The said documents were read; and the doors were then opened.
[The following letters, forming a part of the documents accompanying
the above Message of the President of the United States, were ordered
to be published by the House on the 6th instant.]
_From the Secretary of State to General George Matthews
and Colonel John McKee, dated_
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
_January 26, 1811_.
The President of the United States having appointed you,
jointly and severally, Commissioners for carrying into effect
certain provisions of an act of Congress (a copy of which is
enclosed) relative to the portion of the Floridas situated to
the east of the Perdido, you will repair to that quarter with
all possible expedition, concealing from general observation
the trust committed to you, with that discretion with which the
delicacy and importance of the undertaking require.
Should you find Governor Folch, or the local authority existing
there, inclined to surrender, in an amicable manner, the
possession of the remaining portion or portions of West Florida
now held by him in the name of the Spanish Monarchy, you are
to accept, in behalf of the United States, the abdication of
his, or of the other existing authority, and the jurisdiction
of the country over which it extends. And, should a stipulation
be insisted on for the redelivery of the country, at a future
period, you may, engage for such redelivery to the lawful
sovereign.
The debts clearly due from the Spanish Government to the people
of the Territory, surrendered, may, if insisted on, be assumed
within reasonable limits, and under specified descriptions, to
be settled hereafter as a claim against Spain in an adjustment
of our affairs with her. You may also guarantee, in the name of
the United States, the confirmation of all such titles to land
as are clearly sanctioned by Spanish laws; and Spanish civil
functionaries, where no special reasons may require changes,
are to be permitted to remain in office, with the assurance of
a continuation of the prevailing laws, with such alterations
only as may be necessarily required in the new situation of the
country.
If it should be required, and be found necessary, you may agree
to advance, as above, a reasonable sum for the transportation
of the Spanish troops.
These directions are adapted to one of the contingencies
specified in the act of Congress, namely, the amicable
surrender of the possession of the Territory by the local
ruling authority. But, should the arrangement contemplated by
the statute, not be made, and should there be room to entertain
a suspicion of an existing design in any foreign power to
occupy the country in question, you are to keep yourselves on
the alert, and on the first undoubted manifestation of the
approach of a force for that purpose, you will exercise with
promptness and vigor, the powers with which you are invested
by the President to preoccupy by force, the Territory, to the
entire exclusion of any armament that may be advancing to take
possession of it. In this event you will exercise a sound
discretion in applying the powers given with respect to debts,
titles to land, civil officers, and the continuation of the
Spanish laws; taking care to commit the Government on no point
further than may be necessary. And should any Spanish military
force remain within the country, after the occupancy by the
troops of the United States, you may, in such case, aid in
their removal from the same.
The universal toleration which the laws of the United States
assure to every religious persuasion, will not escape you as an
argument for quieting the minds of uninformed individuals, who
may entertain fears on that head.
The conduct you are to pursue in regard to East Florida,
must be regulated by the dictates of your own judgments, on
a close view and accurate knowledge of the precise state of
things there, and of the real disposition of the Spanish
Government, always recurring to the present instruction as
the paramount rule of your proceedings. Should you discover
an inclination in the Governor of East Florida, or in the
existing local authority, amicably to surrender that province
into the possession of the United States, you are to accept it
on the same terms that are prescribed by these instructions in
relation to West Florida. And, in case of the actual appearance
of any attempt to take possession by a foreign power you will
pursue the same effective measures for the occupation of the
Territory, and for the exclusion of foreign force, as you are
directed to pursue with respect to the country east of the
Perdido, forming, at this time, the extent of Governor Folch's
jurisdiction.
If you should under these instructions, obtain possession of
Mobile, you will lose no time in informing Governor Claiborne
thereof, with a request that he will, without delay, take the
necessary steps for the occupation of the same.
All ordnance and military stores that may be found in the
Territory must be held as the property of the Spanish
Government, to be accounted for hereafter to the proper
authority; and you will not fail to transmit an inventory
thereof to this Department.
If, in the execution of any part of these instructions, you
should need the aid of a military force, the same will be
afforded you upon your application to the commanding officer
of the troops of the United States on that station, or to the
commanding officer of the nearest post, in virtue of orders
which have been issued from the War Department. And, in case
you should moreover need naval assistance, you will receive the
same upon your application to the naval commander, in pursuance
of orders from the Navy Department.
From the Treasury Department will be issued the necessary
instructions in relation to imposts and duties, and to the
slave ships whose arrival is apprehended.
The President, relying upon your discretion, authorizes you
to draw upon the Collectors of Orleans and Savannah for such
sums as may be necessary to defraying unavoidable expenses
that may be incurred in the execution of these instructions,
not exceeding, in your drafts on New Orleans, eight thousand
dollars, and in your drafts on Savannah two thousand dollars,
without further authority; of which expenses you will hereafter
exhibit a detailed account, duly supported by satisfactory
vouchers.
POSTSCRIPT.--If Governor Folch should unexpectedly require and
pertinaciously insist that the stipulation for the redelivery
of the territory should also include that portion of the
country which is situated west of the river Perdido, you are,
in yielding to such demand, only to use general words that
may by implication comprehend that portion of the country;
but, at the same time, you are expressly to provide, that such
stipulation shall not, in any way, impair or affect the right
or title of the United States to the same.
_The Secretary of State to General Matthews._
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _April_ 4, 1812.
SIR,--I have had the honor to receive your letter of the
fourteenth of March, and have now to communicate to you the
sentiments of the President, on the very interesting subject to
which it relates.
I am sorry to have to state that the measures which you appear
to have adopted for obtaining possession of Amelia Island, and
other parts of East Florida, are not authorized by the law of
the United States, or the instructions founded on it, under
which you have acted.
You were authorized by the law, a copy of which was
communicated to you, and by your instructions, which are
strictly conformable to it, to take possession of East
Florida, only in case one of the following contingencies
should happen: either that the Governor or other existing
local authority should be disposed to place it amicably in the
hands of the United States, or that an attempt should be made
to take possession of it by a foreign power. Should the first
contingency happen, it would follow, that the arrangement being
amicable, would require no force on the part of the United
States to carry into effect. It was only in case of an attempt
to take it by a foreign power that force could be necessary, in
which event only were you authorized to avail yourself of it.
In either of these contingencies was it the policy of the law,
or purpose of the Executive, to wrest the province forcibly
from Spain; but only to occupy it with a view to prevent its
falling into the hands of any foreign power, and to hold that
pledge, under the existing peculiarity of the circumstances
of the Spanish Monarchy, for a just result in an amicable
negotiation with Spain.
Had the United States been disposed to proceed otherwise, that
intention would have been manifested by a change of the law,
and suitable measures to carry it into effect. And as it was in
their power to take possession whenever they might think that
circumstances authorized and required it, it would be more to
be regretted, if possession should be effected by any means
irregular in themselves, and subjecting the Government of the
United States to unmerited censure.
The views of the Executive respecting East Florida, are further
illustrated by your instructions as to West Florida. Although
the United States have thought that they had a good title to
the latter province, they did not take possession until after
the Spanish authority had been subverted by a revolutionary
proceeding, and the contingency of the country being thrown
into foreign hands, had forced itself into view. Nor did they
then, nor have they since, dispossessed the Spanish troops of
the post which they occupied. If they did not think proper to
take possession by force, of a province to which they thought
they were justly entitled, it could not be presumed that they
should intend to act differently, in respect to one to which
they had not such a claim.
I may add, that, although due sensibility has been always
felt for the injuries which were received from the Spanish
Government in the last war, the present situation of Spain has
been a motive for a moderate and pacific policy towards her.
In communicating to you these sentiments of the Executive on
the measures you have lately adopted for taking possession of
East Florida, I add, with pleasure, that the utmost confidence
is reposed in your integrity and zeal to promote the welfare
of your country. To that zeal the error into which you have
fallen, is imputed. But, in consideration of the part which you
have taken, which differs so essentially from that contemplated
and authorized by the Government, and contradicts so entirely
the principle on which it has uniformly and sincerely acted,
you will be sensible of the necessity of discontinuing the
service in which you have been employed.
You will, therefore, consider your powers as revoked on the
receipt of this letter. The new duties to be performed will be
transferred to the Governor of Georgia, to whom instructions
will be given on all the circumstances to which it may be
proper, at the present juncture, to call his attention. I am,
&c.,
GENERAL MATTHEWS, &c.
_The Secretary of State to His Excellency D. B. Mitchell, the Governor
of Georgia._
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _April 10, 1812_.
SIR,--The President is desirous of availing the public of your
services, in a concern of much delicacy and of high importance
to the United States. Circumstances with which you are in some
degree acquainted, but which will be fully explained by the
enclosed papers, have made it necessary to revoke the powers
heretofore committed to General Matthews, and to commit them to
you. The President is persuaded that you will not hesitate to
undertake a trust so important to the nation, and peculiarly to
the State of Georgia. He is the more confident in this belief,
from the consideration that these new duties may be discharged
without interfering, as he presumes, with those of the station
which you now hold.
By the act of the fifteenth of January, one thousand eight
hundred and eleven, you will observe that it was not
contemplated to take possession of East Florida, or any part
thereof, unless it should be surrendered to the United States
amicably by the Governor, or other local authority of the
province, or against an attempt to take possession of it by a
foreign power: and you will also see that General Matthews'
instructions, of which a copy is likewise enclosed, correspond
fully with the law.
By the documents in possession of the Government, it appears
that neither of these contingencies have happened; that,
instead of an amicable surrender by the Governor, or other
local authority, the troops of the United States have been used
to dispossess the Spanish authority by force. I forbear to
dwell on the details of this transaction, because it is painful
to recite them. By the letter to General Matthews, which is
enclosed, open for your perusal, you will fully comprehend the
views of the Government respecting the late transaction; and,
by the law, the former instructions to the General, and the
late letter now forwarded, you will be made acquainted with
the course of conduct which it is expected of you to pursue in
future, in discharging the duties heretofore enjoined on him.
It is the desire of the President that you should turn your
attention and direct your efforts, in the first instance, to
the restoration of that state of things in the province which
existed before the late transactions. The Executive considers
it proper to restore back to the Spanish authorities, Amelia
Island, and such other parts, if any, of East Florida, as may
have thus been taken from them. With this view, it will be
necessary for you to communicate _directly_ with the Governor
or principal officer of Spain in that province, and to act in
harmony with him in the attainment of it. It is presumed that
the arrangement will be easily and amicably made between you. I
enclose you an order from the Secretary of War to the commander
of the troops of the United States to evacuate the country,
when requested so to do by you, and to pay the same respect
in future to your order in fulfilling the duties enjoined by
the law, that he had been instructed to do to that of General
Matthews.
In restoring to the Spanish authorities Amelia Island, and such
other parts of East Florida as may have been taken possession
of in the name of the United States, there is another object to
which your particular attention will be due. In the measures
lately adopted by General Matthews to take possession of that
territory, it is probable that much reliance has been placed,
by the people who acted in it, on the countenance and support
of the United States. It will be improper to expose these
people to the resentment of the Spanish authorities. It is not
to be presumed that those authorities, in regaining possession
of the Territory, in this amicable mode, from the United
States, will be disposed to indulge any such feeling towards
them. You will, however, come to a full understanding with the
Spanish Governor on this subject, and not fail to obtain from
him the most explicit and satisfactory assurance respecting it.
Of this assurance you will duly apprise the parties interested,
and of the confidence which you repose in it. It is hoped,
that, on this delicate and very interesting point, the Spanish
Governor will avail himself of the opportunity it presents to
evince the friendly disposition of his Government toward the
United States.
There is one other remaining circumstance only to which I
wish to call your attention, and that relates to General
Matthews himself. His gallant and meritorious services in our
Revolution, and patriotic conduct since, have always been held
in high estimation by the Government. His errors, in this
instance, are imputed altogether to his zeal to promote the
welfare of his country; but they are of a nature to impose on
the Government the necessity of the measures now taken, in
giving effect to which you will doubtless feel a disposition to
consult, as far as may be, his personal sensibility. I have the
honor to be, &c.,