Mtvr ^.f

'• -

de the Cot mor» to itnTMl **••
mar IMP thm I «a*i«-i in ttet MoWe letter.

if I tMdkadtW pov«r tocaO TM to »rm«, b« «^« in that cas* yon
. IlBiufciii i^rtiiiftiMaauif iBinialliiitllilii, nilliiil ililij

Pr>Ttm.w>«tl far wool: «oJ they hare
?
of

i **

Mt to— * to South Car^iaa. If

. .

wai •• ••!• IO •^Kt • 0W »g»il "

•a be iianlaHra «hhu»t
ha to hart awd hi likri y to he M«
. Ut— The wiU— 3i.— The »rejn,

I* r T . - T ather Stale there i* n, Uher the oa« IMT the other.
: t . a man, *at«aVJ with what CaagfUi ha> doa* afl the re*
ihavedmdad; with fie*yect toCe«rr>,K«e
•haaiakmeruaataKF, I wovdd camOtf It
to Biiol-i, u^oat • •»|iiailj of the tats* of <
I be fc»»ud iaa»aCiafH rmj liBVii iMy etraag to raaat all faMgB

hat I viMU M« w«at far thai if the caMqr

I we are dtm« to the hat illiraatin, I wish erery ••! mil titntieMl
i the Xonh. I wiA «w aaoaie to be cowtntljr <» the «ide of

t of •• decMam,* aad I WMM ahtawa fnm fedowi«* the exavpl*
North. Lat her g»««i«tha career of TliliriM,wrt«ehe ha. heaped »o »aay caak of «re o«
her head, cad the* anaea* to her the bayooK, with a goad amfritmrf, *md with an energy
that wiD BBAeher. H Beta (mod. a better aad a MMCC hoMat MJghbor.

Xtthfcftr, hi BMC* ea»y, tf ye* wffl juradt yowaetfem, thamtohednw* into an experiawnt
of reMedk* Oat are «xtt»«a«*ttt«tie«aL They nehidi y»« froBi Territoriea whfch are M
not evtode Northrrn •»•• from Tcrritorka which are

r be Terr iJMtawt : hat, whflet

APPENDIX. XXI

unanimity fur which tli'-i ,„ unanimity would defeat it.

..Citation, because Congress hare exclusive power to reflate Comme

courafe' : --at, for the hundredth time, and for all that

. remedy for our present grievance, but armed States, bidding de-
. array that t; r.iust withdraw from its nnjust prtten-

otl-er assert its ri_! •

•: to or repeal of the Fagitive Act. or something worse, will ra.
and bring their, to think and fe*l and act like brother*, remain*- '
future to di=el.>.;. In th<- thrown ourselves upon a

will become good citizens to abide its action.

Having th';- :nake mj-rtelf

at ail int':ll:SiU:-. I tru.-t you will -ee in those few an additional reason why they she:.
bepabitabcd. Th,-y proclaim our weak onrag-

North t j proceed ::: -hich u what the enemies of Union de-

cau act with safety iMolo-

.tliout a maj ..„,] ,jr;ve ti

V.-ry r ••-;•• •.•tl'ully. d

Dr. Joliu G. ^lapiiey.

VALDWT^ July 4th, 18ii.
Dear Sir : You are quite welc. : ,u pleuie with any th iBjr of mine y<m may bar*

. rovided you think good may come of h.

I have neither taste, inclinati.i: • T controversial politico: bntvn, notwitlMUnd-

;ndifTerent to the wellare of our conntrv- If « word from Me could

-. in any sense, it would r.ot be wanting. We see with different eye*, or I

u-ouM bo amazed at the opposition to the present administration, especially in the Southern

•oantry.* T least exceptionable of all the admintotratfaM we here

- n's and Mr. Folk's not except ed . People seem to be
. : . flnJ fault with. The Sontbern peonle are
1 by honor, gratitude and - irtain it with all their might.

•*."<7n ')/• igralirm are mere pretenpes— the «JT"'-'-*"1iin has »a*fci»g

to do with either. The first has existed at all times, without complaint ; the second baa not only

.. but has been almost uniformly encouraged by people and gt/venunemt : and now a

party b •;. • administration because it wHl not destroy the KoMan Catboiici

andputdow: •!. The tme grounds of oppoaitioa are :

at the dUporol of the Prerideat, when ooaapared with

• number of tho*- who seek them. 2nd. Ttie faithfal and on&ltering iategrity

•I-. ' against the thieves who prowL by night an 1 by

-ragc with which the President, in de-

fendii.. - and moe* sacred interest of the South.

Them . . . Iministratioo, is the party ovvmpj'mg the lattej yurotd;

and what a *pectacl -; uthern country : Mr. Pierce and Mr. Hale,

:ted by a vast majority of his countrymen, in a manner most honorable to hianrlf, he
i-« threatened with overthrow by a majority almost as formidable, far, (a- t ere*

plansible reasons. 'The reader will readily understand the allusion hen> to be to President
PHRCE.-

f This Church is mon- innocent now. in the eyes of all Protestant sects, than it has been
before for two hundred years ; and there is BO* beneath the sun a finer people OMB the p«opii

"ho are made to fall under the common proscription.

XXII. APPENDIX.

liuth from New llainp-hir' — the uiu- an liiuic«t 111:111; tin1 other a Ui-,'ot. fanatic- and abolition-
ist! What :i contract : What etlV.l_:,-nco ! A\ ' Ami yet. tlr-re an- Southern

I itli tin- l:i!t<T. t" Ir.i •! with sea; -ely nn\

.• than that tli two iiroiniiu-iit men,

ln^ in lii.-> iliitv, siinl tin- othi-i- iloin^ \i\* with honor mnl ailvant.iiri1 to the amntrv.

u nnkiti iiiii' . tli-v

would sow ili.-4-onl.iinl divi-iou. (Mir !i . i tin- v.-t • >. th' y \v..ulil Ink.'

' ! • . bostn\v it . .to ic-

. a.liiiini-ti.,

of the ilay in .-\.-iy a.iinini-nali\ .• ilr]i:irtin.-nt. i.nd whin the- i' tin- ptilili.-

Against rapine ami >; 'he c\\han-tion aiul l>i-»(piry of tin- tri-n-un .

i ; . M i

Dr. Joh'

I1. .<. Th I -M.-iny.

il tin- pnlilir

have been offered to any or every )»*\\ «li'lia.la \
inkht be qualified t •

3 158 00022 2371

UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL]. BRARY FAC LITY

AA 001 132504 0

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