Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 2 (of 16)United States. Congress
History
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 2 (of 16)
United States. Congress
Law -- United States; United States -- Politics and government
He did not wish to be understood to consider the conduct of the French
as perfectly justifiable; but he could not conceive that it was such as
to justify, on our part, irritating or violent measures. As to the
Speech of the President of the Directory, he could not say much on it,
he did not perfectly understand it. As far as he did, he considered it a
childish gasconade, not to be imitated, and below resentment. [He read
part of it]. It was certainly arrogant in him to say that we owed our
liberty to their exertions. But if the French could derive any
satisfaction from such vain boasting he had no objection to their
enjoying it. There was another part of the Speech that had been
considered as much more obnoxious. It was said to breathe a design to
separate the people here from their Government. The part alluded to was
no more than an expression of affection for the people; he could see
nothing in this irritating or insulting; it was a mode of expression
which they used as to themselves, and by which they wished to convey
their affection for the whole nation. The term people, certainly
included the Government, and could not with propriety, therefore, be
said to separate the people from it.
An idea had been thrown out by the gentleman from South Carolina, that
the people generally approved of the British Treaty; he inferred it from
the fate of the late elections. For his part he could see no great
alteration to have been produced by the late elections; and if there had
been it would not have been an evidence to his mind that the people
approved of the British Treaty. He believed, for his part, that the
opinions of a great majority of the people had been uniformly averse to
it; and those who advocated it were by this time nearly sick of it. It
was true a spirit was aroused by the cry of war at the time the subject
of appropriation was pending, that produced petitions, not approving
however of the stipulations of the treaty, but asking that it might be
carried into effect since it had reached so late a stage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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