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32D CONG....2D Sess.

It is because the producer and consuiner must come closer together.

There is no part of the Mississippi river, from its mouth to the Falls of St. Anthony, that, by an air line, is more than one thousand eight hundred geographical miles from San Francisco. Midway between these two points on the river, the distance is only one thousand five hundred miles. Two days by railway ought therefore to put the traveler from the Mississippi valley into San Francisco. Thence by steamer to Shanghai, the distance is five thousand four hundred miles, which is equal to eighteen days steaming, at the average rate of three hundred miles per day. Twenty days from China to the heart of this country! Why no one can foretell the revolution in the commercial affairs of the world, which such a compression of time and distance is to make!

I have said and written much upon the subject of this communication across the country. I do not know why I should have it so much at heart, unless it be in consequence of a sort of affection for it, acquired by inheritance.

We have heard a good deal said as to whom belongs the credit of originating the idea as to this communication across the country. I thought it was an affair of our own day and generation; but in looking over some old family records I find that the idea was a familiar one to my father's father, and that one hundred years ago that most excellent man and worthy divine was writing earnestly and enthusiastically upon the subject.

It is well to cast back and see how this question has grown in importance since Anno Domini 1756, when my grandfather, from his glebe home under the mountains of Albemarle, in Virginia, was inditing his letter about a commercial thoroughfare from "Hudson's river, or the Potomae, across this country to the East Indies.""

Tobacco, at that day, constituted the currency of the country, and with the bad roads of the time, you may well imagine the difficulty planters had in hauling their crops seventy five or one hundred miles to market. One wagon load was the work of weeks. Under this state of things, one of the neighbors of my grandfather had just conceived and executed the plan of putting a hogshead or two across a canoe, and of so paddling his crop down the James river at its floods to market.

In telling of the importance and value of this discovery, the old gentleman, who taught in his school both Madison and Jefferson, asks his correspondent in England to conceive, if he can, the importance which this canoe discovery is to prove to the Ohio and Mississippi country.

I

The letter of his to which I refer is a remarkable one. venture to make a few extracts from it. It is dated "Louisa county, Fredericksville parish, January 10, 1756.

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"Since the publication of that map, another has made its appearance in the world, much more extensive, as it com6 prehends all that part of the British American Empire that 'lies between Boston and the southern boundary of Virginia; the territory of the six confederate northern Indian 'nations; the river St. Lawrence, almost from Quebec to its source; the various communications between that river ' and the lakes and Ohio; also, Ohio, with its dependencies lower than the falls." "With it the author has 'published an instructive, curious, and useful pamphlet, explanatory not only of the map, but of many particulars, too, relative to the face and products and natural advantages of the tract of territory which is the subject of it. The map is but small, not above half as large as Fry and 'Jefferson's-consequently crowded. Though both it and 'the pamphlet be liable to several exceptions, and I believe just ones, yet both are very useful in the main, and together give an attentive peruser a clear idea of the value of the now contested lands and waters to either of the two 'competitor Princes, together with a proof amounting to more than probability, that he of the two who shall remain master of Ohio and the lakes, at the end of the dispute, must, in the course of a few years, without an interposal of 'Providence to prevent it, become sole and absolute Lord 'of North America; to which I will further add, as my own private opinion, that the same will one day or other render either HUDSON'S RIVER AT NEW YORK, or Potomac river, in Virginia, the GRAND EMPORIUM of all East Indian commodities. Marvel not at this, however surprising it may 'seem; perhaps, before I have done with you, you will believe it to be not entirely chimerical.

"When it is considered how far the eastern branches of 'that immense river, Mississippi, extend eastward, and how 'near they come to the navigable, or rather canoeable parts ' of the rivers which empty themselves into the sea that 'washes our shores on the east, it seems highly probable that 'its western branches reach as far the other way, and make 'as near approaches to rivers emplying themselves into the 'ocean to the west of us-the Pacific ocean-across which 'a short and easy communication-short in comparison with 'the present thither-opens itself to the navigation from that shore of the continent into the Eastern Indies." * * "There are more than probable reasons for believing that 'the western branches of this river are no less extensive 'than its eastern branches. This is a common property of 'most rivers, and that it is of the Mississippi, I have the authority of one Mr. Cox, an English gentleman who, either some time before, or during the reign of King Wil liam III.—in virtue of a charter granted by Charles I., if "I remember right, for I speak without books-to his attor 'ney general, Sir Robert Heath, constituting him the lord'proprietor of the lands and waters of the Mississippi, and 'afterwards transferred through several hands, till it fell into 'those of this gentleman-sailed up to its great falls, near 'one thousand five hundred miles from its mouth; both took its soundings that whole distance; traced some of its con'siderable branches on either side, and almost up to their 'sources; made a settlement and planted a colony upon it 'near widway that distance-if my memory fails me notand published a map of it from his own and the company's 'journals, as far as those falls, and above them, from what 'information he could collect from the savages. One of its 'western branches, he tells you, he followed through its

Debt of Texan Republic-Mr. Seward.

' various meanders for several hundred miles, (which, I be'lieve, is called Missouri by the natives, or Red river, from 'the color of its waters ;) and then received intelligence 'from the natives that its head springs interlocked in a 'neighboring mountain with the head springs of another 'river, to the westward of these same mountains, discharging itself into a large lake called Thoyayo, which pours its waters through a large, navigable river, into a 'boundless sea, where, they told him, they had seen pro'digious large canoes, with three masts, and men almost as 'fair as himself, if I mistake not; for, as I have read a his'tory of the travels of an Indian towards those regions, as 'well as those of Mr. Cox, the reports of the natives to both of them as to the large canoes are so similar, that I, perhaps, may confound one with the other. Mr. Cox's book, 'I imagine, is very scarce. I know of but one copy in this colony, of which I had an accidental, and therefore ' a cursory view, about four years ago. It is a small octavo volume, entitled 'Cox's Carolana," that country being thus 'called, from the donor,

"Now, sir, though this narrative hath in it something of the romantic air of a voyager, yet the author's accounts of such branches of that river and such parts of that country, 'even as high up as the latitude of Huron's Lake, and also 'his description of the extent, situation, shape, soundings, and other properties of the Jakes now confessedly naviga ted by him, together with his character of the circumjacent 'lands, are said to have been found just by late discoveries, 'as far as discoveries have been made. And if so, it is but 'reasonable to give credit to what he tells us concerning others of its waters and countries into which, perhaps, no 'British subject has ever since penetrated.

"I presume the credit which Colonel Fry gave to Mr. 'Cox, and his recommending these matters to the consider'ation of the Governor and Council, gave birth to a grand 'scheme formed here about three years ago.

"The scheme might have been formed in Great Britain, and was this: Some persons were to be sent in search of that river Missouri, if that be the right name of it, in order 'to discover whether IT HAD ANY SUCH COMMUNICATION WITH THE PACIFIC OCEAN; they were to follow that river, "if they found it, and make exact reports of the country they 'passed through, the distance they traveled, what sort of 'navigation those rivers and lakes afforded, &c., &c.

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"And this project was so near being reduced into prac'tice that a worthy friend and neighbor of mine, who has 'been extremely useful to the colony in the many discoveries 'he has made to the westward, was appointed to be the 'chief conductor of the whole affair, and had, by order of their honors, drawn up a list of all the necessary imple'ments and apparatus for such an attempt, and an estimate of the expense, and was upon the point of making all proper preparations for setting out, when a sudden stop 'was put to the further prosecution of the scheme for the present by a commencement of hostilities between this 'colony and the French and their Indians, which rendered 'a passage through the interjacent nations, with whom they ' are ever tampering, too hazardous to be attempted. This, 'I must observe to you, still remains a secret; and to prevent its discovery to the enemy, in case the ship I write by 'should be taken, the person to whom I have recommended 'this packet has instructions to throw it overboard in time. 'However, you are at liberty to impart it to my uncle John, or to any other friend of whose retentive faculty you can be as confident as I can be of yours.

"But to return once more. As there is such short and 6 easy communication by means of canoe navigation, and 'some short portages between stream and stream from the 'Potomac, from Hudson's river, in New York, and from the 'St. Lawrence to the Ohio, the two latter through the lakes, 'the former the best and shortest. As there also is good navigation, not only for canoes and batteaux, but large 'flats, schooners, and sloops down the Ohio into the Missis 'sippi, should Cox's account be true of the communication 'of this last river with the South sea, with only one portage, 'I leave you to judge of what vast importance such a dis 'covery would be to Great Britain, AS WELL AS TO HER 'PLANTATIONS, WHICH, IN THAT CASE, AS I OBSERVED ABOVE, MUST BECOME THE GENERAL MART OF THE EUROPEAN WORLD, at least for the rich and costly products of 'the East, and a mart at which chapmen might be furnished 'with all those commodities on much easier terms than the 'tedious and hazardous, and expensive navigation to those 'countries can at present afford. This would supersede the 'necessity of going any more in quest of the northeast pas sage, which, probably, if ever discovered, will also be 'productive of another discovery, that it lies in too inclement a latitude ever to be useful.

"The discovery of a communication through this part of the continent with the South sea, would not only 'be a nursery for our seamen, but would be instrumental in 'saving the lives of great numbers of them, under Heaven, 'the protectors of you and of us, who, poor fellows, drop 'off like rotten sheep, by scorbutic disorders consequent upon such long voyages as that to the East Indies.

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"What an exhaustless fund of wealth would here be opened, superior to Potosi and all the other South Ameri'can mines! What an extent of region! WHAT A 'But no more. These are visionary excursions into futu'rity, with which I sometimes used to feast my imagina'tion, ever dweiling with pleasure on the consideration of whatever bids fair for contributing to extend the empire and augment the strength of our mother island; as that 'would be diffusing Liberty, both civil and religious, and her 'daughter Felicity, the wider, and at the same time be a 'means of aggrandizing and enriching this spot of the globe, to which every civil and social tie bind me, and for which I have the tenderest regard.

"But these pleasing expectations, if not entirely vanished, are much weakened and suspended, till Heaven de'cides the controversy between the two mighty monarchs now contending in some sort for the empire of the

'world."*

*See Memoirs of a Huguenot Family. Letters of the Rev. James Maury. Page 386.

SENATE.

Now, draw the contrast. One hundred years ago, the Missouri river was a myth; sailors, on the long voyage to India, died off with the scurvy and other diseases like rotten sheep. Indeed, so dangerous was the calling, that philosophers and political economists at that day confessed themselves at a loss whether to class the sailor at sea as among the living or the dead.

As much then as this old worthy felt that his country owed to sailors, so much, and more too, do I now feel that our country still owes to that gallant class.

What, then, has wrought these changes that have since come over the face of the sea, and the surface of this broad land? Bold mariners, steam, and the hand of improvement, guided by that " spirit of civil and religious Liberty, with her daughter Felicity," to which that worthy sage did homage in his lifetime: these are the instruments with which these great changes have been wrought.

He foresaw that New York was to be the great commercial emporium of this country. He showed theoretically why the Columbia river should exist. He predicted that the northwest passage, as a commercial question, would turn out, as you and I have seen it has, a chimera. He claimed for this country the importance of becoming、 the "general mart to the European world." He certainly saw far and well into the future.

As great and important as a "canoeable" navigation across this continent to the Pacific would have been in those days, the change which such a thoroughfare would have then made upon the business and commerce of the world would not be greater than that which this Pacific railway would now draw after it.

While the steamboat, the railway, and the telegraph, have, on one hand, compressed the earth into a smaller compass, by bringing the far corners closer together, science, with the discoveries and improvements which its lights have cast upon agriculture and the art of good husbandry, has, on the other hand, vastly enlarged its dimensions by causing two blades of grass to grow where but one stood before, and thus increasing the capacities of the earth to sustain population.

These changes have impressed their characteristics upon the affairs of life, and the whole business of the world. And in contemplating the ways of commerce now, and contrasting them with what they used to be, we are struck with the motto, which we feet rather than see, as we pass among the business marts of the world; it is the " open sesame" of the age, for "Speed's the word, and quick's the motion," is now the countersign with which we are greeted at every turn by every man of business.

Old Vasco de Gama was in a slow coach; and the voyage around Cape Horn is too tedious, too long. There is not time to go round the house, when both the front and back doors are open; we must go through it, and have access from one side of the country to the other by a passageway right in the middle of it. We cannot wait six months to get our tea from China, when this railroad may give it to us fresh and good in three weeks.

The great end and aim of the vast commercial enterprises that are now on foot, that have wrought such changes and accomplished such magnificent achievements, is to bring the consumer and the producer closer together. How beautifully and magnificently would this California railway accomplish this end!

But there is another point in my ancestor's letter from which we may, I think, learn wisdom. You observe that many of the friends of the California railway say, let us have a survey first. Why this is exactly what the people were saying one hundred years ago. Survey, survey, was the word then. I am sick of surveys. Let us do by this railway precisely what we do by all other great enterprises, and what we daily see done by corporations and States. Authorize the work, then make the surveys and locate it. Pray pardon my earnestness upon this subject, and excuse me for troubling you with such fong, but I hope not tedious, extracts from an old family letter. Very respectfully, M. F. MAURY, Lieutenant United States Navy. Hon. A. C. DODGE, U. S. Senate, Washington.

DEBT OF TEXAN REPUBLIC.

SPEECH OF HON. W. H. SEWARD, OF NEW YORK,

IN SENATE, March 1, 1853,

On an amendment proposed by Mr. PEARCE to the Civil and Diplomatic Appropriation Bill, providing for the payment of the Creditors of the late Republic of Texas.

Mr. SEWARD said:

Mr. PRESIDENT: At the epoch of annexation, 1845, the Republic of Texas possessed some property in public defenses, a large domain of unappropriated land, and revenues derived from customs. It owed a considerable debt which had been incurred in establishing independence and organizing civil government. That debt was divided into two classes: first, what has been called a domestic debt, not distinctly charged on the revenues from customs; second, what was secured to creditors by a pledge of those revenues.

Texas came into the Union as a State, under stipulations concerning her property and debts, namely: She ceded to the United States all public edifices, fortifications, and other property, pertaining to the public defense. She retained all her funds, and all of her public domain, but under

32D CONG.....2D SESS.

a covenant that it should be applied to the payment of her debts, with the absolute right to any surplus; and it was agreed that in no event should those debts become a charge on the Government of the United States. Thus did the United States, in the very act of union with Texas, bind her to pay her creditors, at least as far as her domain would furnish resources for that purpose.

In 1850, five years after the annexation of Texas to the United States, all those debts remained unpaid; and, adding interest thereto, they stood, on the 1st of July in that year, as follows:

Domestic debt..

..$4,138,733 80
8,293,947 52
..$12,432,681 32
During that intervening period, there had been
war between the United States and Mexico, which
had resulted in the annexation, by conquest and
purchase, of New Mexico, a State adjacent to
Texas. A border dispute existed between those
States, and it was supposed by Congress neces-
sary to adjust that dispute, in order to restore
civil government in New Mexico, and even to pre-
vent armed collision between Texas and the mili-
tary force of the United States, which, it was
apprehended, might terminate in a general civil
war, subversive even of the union of the States.

Debts secured by customs pledged...
Total........

In the midst of this dispute the creditors of Texas appeared here, and urged the settlement of their claims as a condition of the proposed adjustment. They pleaded that the United States had become liable for those debts, by absorbing the sovereignty of Texas, and that at least they had become liable for them to the extent of the value of the revenue accruing from imposts, which, although they had been specifically pledged to the creditors, had been diverted into the Treasury of the United States by the act of annexation. Thus the debt of Texas became an element of the controversy which Congress undertook to settle in 1850. Congress settled it by compromise:

1. Texas ceded her claim to some of the lands before insisted on, and accommodated her boundary to the demands of the United States.

2. Texas relinquished all claim upon the United States for the debts of Texas, and all other claims for indemnity.

3. In consideration of these concessions, the United States stipulated to pay $10,000,000 to Texas, in five per cent. stock of fourteen years. But

4. It was stipulated that the United States should not pay to Texas more than $5,000,000 of the said $10,000,000 until the creditors, who had taken pledges of her revenues from customs, should have filed releases of all their claims against Texas with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.

Thus it appears that there were three parties to this compromise-the United States, Texas, and the creditors of Texas. The United States and Texas bound themselves then. The consent of creditors, whose debts were secured by customs, although postponed, was nevertheless necessary; and so they were a third party, whose consent was afterward to be given by releases. The domestic creditors, who had no specific lien, and in whose behalf the United States made no stipulation, were dismissed to the justice of Texas alone, and they disappeared at once and forever from this capital.

This is the starting-point in the present case. It is manifest that it was a cardinal object and design of that compromise that the creditors of Texas, whose debts were secured by pledges of the customs, should be satisfied by the extinguishment of their claims. The way in which it was to be done was by making that extinguishment, through the agency of Texas, a condition precedent of the payment to her of the last half of the $10,000,000.

It is manifest, also, now, that the compromise had inherent defects, which were these, viz:

1. That it did not ascertain and fix the amount which was to be paid to the creditors.

2. That it left that amount open to dispute between Texas and the creditors thus preferred. Nevertheless, the ascertaining and establishing this amount was indispensable to the execution of the compromise. The United States were obliged to ascertain it before they could pay the five mil

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Debt of Texan Republic-Mr. Seward.

lions; and Texas was obliged to ascertain it, and
see it extinguished, before she could demand the
last five millions.

Each party, therefore, undertook to ascertain
and fix the amount.

Texas has ascertained and fixed it at....$3,355,360 25
Which would leave to Texas of the five
millions...
.......1,644,639 75
On the other hand, the United States have
ascertained and fixed the amount at.... .8,293,947, 55
A sum exceeding the five millions re-
served for those creditors by. ........3,293,947 52
And exceeding the sum at which it is fixed
by Texas by.....

.....

...4,938,587 27
It is manifest, also, that Texas holds the initia-
tive in the action necessary to carry the compro-
mise into effect. She must see that her creditors
release herself and the United States. Moreover,
not only cannot the United States pay all the cred-
itors thus secured, but they cannot pay any until
all of them shall, by the agency of Texas, have
been brought to file releases. This dispute, full
of loss and damage to the creditors, and of irrita-
tion between the United States and Texas, is now
two years old. The debt to the creditors grows
chiefly at the rate of ten per cent., while the fund
is in the Treasury, drawing an interest against the
United States of five per cent. It is manifest now
that it is time, high time, that the controversy
should be settled, and the compromise carried into
effect. It is equally clear that unless Congress
shall intervene, it will not be settled for an indefi-
nite period.

The Committee on Finance proposes a plan of
settlement, which is, that in lieu of the five mil-
lions of five per cent. of fourteen years, the
United States shall issue stock to the amount of
$8,333,333 33, at three per cent., redeemable in
twenty years, and deliver it to the creditors, taking
assignments for their claims, (the small excess
of their claims being paid in money at the Treas-
ury,) and that the United States shall hold the as-
signed claims as a bar to the claim of Texas for
these five millions.

1. I consider this plan commended by its convenience.

1. In the first place, the creditors of Texas, for whose protection the United States, with her own consent, has intervened, will be promptly paid. Their claims will be extinguished, and this is a cardinal point.

2. The whole claim of Texas on the United States, under the compromise of 1850, will be virtually paid, which is another cardinal point.

In any event, and by her own showing, Texas will be paid to within the sum of $1,164,639 75. The difference which will remain to be adjusted, if any, will be one between the United States and Texas, which will involve no injustice to individuals-another cardinal point.

3. The expense to the United States will not be materially increased. The interest of $5,000,000 at five per cent., and of $8,333,333 at three per cent., are equal. There will be still the difference of $3,333,333 between the principal sums, to be borne by the Treasury. But we have now, and, for some time to come, are likely to have, a surplus in the Treasury, and so can buy up these $8,000,000; or, if you please, the whole $13,000,000, in one or two years, and so indemnify ourselves, in a great measure, for the additional sum advanced to settle the controversy.

II. I consider the plan, in the next place, commended by its harmony with the principles of the compromise of 1850.

The United States, by that compromise, assumed to guaranty ample satisfaction to the creditors in question. The sum appropriated (five millions of dollars) was appropriated because it was thought adequate to that object. The United States would then have appropriated $8,000,000, if it had been understood that the debts in question amounted to that sum; and there is no reason to doubt that Texas would have as promptly agreed to that sum as to the lesser one. However this may be, the fact now is that the compromise of 1850 has failed, for the reason that the sum assigned for the indemnity of the creditors was too small by the difference of $3,333,333. I am sure that the sum would have been fixed at what now is proposed, if it had been understood that otherwise the compromise would fail of effect for the reason that it has failed.

SENATE.

III. I consider that the plan of the committee is recommended by justice.

Justice is the basis of moral obligation. Whether there is a moral obligation between the United States and these creditors, is a question concluded by the act of annexation of 1845, and the compromise act of 1850. On what ground, other than such an obligation, did the United States, in 1845, leave to Texas a peculiar national fund, and bind her to use it to pay her creditors generally, and stipulate with her for the indemnity of the United States against those debts? On what other ground did the United States, in 1850, reserve in their own Treasury five millions of the sum to be paid to Texas, until her creditors should file their releases in the Federal Treasury? It is clear, then, that it is just, and the United States are bound to the creditors by a moral obligation to see their debts extinguished, at least as far as the sum of five millions would go. Under just such circumstances, a court of equity would, on a bill of interpleader, direct the United States to pay that fund to those creditors.

But the moral obligation under which the United States assumed to indemnify the creditors for five millions, equally holds for their indemnity to the whole amount of their claims; that is, for $8,293,947 50. If we were under no moral obligation to pay that sum, then the stipulation to pay five millions was a wanton waste of that sum without adequate consideration-a position which no one here will assume.

Such are the grounds on which the plan of the committee is defended. I proceed to consider the objections raised against it. The honorable Senator from Virginia [Mr. HUNTER] says that we are under no obligations to pay these creditors, because, in the act of annexation, Texas agreed that we should not be liable, and that she would pay them, and that the creditors had notice of that annexation on those terms, and did not protest, and therefore impliedly consented. But the honorable Senator was understood to waive this point of implied consent by the creditors.

I take the objection, however, in whatever form, and say in reply:

1. That all the world knows that a protest by the creditors against the act of annexation, would have been not more impertinent than unavailing.

2. That it may well be supposed that the creditors concerned may, in 1845, have foreseen that although the United States then refused, yet in 1850 they would assume the debts of Texas, to the amount supposed to be secured by the revenues of Texas, diverted into the Federal Treasury.

The Senator from Virginia objects, secondly, that the sovereignty of Texas was not, by the act of annexation, merged in the United States; but that, on the contrary, she still remains a sovereign State, and in the enjoyment of adequate and ample resources, viz: her public domain and capacity for direct taxation to pay the creditors.

I reply, first, that while the public domain of Texas, like our own, and her capacity for direct taxation, like our own, are valuable resources for credit, and to some extent for expenses of current administration, they are practically unavailing for the payment of a large funded debt. The resources of Texas for that purpose were her customs, which we have diverted, and so annexation, instead of increasing, has impaired the practical ability of Texas to pay her debts.

2. This objection is foreclosed by the compromise of 1850.

The Senator from Virginia objects, thirdly, that the plan proposed is a departure from the theory of annexation, which theory was that Texas should pay her own debt. And the Senator insists that the compromise of 1850 adhered to that supposed theory of the act of annexation, because it directed the $5,000,000 to be paid, not to the creditors, but to Texas herself.

I reply, that the imagined adherence in the compromise of 1850 to the theory of annexation, is an adherence in form only and not in fact, because the $5,000,000 are to be paid to Texas when she procures releases from her creditors, and never to be paid if they will never give the releases. So the stipulation is exactly the same thing as would have been a stipulation for paying the $5,000,000, or so much as should be due directly to the creditors. The departure from the supposed theory,

32D CONG.....2d Sess.

then, was made in 1850, and is not to be made in 1853. We must keep on in the course of 1850 till we reach the goal.

The honorable Senator objects further that this plan of the committee to pay $8,333,333 at three per cent., being less than the usual rate of interest on public stocks, is a scaling of the debts, so that creditors will not get dollar for dollar, and is therefore objectionable on the same ground that Texas is complained of. Grant this to be true, still I reply that we scale less deeply than Texas. Secondly, that we are mediating between the proper parties; and thirdly, who can complain? Not Texas, for we take nothing from her, and do not divert any fund in which she has a claim. Not the creditors, for they assent. The Senator further objects that Texas will nevertheless come back for the $5,000,000, and will be entitled to it. I reply that Texas has already declared, by an act of January 31, 1852, that $3,355,360 25 of this same $5,000,000 is justly due to these creditors, and shall be paid to them. At the very worst, Texas will not come back for that sum. Will Texas come back for the remaining $1,644,639 75? She must produce releases from the creditors for it. They will have already released, upon a just consideration paid, not by Texas but by the United States, and after Texas had had ample time to obtain releases, and had failed, because she exacted what the creditors were neither legally nor equitably bound to yield. The Senator from Virginia objects further that

Debt of Texan Republic-Mr. Seward.

the $8,333,333, at three per cent., will cost the Treasury more than five millions at five per cent. It will cost exactly $3,333,333 more. But that is no good objection, if, first, it is necessary to pay that sum to discharge these debts; and if, secondly, it is just, both of which points have been demonstrated.

The Senator at last falls back on his original ground, that the United States are not liable for the debt of Texas, according to the law of nature or of nations. It is quite too late to raise the question after the act of annexation of 1845, and the compromise of 1850.

Nevertheless, I will briefly consider the Senator's argument.

The United States derived advantages from the annexation of Texas, and creditors had aided Texas to rise to the condition in which her union was thus advantageous. They did not give her a dowry, but they enabled her to assume her own. The union of Texas with the United States and division of her revenues were a division of her sovereignty, rendering her less fully and exclusively approachable by creditors. Was there not in these circumstances sufficient consideration to sustain the agreements between Texas and the United States for the benefit of the creditors?

Bynkershock teaches us so, (p. 191.)

Again: Texas by annexation became subject to the debts of the United States. How is it, then, that the United States could acquire Texas without coming under some moral obligation to guaranty the debts of Texas?

SENATE.

It remains only to notice the argument of the honorable Senator from Texas, [Mr. HOUSTON,] which seems to result in this: that Texas had a right to ascertain and fix the amount of her liabil||ities, and she has fixed it at $3,355,360 25, and the United States and the creditors are concluded by that decision.

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I reply, that was not the agreement in the compromise. It was that the creditors should release their claims. If they will release for the $3,355,360 25 it is enough. But they have not released for that sum, and they will not.

Then the Senator insists that Texas is just and they unreasonable. I do not think so. The principle assumed by Texas is that she owes her creditors not what she agreed to pay, but the value of what she received from them. It needs only that this proposition should be stated to secure its rejection. It can be no more put in the case of Texas in regard to these debts than in any other case of public and even private indebtedness.

The argument, however, is attempted to be sustained by precedents. I reply, if sound, it needs no aid from precedents. If unsound, then no precedents can make it sound.

There is only one ground on which a Government can justly scale its debts-that is the ground of absolute inability or bankruptcy, and then there must be a devotion of all its wealth. Neither Texas nor the United States can adopt that ground. Each of the parties is prosperous, each is rich, and they can neither assume the condition nor interpose the plea of insolvency.

NEW SERIES.-No. 16.

SENATE SPECIAL SESSION.

32D CONG.....3D SESS.

IN SENATE.

FRIDAY, March 4, 1853.

Special Session-President's Inaugural Address.

In pursuance of the proclamation of the President of the United States, the Senate of the United

States assembled in the Senate Chamber at twelve o'clock, m.

After prayer by the Rev. C. M. BUTLER, Mr. CASS rose and said: I have been requested to ask the Senators to come to order.

NEW MEMBERS.

Mr. BADGER. I submit this resolution, which I hope will be adopted:

Resolved, That the oath prescribed by the Constitution be administered to the new members of the Senate by the Hon. Lewis CASS, the oldest member of the Senate.

The resolution was considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to.

Mr. BADGER. I move that the roll of new Senators be now called.

The motion was agreed to.

The Secretary read the list, as follows:
Hon. C. G. ATHERTON, of New Hampshire.
Hon. JUDAH P. BENJAMIN, of Louisiana.
Hon. JOHN M. CLAYTON, of Delaware.
Hon. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, of Illinois.
Hon. JOSIAH J. EVANS, of South Carolina.
Hon. EDWARD EVERETT, of Massachusetts.
Hon. SAM HOUSTON, of Texas.

Hon. ROBERT M. T. HUNTER, of Virginia.
Hon. GEORGE W. JONES, of Iowa.
Hon. WILLIAM K. SEBASTIAN, of Arkansas.
Hon. CHARLES E. STUART, of Michigan.
Hon. JOHN B. THOMPSON, of Kentucky.
Hon. JOHN R. THOMSON, of New Jersey.
Hon. WILLIAM WRIGHT, of New Jersey.
Each of these gentlemen, as his name was called,
came forward, and the oath prescribed by the Con-
stitution having been administered to him by the
Hon. LEWIS CASS, took his seat in the Senate.

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE.

Mr. SHIELDS. With the unanimous consent of the Senate, I ask leave to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Hon. DAVID R. ATCHISON Continue President pro tempore of the Senate.

The resolution was unanimously adopted. Mr. ATCHISON, on taking the chair, addressed the Senate as follows:

SENATORS: Permit me to return my sincere thanks for the honor that you have again conferred on me, and the evidence of your kind personal consideration, and also for your confidence in my integrity and impartiality.

INAUGURATION CEREMONIES.

eastern lobby, and Senators retained their own seats. The circular gallery was filled exclusively by ladies, and the eastern gallery by gentlemen, Every part of the Chamber, and every avenue by intermingled with whom were several ladies. which it was approached, was densely crowded. At half-past one o'clock, the President elect entered the Senate Chamber, leaning on the arm of the Hon. JESSE D. BRIGHT, chairman of the Committee of Arrangements. They were followed by the outgoing President, who was supported by the Hon. THOMAS G. PRATT, and the Hon. HANNIBAL HAMLIN, members of the Committee of Arrangments. MILLARD P. FILLMORE, Esq., Private Secretary of the retiring President, succeeded, accompanied by SIDNEY WEBSTER, Esq., the Private Secretary of the President elect. They were conducted to seats in front of the President's chair.

Amongst the other gentlemen who accompanied the President elect to the Senate Chamber, were the Hon. WILLIAM L. MARCY, of New York; Hon. JAMES C. DOBBIN, of North Carolina; Hon. JAMES GUTHRIE, of Kentucky; Hon. ROBERT MCCLELLAND, of Michigan; and the Hon. JAMES CAMPBELL, of Pennsylvania.

The preparations being complete, those assembled in the Senate Chamber proceeded to the eastern portico of the Capitol, in the following order: The Marshal of the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court of the United States. The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate. The Committee of Arrangements. The President elect and the ex-President. The President pro tempore and the Secretary of the Senate.

The Members of the Senate.
The Diplomatic Corps.

Heads of Departments, Governors of States and Territories, the Mayors of Washington and Georgetown, and other persons who had been admitted into the Senate Chamber.

After the oath of office had been administered the President delivered the following

INAUGURAL ADDRESS:

MY COUNTRYMEN: It is a relief to feel that no heart but my own can know the personal regret and bitter sorrow over which I have been borne sirable for myself. to a position so suitable for others rather than de

The circumstances under which I have been

The PRESIDENT. The Sergeant-at-Arms will proceed to carry out the arrangements made by the committee for the inauguration of the President elect of the United States, so far as the posi-ercise of my best powers. I ought to be, and am, tions in this Chamber are concerned.

The Sergeant-at-Arms proceeded to introduce gentlemen to the floor of the Senate, in accordance with the arrangements which were prescribed by the appropriate committee.

The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, in their robes, were accommodated with seats on the right and left of the platform of the officers of the Senate. The diplomatic corps, in their official costume, occupied the seats without the bar, on the left of the principal entrance; the Cabinet of the outgoing President, General Scott, and others entitled to admission, occupied the seats on the right. To ex-members of Congress and members elect was assigned the

called, for a limited period, to preside over the destinies of the Republic, fill me with a profound sense of responsibility, but with nothing like shrinking apprehension. I repair to the post assigned me, not as to one sought, but in obedience to the unsolicited expression of your will, answerable only for a fearless, faithful, and diligent extruly grateful for the rare manifestation of the nation's confidence; but this, so far from lightening my obligations, only adds to their weight. You have summoned me in my weakness: you must sustain me by your strength. When looking for the fulfillment of reasonable requirements, you will not be unmindful of the great changes which have occurred, even within the last quarter of a century, and the consequent augmentation and complexity of duties imposed in the administration both of your home and foreign affairs.

Whether the elements of inherent force in the Republic have kept pace with its unparalleled progression in territory, population, and wealth, has been the subject of earnest thought and discus

SENATE.

sion on both sides of the ocean. Less than sixtyfour years ago the Father of his Country made the then "recent accession of the important State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the Uni

It

ted States" one of the subjects of his special congratulation. At that moment, however, when the agitation consequent upon the revolutionary struggle had hardly subsided, when we were just emerging from the weakness and embarrassments of the Confederation, there was an evident consciousness of vigor, equal to the great mission so wisely and bravely fulfilled by our fathers. It was not a presumptuous assurance, but a calm faith, springing from a clear view of the sources of power in a Government constituted like ours. It is no paradox to say, that although comparatively weak, the new-born nation was intrinsically strong. Inconsiderable in population and apparent resources, it was upheld by a broad and intelligent comprehension of rights, and an all-pervading purpose to maintain them, stronger than armaments. came from the furnace of the Revolution, tempered to the necessities of the times. The thoughts of the men of that day were as practical as their sentiments were patriotic. They wasted no portion of their energies upon idle and delusive speculations, but with a firm and fearless step advanced beyond the governmental landmarks which had hitherto circumscribed the limits of human freedom, and planted their standard where it has stood against dangers which have threatened from abroad, and internal agitation which has at times fearfully menaced at home. They approved themselves equal to the solution of the great problem, to understand which their minds had been illuminated by the dawning lights of the Revolution. The object sought was not a thing dreamed of: it was a thing realized. They had exhibited not only the power to achieve, but what all history affirms to be so much more unusual, the capacity to maintain. The oppressed throughout the world, from that day to the present, have turned their eyes hitherward, not to find those lights extinguished, or to fear lest they should wane, but to be constantly cheered by their steady and increasing radiance.

far fulfilled its highest duty to suffering humanity. In this, our country has, in my judgment, thus It has spoken, and will continue to speak, not only by its words, but by its acts, the language of sympathy, encouragement, and hope to those who earnestly listen to tones which pronounce for the largest rational liberty. But, after all, the most animating encouragement and potent appeal for freedom will be its own history, its trials, and its triumphs. Preeminently the power of our advocacy reposes in our example; but no example, be it remembered, can be powerful for lasting good, whatever apparent advantages may be gained, which is not based upon eternal principles of right and justice. Our fathers decided for themselves, both upon the hour to declare and the hour to strike. They were their own judges of the circumstances under which it became them to pledge to each other "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," for the acquisition of the priceless inheritance transmitted to us. The energy with which that great conflict was opened, and, under the guidance of a manifest and beneficent Providence, the uncomplaining endurance with which it was prosecuted to its consummation, were only surpassed by the wisdom and patriotic spirit of concession which characterized all the counsels of the early fathers.

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