IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCH 24, 1818.

[THE following is considered one of the most important

speeches made by Mr. Clay, during his congressional career. It

is here that he appears as an advocate for the cause of human

liberty――‘when, striving to usher the southern republics into

the great family of nations, he stood up before his countrymen

like an apostle, commissioned by Freedom, to welcome her new

votaries to the reward of their labors and their sacrifices. The

glory which he won by the discharge of that commission, is as

imperishable as liberty itself. It will rise freshly above his

grave, and grow greener with the lapse of centuries.’ At the

sessions of congress, in 1816 and 1817, he had made allusions to

the situation of the South American patriots, and expressed his

warm sympathies in their behalf, as may be observed in preceding

speeches, and he now proposes to recognize the independence of

the United Provinces of La Plata or Buenos Ayres, as the first

established republic of South America.

In the summer of 1817, the president of the United States

(Mr. Monroe) appointed Messrs. Rodney, Graham, and Bland,

commissioners to proceed to South America, for the purpose

of ascertaining the condition of the country, the character

of the people, and their ability for self-government. At the

present session of congress, (March twenty-fourth, 1818,)

the house being in committee of the whole, on the bill making

appropriations for the support of government, which bill

proposed thirty thousand dollars, for compensation to the

commissioners above mentioned; this item being passed by for

the time, Mr. Clay (speaker) moved to amend the bill, by adding,

and ‘for one year’s salary and an outfit to a minister to the

_United Provinces_ of _Rio de La Plata_, the salary to commence,

and the outfit to be paid, whenever the president shall deem it

expedient to send a minister to the said United Provinces, a sum

not exceeding eighteen thousand dollars.’

This motion he followed up by the subjoined argument, and

on this occasion he differed with many of his political and

personal friends in congress, as well as the president and heads

of departments. The house rejected his proposition at this time,

but in 1820, by recognizing its principles, and the independence

of South America congress acknowledged his triumph.]

I RISE under feelings of deeper regret than I have ever experienced

on any former occasion, inspired, principally, by the painful

consideration, that I find myself, on the proposition which I meant

to submit, differing from many highly esteemed friends, in and out of

this house, for whose judgment I entertained the greatest respect. A

knowledge of this circumstance has induced me to pause; to subject my

own convictions to the severest scrutiny, and to revolve the question

over and over again. But all my reflections have conducted me to the

same clear result; and, much as I value those friends, great as my

deference is for their opinions, I cannot hesitate, when reduced

to the distressing alternative of conforming my judgment to theirs,

or pursuing the deliberate and mature dictates of my own mind. I

enjoy some consolation, for the want of their coöperation, from the

persuasion that, if I err on this occasion, I err on the side of the

liberty and happiness of a large portion of the human family. Another,

and, if possible, indeed a greater, source of the regret to which I

refer, is the utter incompetency, which I unfeignedly feel, to do any

thing like adequate justice to the great cause of American independence

and freedom, whose interests I wish to promote by my humble exertions

in this instance. Exhausted and worn down as I am, by the fatigue,

confinement, and incessant application incident to the arduous duties

of the honorable station I hold, during a four months’ session, I shall

need all that kind indulgence which has been so often extended to me by

the house.

I beg, in the first place, to correct misconceptions, if any exist, in

regard to my opinions. I am averse to war with Spain, or with any power.

I would give no just cause of war to any power――not to Spain herself.

I have seen enough of war, and of its calamities, even when successful.

No country upon earth has more interest than this in cultivating peace

and avoiding war, as long as it is possible honorably to avoid it.

Gaining additional strength every day; our numbers doubling in periods

of twenty-five years; with an income outstripping all our estimates,

and so great, as, after a war in some respects disastrous, to furnish

results which carry astonishment, if not dismay, into the bosom of

states jealous of our rising importance; we have every motive for

the love of peace. I cannot, however, approve, in all respects, of

the manner in which our negotiations with Spain have been conducted.

If ever a favorable time existed for the demand, on the part of an

injured nation, of indemnity for past wrongs from the aggressor, such

is the present time. Impoverished and exhausted at home, by the wars

which have desolated the peninsula; with a foreign war, calling for

infinitely more resources, in men and money, than she can possibly

command, this is the auspicious period for insisting upon justice at

her hands, in a firm and decided tone. Time is precisely what Spain

now most wants. Yet what are we told by the president, in his message

at the commencement of congress? That Spain had procrastinated, and

we acquiesced in her procrastination. And the secretary of state, in a

late communication with Mr. Onis, after ably vindicating all our rights,

tells the Spanish minister, with a good deal of _sang froid_, that we

had patiently waited thirteen years for a redress of our injuries, and

that it required no great effort to wait longer! I would have abstained

from thus exposing our intentions. Avoiding the use of the language

of menace, I would have required, in temperate and decided terms,

indemnity for all our wrongs; for the spoliations of our commerce;

for the interruption of the right of depot at New Orleans, guarantied

by treaty; for the insults repeatedly offered to our flag; for the

Indian hostilities, which she was bound to prevent; for belligerent use

made of her ports and territories, by our enemy, during the late war;

and the instantaneous liberation of the free citizens of the United

States, now imprisoned in her jails. Contemporaneous with that demand,

without waiting for her final answer, and with a view to the favorable

operation on her councils in regard to our own peculiar interests,

as well as in justice to the cause itself, I would recognize any

established government in Spanish America. I would have left Spain

to draw her own inferences from these proceedings, as to the ultimate

step which this country might adopt, if she longer withheld justice

from us. And if she persevered in her iniquity, after we have conducted

the negotiation in the manner I have endeavored to describe, I would

then take up and decide the solemn question of peace or war, with the

advantage of all the light shed upon it, by subsequent events, and the

probable conduct of Europe.

Spain has undoubtedly given us abundant and just cause of war. But

it is not every cause of war that should lead to war. War is one of

those dreadful scourges, that so shakes the foundations of society,

overturns or changes the character of governments, interrupts or

destroys the pursuits of private happiness, brings, in short, misery

and wretchedness in so many forms, and at last is, in its issue, so

doubtful and hazardous, that nothing but dire necessity can justify

an appeal to arms. If we are to have war with Spain, I have, however,

no hesitation in saying, that no mode of bringing it about could be

less fortunate than that of seizing, at this time, upon her adjoining

province. There was a time, under certain circumstances, when we

might have occupied East Florida with safety; had we then taken it,

our posture in the negotiation with Spain would have been totally

different from what it is. But we have permitted that time, not with

my consent, to pass by unimproved. If we were now to seize upon Florida,

after a great change in those circumstances, and after declaring our

intention to acquiesce in the procrastination desired by Spain, in

what light should we be viewed by foreign powers, particularly Great

Britain? We have already been accused of inordinate ambition, and of

seeking to aggrandize ourselves by an extension, on all sides, of our

limits. Should we not, by such an act of violence, give color to the

accusation? No, Mr. Chairman; if we are to be involved in a war with

Spain, let us have the credit of disinterestedness. Let us put her yet

more in the wrong. Let us command the respect which is never withheld

from those who act a noble and generous part. I hope to communicate

to the committee the conviction which I so strongly feel, that the

adoption of the amendment which I intend to propose, would not hazard,

in the slightest degree, the peace of the country. But if that peace

is to be endangered, I would infinitely rather it should be for our

exerting the right appertaining to every state, of acknowledging the

independence of another state, than for the seizure of a province,

which, sooner or later, we must certainly acquire.

In contemplating the great struggle in which Spanish America is now

engaged, our attention is first fixed by the immensity and character

of the country which Spain seeks again to subjugate. Stretching on the

Pacific ocean from about the fortieth degree of north latitude to about

the fifty-fifth degree of south latitude, and extending from the mouth

of the Rio del Norte, (exclusive of East Florida,) around the Gulf of

Mexico, and along the South Atlantic to near Cape Horn; it is about

five thousand miles in length, and in some places near three thousand

in breadth. Within this vast region we behold the most sublime and

interesting objects of creation; the loftiest mountains, the most

majestic rivers in the world; the richest mines of the precious metals,

and the choicest productions of the earth. We behold there a spectacle

still more interesting and sublime――the glorious spectacle of eighteen

millions of people, struggling to burst their chains and to be free.

When we take a little nearer and more detailed view, we perceive that

nature has, as it were, ordained that this people and this country

shall ultimately constitute several different nations. Leaving the

United States on the north, we come to New Spain, or the vice-royalty

of Mexico on the south; passing by Guatemala, we reach the vice-royalty

of New Grenada, the late captain-generalship of Venezuela, and Guiana,

lying on the east side of the Andes. Stepping over the Brazils, we

arrive at the united provinces of La Plata, and crossing the Andes,

we find Chili on their west side, and, further north, the vice-royalty

of Lima, or Peru. Each of these several parts is sufficient in itself,

in point of limits, to constitute a powerful state; and, in point of

population, that which has the smallest, contains enough to make it

respectable. Throughout all the extent of that great portion of the

world, which I have attempted thus hastily to describe, the spirit

of revolt against the dominion of Spain has manifested itself. The

revolution has been attended with various degrees of success in the

several parts of Spanish America. In some it has been already crowned,

as I shall endeavor to show, with complete success, and in all I am

persuaded that independence has struck such deep root, that the power

of Spain can never eradicate it. What are the causes of this great

movement?

Three hundred years ago, upon the ruins of the thrones of Montezuma and

the incas of Peru, Spain erected the most stupendous system of colonial

despotism that the world has ever seen――the most vigorous, the most

exclusive. The great principle and object of this system, has been, to

render one of the largest portions of the world exclusively subservient,

in all its faculties, to the interests of an inconsiderable spot in

Europe. To effectuate this aim of her policy, she locked up Spanish

America from all the rest of the world, and prohibited, under the

severest penalties, any foreigner from entering any part of it. To

keep the natives themselves ignorant of each other, and of the strength

and resources of the several parts of her American possessions, she

next prohibited the inhabitants of one vice-royalty or government

from visiting those of another; so that the inhabitants of Mexico, for

example, were not allowed to enter the vice-royalty of New Granada. The

agriculture of those vast regions was so regulated and restrained, as

to prevent all collision with the agriculture of the peninsula. Where

nature, by the character and composition of the soil, had commanded,

the abominable system of Spain has forbidden, the growth of certain

articles. Thus the olive and the vine, to which Spanish America is

so well adapted, are prohibited, wherever their culture can interfere

with the olive and the vine of the peninsula. The commerce of the

country, in the direction and objects of the exports and imports, is

also subjected to the narrow and selfish views of Spain, and fettered

by the odious spirit of monopoly, existing in Cadiz. She has sought, by

scattering discord among the several castes of her American population,

and by a debasing course of education, to perpetuate her oppression.

Whatever concerns public law, or the science of government, all writers

upon political economy, or that tend to give vigor, and freedom,

and expansion, to the intellect, are prohibited. Gentlemen would

be astonished by the long list of distinguished authors, whom she

proscribes, to be found in Depon’s and other works. A main feature

in her policy, is that which constantly elevates the European and

depresses the American character. Out of upwards of seven hundred and

fifty viceroys and captains general, whom she has appointed since the

conquest of America, about eighteen only have been from the body of the

American population. On all occasions, she seeks to raise and promote

her European subjects, and to degrade and humiliate the Creoles.

Wherever in America her sway extends, every thing seems to pine and

wither beneath its baneful influence. The richest regions of the earth:

man, his happiness and his education, all the fine faculties of his

soul, are regulated, and modified, and moulded, to suit the execrable

purposes of an inexorable despotism.

Such is a brief and imperfect picture of the state of things in

Spanish America, in 1808, when the famous transactions of Bayonne

occurred. The king of Spain and the Indies (for Spanish America has

always constituted an integral part of the Spanish empire) abdicated

his throne and became a voluntary captive. Even at this day, one does

not know whether he should most condemn the baseness and perfidy of

the one party, or despise the meanness and imbecility of the other. If

the obligation of obedience and allegiance existed on the part of the

colonies to the king of Spain, it was founded on the duty of protection

which he owed them. By disqualifying himself for the performance of

this duty, they became released from that obligation. The monarchy was

dissolved; and each integral part had a right to seek its own happiness,

by the institution of any new government adapted to its wants. Joseph

Bonaparte, the successor _de facto_ of Ferdinand, recognized this right

on the part of the colonies, and recommended them to establish their

independence. Thus, upon the ground of strict right; upon the footing

of a mere legal question, governed by forensic rules, the colonies,

being absolved by the acts of the parent country from the duty of

subjection to it, had an indisputable right to set up for themselves.

But I take a broader and a bolder position. I maintain, that an

oppressed people are authorized, whenever they can, to rise and break

their fetters. This was the great principle of the English revolution.

It was the great principle of our own. Vattel, if authority were

wanting, expressly supports this right. We must pass sentence of

condemnation upon the founders of our liberty, say that they were

rebels, traitors, and that we are at this moment legislating without

competent powers, before we can condemn the cause of Spanish America.

Our revolution was mainly directed against the mere theory of tyranny.

We had suffered comparatively but little; we had, in some respects,

been kindly treated; but our intrepid and intelligent fathers saw, in

the usurpation of the power to levy an inconsiderable tax, the long

train of oppressive acts that were to follow. They rose; they breasted

the storm; they achieved our freedom. Spanish America for centuries has

been doomed to the practical effects of an odious tyranny. If we were

justified, she is more than justified.

I am no propagandist. I would not seek to force upon other nations

our principles and our liberty, if they do not want them. I would not

disturb the repose even of a detestable despotism. But, if an abused

and oppressed people will their freedom; if they seek to establish it;

if, in truth, they have established it; we have a right, as a sovereign

power, to notice the fact, and to act as circumstances and our interest

require. I will say, in the language of the venerated father of my

country, ‘born in a land of liberty, my anxious recollections, my

sympathetic feelings, and my best wishes, are irresistibly excited,

whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the

banners of freedom.’ Whenever I think of Spanish America, the image

irresistibly forces itself upon my mind, of an elder brother, whose

education has been neglected, whose person has been abused and

maltreated, and who has been disinherited by the unkindness of an

unnatural parent. And, when I contemplate the glorious struggle which

that country is now making, I think I behold that brother rising, by

the power and energy of his fine native genius, to the manly rank which

nature, and nature’s God, intended for him.

If Spanish America be entitled to success from the justness of her

cause, we have no less reason to wish that success, from the horrible

character which the royal arms have given to the war. More atrocities,

than those which have been perpetrated during its existence, are not to

be found, even in the annals of Spain herself. And history, reserving

some of her blackest pages for the name of Morillo, is prepared to

place him by the side of his great prototype, the infamous desolater

of the Netherlands. He who has looked into the history of the conduct

of this war, is constantly shocked at the revolting scenes which it

portrays; at the refusal, on the part of the commanders of the royal

forces, to treat, on any terms, with the other side; at the denial

of quarters; at the butchery, in cold blood, of prisoners; at the

violation of flags, in some cases, after being received with religions

ceremonies; at the instigation of slaves to rise against their owners;

and at acts of wanton and useless barbarity. Neither the weakness of

the other sex, nor the imbecility of old age, nor the innocence of

infants, nor the reverence due to the sarcedotal character, can stay

the arm of royal vengeance. On this subject, I beg leave to trouble

the committee, with reading a few passages from a most authentic

document, the manifesto of the congress of the United Provinces of

Rio del la Plata, published in October last. This is a paper of the

highest authority; it is an appeal to the world; it asserts facts of

notoriety in the face of the whole world. It is not to be credited,

that the congress would come forward with a statement which was not

true, when the means, if it were false, of exposing their fabrications,

must be so abundant, and so easy to command. It is a document, in

short, that stands upon the same footing of authority with our own

papers, promulgated during the revolution by our congress. I will

add, that many of the facts which it affirms, are corroborated by most

respectable historical testimony, which is in my own possession.

‘Memory shudders at the recital of the horrors that were

committed by Goyeneche in Cochabamba. Would to heaven it were

possible to blot from remembrance the name of that ungrateful

and blood-thirsty American; who, on the day of his entry,

ordered the virtuous governor and intendant, Antesana, to

be shot; who, beholding from the balcony of his house that

infamous murder, cried out with a ferocious voice to the

soldiers, that they must not fire at the head, because he wanted

it to be affixed to a pole; and who, after the head was taken

off, ordered the cold corpse to be dragged through the streets;

and, by a barbarous decree, placed the lives and fortunes of

the citizens at the mercy of his unbridled soldiery, leaving

them to exercise their licentious and brutal sway during several

days! But those blind and cruelly capricious men (the Spaniards)

rejected the mediation of England, and despatched rigorous

orders to all the generals, to aggravate the war, and to punish

us with more severity. The scaffolds were every where multiplied,

and invention was racked to devise means for spreading murder,

distress, and consternation.

‘Thenceforth they made all possible efforts to spread division

amongst us, to incite us to mutual extermination; they have

slandered us with the most atrocious calumnies; accusing us of

plotting the destruction of our holy religion, the abolition of

all morality, and of introducing licentiousness of manners. They

wage a religious war against us, contriving a thousand artifices

to disturb and alarm the consciences of the people, making the

Spanish bishops issue decrees of ecclesiastical condemnation,

public excommunications, and disseminating, through the medium

of some ignorant confessor, fanatical doctrines in the tribunal

of penitence. By means of these religious discords, they

have divided families against themselves; they have caused

disaffection between parents and children; they have dissolved

the tender ties which unite man and wife; they have spread

rancor and implacable hatred between brothers most endeared,

and they have presumed to throw all nature into discord.

‘They have adopted the system of murdering men indiscriminately,

to diminish our numbers; and, on their entry into towns, they

have swept off all, even the market people, leading them to the

open squares, and there shooting them one by one. The cities of

Chuquisaca and Cochabamba have more than once been the theatres

of these horrid slaughters.

‘They have intermixed with their troops soldiers of ours, whom

they had taken prisoners, carrying away the officers in chains,

to garrisons where it is impossible to preserve health for a

year; they have left others to die in their prisons, of hunger

and misery, and others they have forced to hard labor on the

public works. They have exultingly put to death our bearers of

flags of truce, and have been guilty of the blackest atrocities

to our chiefs, after they had surrendered, as well as to other

principal characters, in disregard of the humanity with which we

treated prisoners; as a proof of it, witness the deputy Mutes of

Potosi, the captain-general Pumacagua, general Augulo, and his

brother commandant Munecas, and other partisan chiefs, who were

shot in cold blood after having been prisoners for several days.

‘They took a brutal pleasure in cropping the ears of the natives

of the town of Ville-Grande, and sending a basket full of them

as presents to the head-quarters. They afterwards burnt that

town, and set fire to thirty other populous towns of Peru, and,

worse than the worst of savages, shutting the inhabitants up in

the houses before setting them on fire, that they might be burnt

alive.

‘They have not only been cruel and unsparing in their mode

of murder, but they have been void of all morality and public

decency, causing aged ecclesiastics and women to be lashed to a

gun, and publicly flogged, with the abomination of first having

them stripped, and their nakedness exposed to shame, in the

presence of their troops.

‘They established an inquisitorial system in all these

punishments; they have seized on peaceable inhabitants, and

transported them across the sea, to be judged for suspected

crimes, and they have put a great number of citizens to death

every where, without accusation or the form of a trial.

‘They have invented a crime of unexampled horror, in poisoning

our water and provisions, when they were conquered by general

Pineto at Lapaz; and, in return for the kindness with which we

treated them, after they had surrendered at discretion, they had

the barbarity to blow up the head-quarters, under which they had

constructed a mine, and prepared a train, beforehand.

‘He has branded us with the stigma of rebels, the moment he

returned to Madrid; he refused to listen to our complaints, or

to receive our supplications; and, as an act of extreme favor,

he offered us pardon. He confirmed the viceroys, governors,

and generals whom he found actually glutted with carnage. He

declared us guilty of a high misdemeanor, for having dared

to frame a constitution for our own government, free from the

control of a deified, absolute, and tyrannical power, under

which we had groaned three centuries; a measure that could be

offensive only to a prince, an enemy to justice and beneficence,

and consequently unworthy to rule over us.

‘He then undertook, with the aid of his ministers, to equip

large military armaments, to be directed against us. He caused

numerous armies to be sent out, to consummate the work of

devastation, fire, and plunder.

‘He has sent his generals, with certain decrees of pardon,

which they publish to deceive the ignorant, and induce them to

facilitate their entrance into towns, whilst at the same time

he has given them other secret instructions, authorizing them,

as soon as they could get possession of a place, to hang, burn,

confiscate, and sack; to encourage private assassinations, and

to commit every species of injury in their power, against the

deluded beings who had confided in his pretended pardon. It is

in the name of Ferdinand of Bourbon, that the heads of patriot

officers, prisoners, are fixed up in the highways, that they

beat and stoned to death a commandant of light troops, and that,

after having killed colonel Camugo, in the same manner, by the

hands of the indecent Centeno, they cut off his head, and sent

it as a present to general Pazuela, telling him it was a miracle

of the virgin of the Carmelites.’

In the establishment of the independence of Spanish America, the

United States have the deepest interest. I have no hesitation in

asserting my firm belief, that there is no question in the foreign

policy of this country, which has ever arisen, or which I can conceive

as ever occurring, in the decision of which we have had or can have

so much at stake. This interest concerns our politics, our commerce,

our navigation. There cannot be a doubt that Spanish America, once

independent, whatever may be the form of the governments established

in its several parts, these governments will be animated by an American

feeling, and guided by an American policy. They will obey the laws

of the system of the new world, of which they will compose a part,

in contradistinction to that of Europe. Without the influence of that

vortex in Europe, the balance of power between its several parts, the

preservation of which has so often drenched Europe in blood, America

is sufficiently remote to contemplate the new wars which are to afflict

that quarter of the globe, as a calm if not a cold and indifferent

spectator. In relation to those wars, the several parts of America

will generally stand neutral. And as, during the period when they

rage, it will be important that a liberal system of neutrality should

be adopted and observed, all America will be interested in maintaining

and enforcing such a system. The independence of Spanish America,

then, is an interest of primary consideration. Next to that, and

highly important in itself, is the consideration of the nature of their

governments. That is a question, however, for themselves. They will,

no doubt, adopt those kinds of governments which are best suited to

their condition, best calculated for their happiness. Anxious as I am

that they should be free governments, we have no right to prescribe

for them. They are, and ought to be, the sole judges for themselves.

I am strongly inclined to believe that they will in most, if not all

parts of their country, establish free governments. We are their great

example. Of us they constantly speak as of brothers, having a similar

origin. They adopt our principles, copy our institutions, and, in many

instances, employ the very language and sentiments of our revolutionary

papers.

‘Having, then, been thus impelled by the Spaniards and their

king, we have calculated all the consequences, and have

constituted ourselves independent, prepared to exercise the

right of nature to defend ourselves against the ravages of

tyranny, at the risk of our honor, our lives, and fortune. We

have sworn to the only King we acknowledge, the supreme judge

of the world, that we will not abandon the cause of justice;

that we will not suffer the country which he has given us, to be

buried in ruins, and inundated with blood, by the hands of the

executioner,’ &c.

But it is sometimes said, that they are too ignorant and too

superstitious to admit of the existence of free government. This

charge of ignorance is often urged by persons themselves actually

ignorant of the real condition of that people. I deny the alleged fact

of ignorance; I deny the inference from that fact, if it were true,

that they want capacity for free government; and I refuse assent to

the further conclusion, if the fact were true, and the inference just,

that we are to be indifferent to their fate. All the writers of the

most established authority, Depons, Humboldt, and others, concur in

assigning to the people of Spanish America great quickness, genius,

and particular aptitude for the acquisition of the exact sciences,

and others which they have been allowed to cultivate. In astronomy,

geology, mineralogy, chemistry, botany, and so forth, they are allowed

to make distinguished proficiency. They justly boast of their Abzate,

Velasques, and Gama, and other illustrious contributors to science.

They have nine universities, and in the city of Mexico, it is affirmed

by Humboldt, that there are more solid scientific establishments than

in any city even of North America. I would refer to the message of the

supreme director of La Plata, which I shall hereafter have occasion

to use for another purpose, as a model of fine composition of a state

paper, challenging a comparison with any, the most celebrated, that

ever issued from the pens of Jefferson or Madison. Gentlemen will

egregiously err, if they form their opinions of the present moral

condition of Spanish America, from what it was under the debasing

system of Spain. The eight years’ revolution in which it has been

engaged, has already produced a powerful effect. Education has been

attended to, and genius developed.

‘As soon as the project of the revolution arose on the shores

of La Plata, genius and talent exhibited their influence;

the capacity of the people became manifest, and the means of

acquiring knowledge were soon made the favorite pursuit of the

youth. As far as the wants or the inevitable interruption of

affairs has allowed, every thing has been done to disseminate

useful information. The liberty of the press has indeed met

with some occasional checks; but in Buenos Ayres alone, as many

periodical works weekly issue from the press as in Spain and

Portugal put together.’

The fact is not therefore true, that the imputed ignorance exists;

but, if it do, I repeat, I dispute the inference. It is the doctrine

of thrones, that man is too ignorant to govern himself. Their partisans

assert his incapacity, in reference to all nations; if they cannot

command universal assent to the proposition, it is then demanded as to

particular nations; and our pride and our presumption too often make

converts of us. I contend, that it is to arraign the dispositions of

Providence himself, to suppose that he has created beings incapable of

governing themselves, and to be trampled on by kings. Self-government

is the natural government of man, and for proof, I refer to the

aborigines of our own land. Were I to speculate in hypotheses

unfavorable to human liberty, my speculations should be founded rather

upon the vices, refinements, or density of population. Crowded together

in compact masses, even if they were philosophers, the contagion of the

passions is communicated and caught, and the effect too often, I admit,

is the overthrow of liberty. Dispersed over such an immense space as

that on which the people of Spanish America are spread, their physical,

and I believe also their moral condition, both favor their liberty.

With regard to their superstition, they worship the same God with us.

Their prayers are offered up in their temples to the same Redeemer,

whose intercession we expect to save us. Nor is there any thing in

the Catholic religion unfavorable to freedom. All religions united

with government, are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated

from government, are compatible with liberty. If the people of Spanish

America have not already gone as far in religious toleration as we have,

the difference in their condition from ours should not be forgotten.

Every thing is progressive; and, in time, I hope to see them imitating,

in this respect, our example. But grant that the people of Spanish

America are ignorant, and incompetent for free government, to whom is

that ignorance to be ascribed? Is it not to the execrable system of

Spain, which she seeks again to establish and to perpetuate? So far

from chilling our hearts, it ought to increase our solicitude for our

unfortunate brethren. It ought to animate us to desire the redemption

of the minds and the bodies of unborn millions, from the brutifying

effects of a system, whose tendency is to stifle the faculties of the

soul, and to degrade man to the level of beasts. I would invoke the

spirits of our departed fathers. Was it for yourselves only that you

nobly fought? No, no! It was the chains that were forging for your

posterity, that made you fly to arms, and, scattering the elements of

these chains to the winds, you transmitted to us the rich inheritance

of liberty.

The exports of Spanish America (exclusive of those of the islands) are

estimated in the valuable little work of M. Torres, deserving to be

better known, at about eighty-one millions of dollars. Of these, more

than three fourths consist of the precious metals. The residue are

cocoa, coffee, cochineal, sugar, and some other articles. No nation

ever offered richer commodities in exchange. It is of no material

consequence, that we produce but little that Spanish America wants.

Commerce, as it actually exists in the hands of maritime states, is

no longer confined to a mere barter, between any two states, of their

respective productions. It renders tributary to its interests the

commodities of all quarters of the world; so that a rich American cargo,

or the contents of an American commercial warehouse, present you with

whatever is rare or valuable, in every part of the globe. Commerce is

not to be judged by its results in transactions with one nation only.

Unfavorable balances existing with one state, are made up by contrary

balances with other states, and its true value should be tested by the

totality of its operations. Our greatest trade, that with Great Britain,

judged by the amount of what we sell for her consumption, and what we

buy of her for ours, would be pronounced ruinous. But the unfavorable

balance is covered by the profits of trade with other nations. We may

safely trust to the daring enterprise of our merchants. The precious

metals are in South America, and they will command the articles wanted

in South America, which will purchase them. Our navigation will be

benefited by the transportation, and our country will realize the

mercantile profits. Already the item in our exports of American

manufactures is respectable. They go chiefly to the West Indies and to

Spanish America. This item is constantly augmenting. And I would again,

as I have on another occasion, ask gentlemen to elevate themselves

to the actual importance and greatness of our republic; to reflect,

like true American statesmen, that we are not legislating for the

present day only; and to contemplate this country in its march to true

greatness, when millions and millions will be added to our population,

and when the increased productive industry will furnish an infinite

variety of fabrics for foreign consumption, in order to supply our

own wants. The distribution of the precious metals has hitherto been

principally made through the circuitous channel of Cadiz. No one can

foresee all the effects which will result from a direct distribution

of them from the mines which produce them. One of these effects will

probably be, to give us the entire command of the Indian trade. The

advantage we have on the map of the world over Europe, in that respect,

is prodigious. Again, if England, persisting in her colonial monopoly,

continues to occlude her ports in the West Indies to us, and we should,

as I contend we ought, meet her system by a countervailing measure,

Venezuela, New Granada, and other parts of Spanish America, would

afford us all we get from the British West Indies. I confess that I

despair, for the present, of adopting that salutary measure. It was

proposed at the last session, and postponed. During the present session,

it has been again proposed, and, I fear, will be again, postponed.

I see, and I own it with infinite regret, a tone and a feeling in the

councils of the country, infinitely below that which belongs to the

country. It is, perhaps, the moral consequence of the exertions of

the late war. We are alarmed at dangers, we know not what; by spectres

conjured up by our own vivid imaginations.

The West India bill is brought up. We shrug our shoulders, talk

of restrictions, non-intercourse, embargo, commercial warfare, make

long faces, and――postpone the bill. The time will however come, must

come, when this country will not submit to a commerce with the British

colonies, upon the terms which England alone prescribes. And, I repeat,

when it arrives, Spanish America will afford us an ample substitute.

Then, as to our navigation; gentlemen should recollect, that if

reasoning from past experience were safe for the future, our great

commercial rival will be in war a greater number of years than she will

be in peace. Whenever she shall be at war, and we are in peace, our

navigation being free from the risks and insurance incident to war, we

shall engross almost the whole transportation of the Spanish American

commerce. For I do not believe that that country will ever have a

considerable marine. Mexico, the most populous part of it, has but

two ports, La Vera Cruz and Acapulca, and neither of them very good.

Spanish America has not the elements to construct a marine. It wants,

and must always want, hardy seamen. I do not believe, that, in the

present improved state of navigation, any nation so far south will ever

make a figure as a maritime power. If Carthage and Rome, in ancient

times, and some other states of a later period, occasionally made

great exertions on the water, it must be recollected that they were

principally on a small theatre, and in a totally different state of

the art of navigation, or when there was no competition from northern

states.

I am aware that, in opposition to the interest, which I have been

endeavoring to manifest, that this country has in the independence

of Spanish America, it is contended that we shall find that country a

great rival in agricultural productions. There is something so narrow,

and selfish, and grovelling, in this argument, if founded in fact,

something so unworthy the magnanimity of a great and a generous people,

that I confess I have scarcely patience to notice it. But it is not

true to any extent. Of the eighty odd millions of exports, only about

one million and a half consist of an article which can come into

competition with us, and that is cotton. The tobacco which Spain

derives from her colonies, is chiefly produced in her islands. Bread

stuffs can nowhere be raised and brought to market in any amount

materially affecting us. The table-lands of Mexico, owing to their

elevation, are, it is true, well adapted to the culture of grain;

but the expense and difficulty of getting it to the Gulf of Mexico,

and the action of the intense heat at La Vera Cruz, the only port

of exportation, must always prevent Mexico from being an alarming

competitor. Spanish America is capable of producing articles so much

more valuable than those which we raise, that it is not probable they

will abandon a more profitable for a less advantageous culture, to come

into competition with us. The West India islands are well adapted to

the raising of cotton; and yet the more valuable culture of coffee and

sugar is constantly preferred. Again, Providence has so ordered it,

that, with regard to countries producing articles apparently similar,

there is some peculiarity, resulting from climate, or from some other

cause, that gives to each an appropriate place in the general wants and

consumption of mankind. The southern part of the continent, La Plata

and Chili, is too remote to rival us.

The immense country watered by the Mississippi and its branches,

has a peculiar interest, which I trust I shall be excused for

noticing. Having but the single vent of New Orleans for all the surplus

produce of their industry, it is quite evident that they would have

a greater security for enjoying the advantages of that outlet, if the

independence of Mexico upon any European power were effected. Such

a power, owning at the same time Cuba, the great key of the Gulf of

Mexico, and all the shores of that gulf, with the exception of the

portion between the Perdido and the Rio del Norte, must have a powerful

command over our interests. Spain, it is true, is not a dangerous

neighbor at present, but, in the vicissitudes of states, her power may

be again resuscitated.

Having shown that the cause of the patriots is just, and that we have

a great interest in its successful issue, I will next inquire what

course of policy it becomes us to adopt. I have already declared it

to be one of strict and impartial neutrality. It is not necessary

for their interests, it is not expedient for our own, that we should

take part in the war. All they demand of us is a just neutrality.

It is compatible with this pacific policy, it is required by it,

that we should recognize any established government, if there be any

established government in Spanish America. Recognition alone, without

aid, is no just cause of war. With aid, it is; not because of the

recognition, but because of the aid; as aid, without recognition, is

cause of war. The truth of these propositions I will maintain upon

principle, by the practice of other states, and by the usage of our

own. There is no common tribunal among nations, to pronounce upon the

fact of the sovereignty of a new state. Each power does and must judge

for itself. It is an attribute of sovereignty so to judge. A nation, in

exerting this incontestable right, in pronouncing upon the independence,

in fact, of a new state, takes no part in the war. It gives neither men,

nor ships, nor money. It merely pronounces that, in so far as it may

be necessary to institute any relations, or to support any intercourse,

with the new power, that power is capable of maintaining those

relations, and authorizing that intercourse. Martens and other

publicists lay down these principles.

When the United Provinces formerly severed themselves from Spain, it

was about eighty years before their independence was finally recognized

by Spain. Before that recognition, the United Provinces had been

received by all the rest of Europe, into the family of nations. It

is true, that a war broke out between Philip and Elizabeth, but it

proceeded from the aid which she determined to give, and did give, to

Holland. In no instance, I believe, can it be shown, from the authentic

history, that Spain made war upon any power, on the sole ground that

such power had acknowledged the independence of the United Provinces.

In the case of our own revolution, it was not until after France had

given us aid, and had determined to enter into a treaty of alliance

with us――a treaty by which she guarantied our independence that England

declared war. Holland also was charged by England with favoring our

cause, and deviating from the line of strict neutrality. And, when it

was perceived that she was, moreover, about to enter into a treaty with

us, England declared war. Even if it were shown that a proud, haughty,

and powerful nation like England, had made war upon other provinces,

on the ground of a mere recognition, the single example could not alter

the public law, or shake the strength of a clear principle.

But what has been our uniform practice? We have constantly proceeded

on the principle, that the government _de facto_ is that we can alone

notice. Whatever form of government any society of people adopts,

whoever they acknowledge as their sovereign, we consider that

government or that sovereign as the one to be acknowledged by us. We

have invariably abstained from assuming a right to decide in favor of

the sovereign _de jure_, and against the sovereign _de facto_. That

is a question for the nation in which it arises to determine. And,

so far as we are concerned, the sovereign _de facto_ is the sovereign

_de jure_. Our own revolution stands on the basis of the right of a

people to change their rulers. I do not maintain that every immature

revolution, every usurper, before his power is consolidated, is to

be acknowledged by us; but that as soon as stability and order are

maintained, no matter by whom, we always have considered, and ought to

consider, the actual as the true government. General Washington, Mr.

Jefferson, Mr. Madison, all, while they were respectively presidents,

acted on these principles.

In the case of the French republic, general Washington did not wait

until some of the crowned heads of Europe should set him the example

of acknowledging it, but accredited a minister at once. And it is

remarkable, that he was received before the government of the republic

was considered as established. It will be found in Marshall’s Life

of Washington, that, when it was understood that a minister from the

French republic was about to present himself, president Washington

submitted a number of questions to his cabinet for their consideration

and advice, one of which was, whether, upon the reception of the

minister, he should be notified that America would suspend the

execution of the treaties between the two countries, until France

had an established government. General Washington did not stop to

inquire whether the descendants of St. Louis were to be considered

as the legitimate sovereigns of France, and if the revolution was to

be regarded as unauthorized resistance to their sway. He saw France,

in fact, under the government of those who had subverted the throne

of the Bourbons, and he acknowledged, the actual government. During

Mr. Jefferson’s and Mr. Madison’s administrations, when the cortes of

Spain and Joseph Bonaparte respectively contended for the crown, those

enlightened statesmen said, we will receive a minister from neither

party; settle the question between yourselves, and we will acknowledge

the party that prevails. We have nothing to do with your feuds; whoever

all Spain acknowledges as her sovereign, is the only sovereign with

whom we can maintain any relations. Mr. Jefferson, it is understood,

considered whether he should not receive a minister from both parties,

and finally decided against it, because of the inconveniences to this

country, which might result from the double representation of another

power. As soon as the French armies were expelled from the peninsula,

Mr. Madison, still acting on the principle of the government _de facto_,

received the present minister from Spain. During all the phases of

the French government, republic, directory, consuls, consul for life,

emperor, king, emperor again, king, our government has uniformly

received the minister.

If, then, there be an established government in Spanish America,

deserving to rank among the nations, we are morally and politically

bound to acknowledge it, unless we renounce all the principles which

ought to guide, and which hitherto have guided our councils. I shall

now undertake to show, that the United Provinces of the Rio de la

Plata possess such a government. Its limits, extending from the south

Atlantic ocean to the Pacific, embrace a territory equal to that

of the United States, certainly equal to it exclusive of Louisiana.

Its population is about three millions, more than equal to ours

at the commencement of our revolution. That population is a hardy,

enterprising, and gallant population. The establishments of Montevideo

and Buenos Ayres have, during different periods of their history, been

attacked by the French, Dutch, Danes, Portuguese, English, and Spanish;

and such is the martial character of the people, that, in every

instance, the attack has been repulsed. In 1807, general Whitlocke,

commanding a powerful English army, was admitted, under the guise of

a friend, into Buenos Ayres, and, as soon as he was supposed to have

demonstrated inimical designs, he was driven by the native and unaided

force of Buenos Ayres from the country. Buenos Ayres has, during

now nearly eight years, been, in point of fact, in the enjoyment of

self-government. The capital, containing more than sixty thousand

inhabitants, has never been once lost. As early as 1811, the regency of

old Spain made war upon Buenos Ayres, and the consequence subsequently

was, the capture of a Spanish army in Montevideo, equal to that of

Burgoyne. This government has now, in excellent discipline, three

well-appointed armies, with the most abundant material of war; the army

of Chili, the army of Peru, and the army of Buenos Ayres. The first,

under San Martin, has conquered Chili; the second is penetrating in

a northwestern direction from Buenos Ayres, into the vice-royalty of

Peru; and, according to the last accounts, had reduced the ancient seat

of empire of the incas. The third remains at Buenos Ayres to oppose

any force which Spain may send against it. To show the condition of the

country in July last, I again call the attention of the committee to

the message of the supreme director, delivered to the congress of the

United Provinces. It is a paper of the same authentic character with

the speech of the king of England on opening his parliament, or the

message of the president of the United States at the commencement of

congress.

‘The army of this capital was organized at the same time with

those of the Andes and of the interior; the regular force has

been nearly doubled; the militia has made great progress in

military discipline; our slave population has been formed into

battalions, and taught the military art as far as is consistent

with their condition. The capital is under no apprehension that

an army of ten thousand men can shake its liberties, and should

the peninsularians send against us thrice that number, ample

provision has been made to receive them.

‘Our navy has been fostered in all its branches. The scarcity

of means under which we labored until now, has not prevented us

from undertaking very considerable operations, with respect to

the national vessels; all of them have been repaired, and others

have been purchased and armed, for the defence of our coasts and

rivers; provisions have been made, should necessity require it,

for arming many more, so that the enemy will not find himself

secure from our reprisals, even upon the ocean.

‘Our military force, at every point which it occupies, seems

to be animated with the same spirit; its tactics are uniform,

and have undergone a rapid improvement from the science of

experience, which it has borrowed from warlike nations.

‘Our arsenals have been replenished with arms, and a sufficient

store of cannon and munitions of war have been provided, to

maintain the contest for many years; and this, after having

supplied articles of every description to those districts, which

have not as yet come into the union, but whose connection with

us has been only intercepted by reason of our past misfortunes.

‘Our legions daily receive considerable augmentations from new

levies; all our preparations have been made, as though we were

about to enter upon the contest anew. Until now, the vastness of

our resources was unknown to us, and our enemies may contemplate,

with deep mortification and despair, the present flourishing

state of these provinces after so many devastations.

‘While thus occupied in providing for our safety within, and

preparing for assaults from without, other objects of solid

interest have not been neglected, and which hitherto were

thought to oppose insurmountable obstacles.

‘Our system of finance had hitherto been on a footing entirely

inadequate to the unfailing supply of our wants, and still more

to the liquidation of the immense debt which had been contracted

in former years. An unremitted application to this object has

enabled me to create the means of satisfying the creditors of

the state who had already abandoned their debts as lost, as well

as to devise a fixed mode, by which the taxes may be made to

fall equally and indirectly on the whole mass of our population.

It is not the least merit of this operation, that it has been

effected in despite of the writings by which it was attacked,

and which are but little creditable to the intelligence and good

intentions of their authors. At no other period have the public

exigences been so punctually supplied, nor have more important

works been undertaken.

‘The people, moreover, have been relieved from many burdens,

which being partial, or confined to particular classes, had

occasioned vexation and disgust. Other vexations, scarcely less

grievous, will by degrees be also suppressed, avoiding as far

as possible a recurrence to loans, which have drawn after them

the most fatal consequences to states. Should we, however, be

compelled to resort to such expedients, the lenders will not see

themselves in danger of losing their advances.

‘Many undertakings have been set on foot for the advancement

of the general prosperity. Such has been the reëstablishing

of the college, heretofore named San Carlos, but hereafter to

be called the Union of the South, as a point designated for

the dissemination of learning to the youth of every part of

the state, on the most extensive scale, for the attainment of

which object the government is at the present moment engaged

in putting in practice every possible diligence. It will not be

long before these nurseries will flourish, in which the liberal

and exact sciences will be cultivated, in which the hearts of

those young men will be formed, who are destined at some future

day to add new splendor to our country.

‘Such has been the establishment of a military depot on the

frontier, with its spacious magazine, a necessary measure to

guard us from future dangers, a work which does more honor to

the prudent foresight of our country, as it was undertaken in

the moment of its prosperous fortunes, a measure which must give

more occasion for reflection to our enemies than they can impose

upon us by their boastings.

‘Fellow citizens, we owe our unhappy reverses and calamities

to the depraving system of our ancient metropolis, which,

in condemning us to the obscurity and opprobrium of the most

degraded destiny, has sown with thorns the path that conducts

us to liberty. Tell that metropolis that even she may glory

in your works! Already have you cleared all the rocks, escaped

every danger, and conducted these provinces to the flourishing

condition in which we now behold them. Let the enemies of your

name contemplate with despair the energies of your virtues, and

let the nations acknowledge that you already appertain to their

illustrious rank. Let us felicitate ourselves on the blessings

we have already obtained, and let us show to the world that we

have learned to profit by the experience of our past misfortunes.’

There is a spirit of bold confidence running through this fine state

paper, which nothing but conscious strength could communicate. Their

armies, their magazines, their finances, are on the most solid and

respectable footing. And, amidst all the cares of war, and those

incident to the consolidation of their new institutions, leisure

is found to promote the interests of science, and the education of

the rising generation. It is true, the first part of the message

portrays scenes of difficulty and commotion, the usual attendants upon

revolution. The very avowal of their troubles manifests, however, that

they are subdued. And what state, passing through the agitation of a

great revolution, is free from them? We had our tories, our intrigues,

our factions. More than once were the affections of the country, and

the confidence of our councils, attempted to be shaken in the great

father of our liberties. Not a Spanish bayonet remains within the

immense extent of the territories of the La Plata, to contest the

authority of the actual government. It is free, it is independent,

it is sovereign. It manages the interests of the society that submits

to its sway. It is capable of maintaining the relations between that

society and other nations.

Are we not bound, then, upon our own principles, to acknowledge this

new republic? If we do not, who will? Are we to expect that kings will

set us the example of acknowledging the only republic on earth, except

our own? We receive, promptly receive, a minister, from whatever king

sends us one. From the great powers and the little powers, we accredit

ministers. We do more: we hasten to reciprocate the compliment; and,

anxious to manifest our gratitude for royal civility, we send for a

minister (as in the case of Sweden and the Netherlands) of the lowest

grade, one of the highest rank recognized by our laws. We are the

natural head of the American family. I would not intermeddle in the

affairs of Europe. We wisely keep aloof from their broils. I would

not even intermeddle in those of other parts of America, further

than to exert the incontestable rights appertaining to us as a free,

sovereign, and independent power; and I contend, that the accrediting

of a minister from the new republic is such a right. We are bound to

receive their minister, if we mean to be really neutral. If the royal

belligerent is represented and heard at our government, the republican

belligerent ought also to be heard. Otherwise, one party will be in the

condition of the poor patriots, who were tried _ex-parte_ the other day,

in the supreme court, without counsel, without friends. Give Mr. Onis

his _conge_, or receive the republican minister. Unless you do so, your

neutrality is nominal.

I will next proceed to inquire into the consequences of a recognition

of the new republic. Will it involve us in war with Spain? I have shown,

I trust successfully shown, that there is no just cause of war to Spain.

Being no cause of war, we have no right to expect that war will ensue.

If Spain, without cause, will make war, she may make it whether we

do or do not acknowledge the republic. But she will not, because she

cannot, make war against us. I call the attention of the committee to a

report of the minister of the Hacienda to the king of Spain, presented

about eight months ago. A more beggarly account of empty boxes was

never rendered. The picture of Mr. Dallas, sketched in his celebrated

report during the last war, may be contemplated without emotion, after

surveying that of Mr. Gary. The expenses of the current year required

eight hundred and thirty million two hundred and sixty-seven thousand

eight hundred and twenty-nine reals, and the deficit of the income is

represented as two hundred and thirty-three million one hundred and

forty thousand nine hundred and thirty-two reals. This, besides an

immense mass of unliquidated debt, which the minister acknowledges the

utter inability of the country to pay, although bound in honor to

redeem it. He states, that the vassals of the king are totally unable

to submit to any new taxes, and the country is without credit, so as to

render anticipation by loans wholly impracticable. Mr. Gary appears to

be a virtuous man, who exhibits frankly the naked truth; and yet such a

minister acknowledges, that the decorum due to one single family, that

of a monarch, does not admit, in this critical condition of his country,

any reduction of the enormous sum of upwards of fifty-six millions of

reals, set apart to defray the expenses of that family! He states that

a foreign war would be the greatest of all calamities, and one which,

being unable to provide for it, they ought to employ every possible

means to avert. He proposed some inconsiderable contribution from the

clergy, and the whole body was instantly in an uproar. Indeed, I have

no doubt that, surrounded as Mr. Gary is by corruption, by intrigue,

and folly, and imbecility, he will be compelled to retire, if he has

not already been dismissed, from a post for which he has too much

integrity. It has been now about four years since the restoration

of Ferdinand; and if, during that period, the whole energies of the

monarchy have been directed, unsuccessfully, against the weakest and

most vulnerable of all the American possessions, Venezuela, how is it

possible for Spain to encounter the difficulties of a new war with this

country? Morillo has been sent out with one of the finest armies that

has ever left the shores of Europe――consisting of ten thousand men,

chosen from all the veterans who have fought in the peninsula. It has

subsequently been reinforced with about three thousand more. And yet,

during the last summer, it was reduced, by the sword and the climate,

to about four thousand effective men. And Venezuela, containing a

population of only about one million, of which near two thirds are

persons of color, remains unsubdued. The little island of Margaritta,

whose population is less than twenty thousand inhabitants――a population

fighting for liberty, with more than Roman valor――has compelled that

army to retire upon the main. Spain, by the late accounts, appeared

to be deliberating upon the necessity of resorting to that measure of

conscription, for which Bonaparte has been so much abused. The effect

of a war with this country would be, to insure success, beyond all

doubt, to the cause of American independence. Those parts even, over

which Spain has some prospect of maintaining her dominions, would

probably be put in jeopardy. Such a war would be attended with the

immediate and certain loss of Florida. Commanding the Gulf of Mexico,

as we should be enabled to do by our navy, blockading the port of

Havana, the port of La Vera Cruz, and the coast of Terra Firma,

and throwing munitions of war into Mexico, Cuba would be menaced,

Mexico emancipated, and Morillo’s army, deprived of supplies, now

drawn principally from this country through the Havana, compelled to

surrender. The war, I verily believe, would be terminated in less than

two years, supposing no other power to interpose.

Will the allies interfere? If, by the exertion of an unquestionable

attribute of a sovereign power, we should give no just cause of war

to Spain herself, how can it be pretended that we should furnish

even a specious pretext to the allies for making war upon us? On

what ground could they attempt to justify a rupture with us, for

the exercise of a right which we hold in common with them, and with

every other independent state? But we have a surer guarantee against

their hostility, in their interests. That all the allies, who have

any foreign commerce, have an interest in the independence of Spanish

America, is perfectly evident. On what ground, I ask, is it likely,

then, that they would support Spain, in opposition to their own decided

interests? To crush the spirit of revolt, and prevent the progress

of free principles? Nations, like individuals, do not sensibly feel,

and seldom act upon dangers which are remote either in time or place.

Of Spanish America, but little is known by the great body of the

population of Europe. Even in this country, the most astonishing

ignorance prevails respecting it. Those European statesmen who are

acquainted with the country, will reflect, that, tossed by a great

revolution, it will most probably constitute four or five several

nations, and that the ultimate modification of all their various

governments is by no means absolutely certain. But I entertain no

doubt that the principle of cohesion among the allies is gone. It was

annihilated in the memorable battle of Waterloo. When the question

was, whether one should engross all, a common danger united all. How

long was it, even with a clear perception of that danger, before an

effective coalition could be formed? How often did one power stand

by, unmoved and indifferent to the fate of its neighbor, although the

destruction of that neighbor removed the only barrier to an attack

upon itself? No; the consummation of the cause of the allies was, and

all history and all experience will prove it, the destruction of the

alliance. The principle is totally changed. It is no longer a common

struggle against the colossal power of Bonaparte, but it has become

a common scramble for the spoils of his empire. There may, indeed, be

one or two points on which a common interest still exists, such as the

convenience of subsisting their armies on the vitals of poor suffering

France. But as for action, for new enterprises, there is no principle

of unity, there can be no accordance of interests, or of views, among

them.

What is the condition in which Europe is left after all its

efforts? It is divided into two great powers, one having the

undisputed command of the land, the other of the water. Paris is

transferred to St. Petersburgh, and the navies of Europe are at

the bottom of the sea, or concentrated in the ports of England.

Russia――that huge land animal――awing by the dread of her vast power

all continental Europe, is seeking to encompass the Porte; and,

constituting herself the kraken of the ocean, is anxious to lave her

enormous sides in the more genial waters of the Mediterranean. It

is said, I know, that she has indicated a disposition to take part

with Spain. No such thing. She has sold some old worm-eaten, decayed

fir-built ships to Spain, but the crews which navigate them are to

return from the port of delivery, and the _bonus_ she is to get, I

believe to be the island of Minorca, in conformity with the cardinal

point of her policy. France is greatly interested in whatever would

extend her commerce, and regenerate her marine, and consequently, more

than any other power of Europe, England alone excepted, is concerned

in the independence of Spanish America. I do not despair of France,

so long as France has a legislative body collected from all its parts,

the great repository of its wishes and its will. Already has that

body manifested a spirit of considerable independence. And those who,

conversant with French history, know what magnanimous stands have been

made by the parliaments, bodies of limited extent, against the royal

prerogative, will be able to appreciate justly the moral force of such

a legislative body. Whilst it exists, the true interests of France will

be cherished and pursued on points of foreign policy, in opposition to

the pride and interests of the Bourbon family, if the actual dynasty,

impelled by this pride, should seek to subserve these interests.

England finds that, after all her exertions, she is every where

despised on the continent; her maratime power viewed with jealousy;

her commerce subjected to the most onerous restrictions; selfishness

imputed to all her policy. All the accounts from France represent that

every party, Bonapartists, Jacobins, royalists, moderes, ultras, all

burn with indignation towards England, and pant for an opportunity to

avenge themselves on the power to whom they ascribe all their disasters.

[Here Mr. Clay read a part of a letter which he had just

received from an intelligent friend at Paris, and which composed

only a small portion of the mass of evidence to the same effect,

which had come under his notice.]

It is impossible, that with powers, between whom so much cordial

dislike, so much incongruity exists, there can be any union or concert.

Whilst the free principles of the French revolution remained, those

principles which were so alarming to the stability of thrones, there

never was any successful or cordial union; coalition after coalition,

wanting the spirit of union, was swept away by the overwhelming power

of France. It was not until those principles were abandoned, and

Bonaparte had erected on their ruins his stupendous fabric of universal

empire; nor, indeed, until after the frosts of heaven favored the cause

of Europe, that an effective coalition was formed. No, the complaisance

inspired in the allies from unexpected if not undeserved success,

may keep them nominally together; but for all purposes of united and

combined action, the alliance is gone; and I do not believe in the

chimera of their crusading against the independence of a country, whose

liberation would essentially promote all their respective interests.

But the question of the interposition of the allies, in the event

of our recognizing the new republic, resolves itself into a question,

whether England, in such event, would make war upon us; if it can be

shown that England would not, it results, either that the other allies

would not, or that, if they should, in which case England would most

probably support the cause of America, it would be a war without the

maratime ability to maintain it. I contend, that England is alike

restrained by her honor and by her interests from waging war against us,

and consequently against Spanish America, also, for an acknowledgment

of the independence of the new state. England encouraged and fomented

the revolt of the colonies as early as June, 1797. Sir Thomas Picton,

governor of Trinidad, in virtue of orders from the British minister of

foreign affairs, issued a proclamation, in which he expressly assures

the inhabitants of Terra Firma, that the British government will aid

in establishing their independence.

‘With regard to the hope you entertain of raising the spirits

of those persons with whom you are in correspondence, towards

encouraging the inhabitants to resist the oppressive authority

of their government, I have little more to say than that they

may be certain, that whenever they are in that disposition,

they may receive at your hands all the succors to be expected

from his Britannic majesty, be it with forces or with arms and

ammunition to any extent; with the assurance that the views of

his Britannic majesty go no further than to secure to them their

independence,’ and so forth.

In the prosecution of the same object, Great Britain defrayed the

expenses of the famous expedition of Miranda. England, in 1811, when

she was in the most intimate relations with Spain, then struggling

against the French power, assumed the attitude of a mediator between

the colonies and the peninsula. The terms, on which she conceived her

mediation could alone be effectual, were rejected by the cortes, at the

lowest state of the Spanish power. Among these terms, England required

for the colonies a perfect freedom of commerce, allowing only some

degree of preference to Spain; that the appointments of viceroys and

governors should be made indiscriminately from Spanish Americans and

Spaniards; and that the interior government, and every branch of public

administration, should be intrusted to the cabildo, or municipalities,

and so forth. If Spain, when Spain was almost reduced to the island of

St. Leon, then rejected those conditions, will she now consent to them,

amounting, as they do, substantially, to the independence of Spanish

America? If England, devoted as she was at that time to the cause of

the peninsula, even then thought those terms due to the colonies, will

she now, when no particular motive exists for cherishing the Spanish

power, and after the ingratitude with which Spain has treated her,

think that the colonies ought to submit to less favorable conditions?

And would not England stand disgraced in the eyes of the whole world,

if, after having abetted and excited a revolution, she should now

attempt to reduce the colonies to unconditional submission, or should

make war upon us for acknowledging that independence which she herself

sought to establish?

No guarantee for the conduct of nations or individuals ought to be

stronger than that which honor imposes; but for those who put no

confidence in its obligations, I have an argument to urge of more

conclusive force. It is founded upon the interests of England. Excluded

almost as she is from the continent, the commerce of America, South

and North, is worth to her more than the commerce of the residue of the

world. That to all Spanish America has been alone estimated at fifteen

millions sterling. Its aggregate value to Spanish America and the

United States may be fairly stated at upwards of one hundred thousand

dollars. The effect of a war with the two countries would be, to divest

England of this great interest, at a moment when she is anxiously

engaged in repairing the ravages of the European war. Looking to the

present moment only, and merely to the interests of commerce, England

is concerned more than even this country, in the success of the cause

of independence in Spanish America. The reduction of the Spanish power

in America has been the constant and favorite aim of her policy for

two centuries; she must blot out her whole history, reverse the maxims

of all her illustrious statesmen, extinguish the spirit of commerce

which animates, directs, and controls all her movements, before she

can render herself accessary to the subjugation of Spanish America. No

commercial advantages which Spain may offer by treaty, can possess the

security for her trade, which independence would communicate. The one

would be most probably of limited duration, and liable to violation

from policy, from interest, or from caprice. The other would be as

permanent as independence. That I do not mistake the views of the

British cabinet, the recent proclamation of the prince regent I think

proves. The committee will remark, that the document does not describe

the patriots as rebels, or insurgents, but, using a term which I have

no doubt has been well weighed, it declares the existence of a ‘state

of warfare.’ And with regard to English subjects, who are in the

armies of Spain, although they entered the service without restriction

as to their military duties, it requires that they shall not take

part against the colonies. The subjects of England freely supply the

patriots with arms and ammunition, and an honorable friend of mine

(Colonel Johnson) has just received a letter from one of the West India

islands, stating the arrival there from England of the skeletons of

three regiments, with many of the men to fill them, destined to aid the

patriots. In the Quarterly Review of November last, a journal devoted

to the ministry, and a work of the highest authority, as it respects

their views, the policy of neutrality is declared and supported as the

true policy of England; and that, even if the United States were to

take part in the war; and Spain is expressly notified, that she cannot

and must not expect aid from England.

‘In arguing, therefore, for the advantage of a strict neutrality,

we must enter an early protest against any imputations of

hostility to the cause of genuine freedom, or of any passion for

despotism and the inquisition. We are no more the panegyrists of

legitimate authority in all times, circumstances, and situations,

than we are advocates for revolution in the abstract,’ and so

forth. ‘But it has been plausibly asserted, that, by abstaining

from interference in the affairs of South America, we are

surrendering to the United States all the advantages which

might be secured to ourselves from this revolution; that we

are assisting to increase the trade and power of a nation which

alone can ever be the maritime rival of England. It appears

to us extremely doubtful, whether any advantage, commercial

or political, can be lost to England by a neutral conduct; it

must be observed, that the United States themselves, have given

every public proof of their intention to pursue the same line

of policy. But admitting that this conduct is nothing more than

a decent pretext; or admitting, still further, that they will

afford to the independents direct and open assistance, our view

of the case would remain precisely the same,’ and so forth. ‘To

persevere in force, unaided, is to miscalculate her (Spain’s)

own resources, even to infatuation. To expect the aid of an ally

in such a cause would, if that ally were England, be to suppose

this country as forgetful of its own past history as of its

immediate interests and duties. Far better would it be for Spain,

instead of calling for our aid, to profit by our experience; and

to substitute, ere it be too late, for efforts like those by

which the North American colonies were lost to this country, the

conciliatory measures by which they might have been retained.’

In the case of the struggle between Spain and her colonies, England,

for once, at least, has manifested a degree of wisdom highly deserving

our imitation, but unfortunately the very reverse of her course

has been pursued by us. She has so conducted, by operating upon the

hopes of the two parties, as to keep on the best terms with both; to

enjoy all the advantages of the rich commerce of both. We have, by

a neutrality bill containing unprecedented features, and still more

by a late executive measure, to say the least of it, of doubtful

constitutional character, contrived to dissatisfy both parties. We

have the confidence neither of Spain nor the colonies.

It remains for me to defend the proposition which I meant to submit,

from an objection which I have heard intimated, that it interferes

with the duties assigned to the executive branch. On this subject I

feel the greatest solicitude; for no man, more than myself, respects

the preservation of the independence of the several departments of

government, in the constitutional orbits which are prescribed to

them. It is my favorite maxim, that each, acting within its proper

sphere, should move with its constitutional independence, and under

its constitutional responsibility, without influence from any other.

I am perfectly aware that the constitution of the United States――and I

admit the proposition in its broadest sense――confides to the executive

the reception and the deputation of ministers. But, in relation to

the latter operation, congress has concurrent will, in the power of

providing for the payment of their salaries. The instrument nowhere

says or implies that the executive act of sending a minister to a

foreign country, shall precede the legislative act which provides for

the payment of his salary. And, in point of fact, our statutory code

is full of examples of legislative action prior to executive action,

both in relation to the deputation of agents abroad, and to the subject

matter of treaties. Perhaps the act of sending a minister abroad,

and the act of providing for the allowance of his salary, ought to

be simultaneous; but if, in the order of precedence, there be more

reason on the one side than on the other, I think it is in favor of the

priority of the legislative act, as the safer depository of power. When

a minister is sent abroad, although the legislature may be disposed

to think his mission useless; although, if previously consulted, they

would have said they would not consent to pay such a minister; the duty

is delicate and painful to refuse to pay the salary promised to him

whom the executive has even unnecessarily sent abroad. I can illustrate

my idea by the existing missions to Sweden and to the Netherlands. I

have no hesitation in saying, that if we had not ministers of the first

grade there, and if the legislature were asked, prior to sending them,

whether it would consent to pay ministers of that grade, I would not,

and I believe congress would not, consent to pay them.

If it be urged that, by avowing our willingness, in a legislative act,

to pay a minister not yet sent, and whom the president may think it

improper to send abroad, we operate upon the president by all the force

of our opinion; it may be retorted, that when we are called upon to pay

any minister, sent under similar circumstances, we are operated upon

by all the force of the president’s opinion. The true theory of our

government, at least, supposes that each of the two departments, acting

on its proper constitutional responsibility, will decide according

to its best judgment, under all the circumstances of the case. If

we make the previous appropriation, we act upon our constitutional

responsibility, and the president afterwards will proceed upon his.

And so if he makes the previous appointment. We have the right, after

a minister is sent abroad, and we are called upon to pay him, and we

ought, to deliberate upon the propriety of his mission; we may and

ought to grant or withhold his salary. If this power of deliberation is

conceded subsequently to the deputation of the minister, it must exist

prior to that deputation. Whenever we deliberate, we deliberate under

our constitutional responsibility. Pass the amendment I propose, and

it will be passed under that responsibility. Then the president, when

he deliberates on the propriety of the mission, will act under his

constitutional responsibility. Each branch of government, moving in its

proper sphere, will act with as much freedom from the influence of the

other, as is practically attainable.

There is great reason, from the peculiar character of the American

government, for a perfect understanding between the legislative and

executive branches, in relation to the acknowledgment of a new power.

Every where else the power of declaring war resides with the executive.

Here it is deposited with the legislature. If, contrary to my opinion,

there be even a risk that the acknowledgment of a new state may lead

to war, it is advisable that the step should not be taken without a

previous knowledge of the will of the war-making branch. I am disposed

to give to the president all the confidence which he must derive from

the unequivocal expression of our will. This expression I know may be

given in the form of an abstract resolution, declaratory of that will;

but I prefer at this time proposing an act of practical legislation.

And if I have been so fortunate as to communicate to the committee, in

any thing like that degree of strength in which I entertain them, the

convictions that the cause of the patriots is just; that the character

of the war, as waged by Spain, should induce us to wish them success;

that we have a great interest in that success; that this interest,

as well as our neutral attitude, requires us to acknowledge any

established government in Spanish America; that the United Provinces

of the river Plate is such a government; that we may safely acknowledge

its independence, without danger of war from Spain, from the allies,

or from England; and that, without unconstitutional interference with

the executive power, with peculiar fitness, we may express, in an

act of appropriation, our sentiments, leaving him to the exercise of

a just and responsible discretion; I hope the committee will adopt

the proposition which I have now the honor of presenting to them,

after a respectful tender of my acknowledgments for their attention

and kindness, during, I fear, the tedious period I have been so

unprofitably trespassing upon their patience.