USA > Georgia > The bench and bar of Georgia: memoirs and sketches. With an appendix, containing a court roll from 1790-1857, etc., volume I > Part 9
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The address from which the above extract relative to Texas is taken was published on a request which was made known to Mr. Berrien by a committee, to whom he replied as follows :-
SAVANNAH, November 22, 1845.
GENTLEMEN :- I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th inst., transmitting to me a copy of certain resolutions adopted by the Whig members of the Legislature on the 13th inst., and asking from me for publication a copy of the address delivered by me at that meeting.
Availing myself of the earliest moment which, among many and press- ing engagements, I have been able to command, I have hastily committed to paper, and now forward you, the substance of that address.
I avail myself of the occasion, through you, to offer to the Whig mem- bers of the Legislature of Georgia my respectful acknowledgments for this renewed expression of their confidence, and to you, gentlemen, the assurance of respect and esteem with which
I am, faithfully, yours, JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
To the Hon. A. J. MILLER, C. II. SHOCKLEY, and A. F. OWEN.
At the same session of the Legislature (1845) the act was passed organizing the Supreme Court of Georgia; and it was the general desire and expectation of the public, without regard to party lines, that Mr. Berrien should be elected one of the judges. At the re- quest of the author, an original letter has been placed in his hands by the gentleman* to whom it was addressed, with permission to use it
* Hon. Allen F. Owen.
------
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in this memoir. It shows the caution of a great mind in adminis- tering law, which ought to rebuke that haste, not to say rashness, with which some judges decide questions of intrinsic difficulty. Still, it is not pretended to assert that error is the common result of the instantaneous action of our courts. Some are better pre- pared by sudden illumination than they would be by prosy argu- ments, long continued, even to the exhaustion of mind and body. The happy medium has not yet been established, nor can it be until the faculties and tastes of men conform to a standard,-of which there is not the remotest possibility. In the case of Mr. Berrien, his modesty will, no doubt, surprise some who have never been recognised by the public as jurists, but who would, never- theless, consider it a very great omission of duty on their part to decline an office equal in dignity to that of Chief-Magistrate.
WASHINGTON, January 26, 1846.
MY DEAR SIR :- I was gratified by the receipt of your letter, and would gladly have availed myself of an carlier opportunity to say so; but, in doing so now, I beg to add that I shall always be glad to hear from you.
I would willingly have contributed my mite to the successful introduc- tion to the people of our Court for the Correction of Errors, if its or- ganization had been such as to have given me hope that I could do so. That I thought impossible. Independently of the sacrifice of individual comfort in attendance upon an itinerant court for eleven months in the year, the fact that it was required, in many instances, to be held in re- mote places, where the judges could not have access. to a tolerable law- library and would probably be aided only by the local bar, was decisive against my acceptance of the office. I pretend not to say what others can do. I am quite satisfied that I could not have discharged its duties to my own satisfaction. A life spent in the study of my profession -- which I have pursued with some degree of ardor, though, perhaps, not always with sufficient industry-has not qualified me to decide important legal questions without resort to books and time to weigh their maxims ; and I was not willing, for the temptations which this office afforded, to sacrifice what little of legal reputation I may have among my country- men. I was anxious to convince our friends of my desire to meet their wishes if the office could be placed on such a footing as would justify my acceptance of it, and therefore suggested some alterations to be effected by a supplemental bill; but I was not anxious, so far as I was personally concerned, that these should be adopted.
* *
There is no occasion for war with England. I am satisfied the Execu- tive does not expect it; but there are some in Congress and the country who wish it, and more who hope to make political capital by professions of their patriotism and blustering denunciations of England, which may lead to it. Withal, I fear that a propensity for President-making in the Whig ranks may diminish our capacity to resist the efforts of dema- gogues.
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JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
I was sorry you had not more time to give us in Savannah, and would have been glad to see you before your departure, as I will be whenever you visit us again. Meantime, I will be gratified to hear from you, and will in reply advise you of the state of things herc.
I am, dear sir,
Respectfully and truly, yours, JNO. MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
Another letter from Mr. Berrien to the same friend* is here submitted, showing the relative strength of Mr. Clay and Gen. Taylor with the Whig party for a nomination for the Presidency in 1848. It will be seen by the closing paragraph that the letter was not intended for publication; but as the motive of privacy, then proper enough, can no longer apply to aspirants of the same party, and as the silence of the tomb now mantles all that is mortal of the distinguished Taylor, Clay, and Berrien, there can be no impropriety in giving that letter to public inspection, as a record of the calculations which decide great political movements. Besides, it may be truly claimed for Mr. Berrien that it was not his character to write any thing which he would be ashamed to see in print, if all the circumstances were known to the public.
WASHINGTON, March 28, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR :- I duly received your very kind and welcome letter, and have desired to reply to it; but a constant pressure of engagements such as, for a shorter term, you have experienced at Milledgeville, has prevented me from doing it sooner. I have been compelled to tax my eyes, too, somewhat beyond their capacity, and they have been a little rebellious. I hope this delay will not induce you to abstain from writing. Volumes of correspondence reach me from other States; but the only really welcome letters, speaking generally, are those which come from my own.
I read with great pleasure the account which you give me of B --- ' success, as satisfactorily confirming the representations which had reached me from others. He has fine talents and a popular eloquence, happily combined with stern integrity, warm affections, and a manly independence of character. If his life is spared, I shall expect to see him prominent in the councils of the nation.
The division of opinion among Whigs in relation to Mr. Clay and Gen. Taylor, of which you speak, certainly exists to an unfortunate extent,-not as to the comparative qualifications of the two gentlemen, nor yet as to the individual whom the disputants would prefer to see elected, but as to (what they have coined a new word to designate) their availa- bility. All admit Mr. Clay's superior qualifications. Nine-tenths of the party would prefer to see him elected if they could believe it practicable ; but he is a defeated candidate. Public and private considerations require that the party should be successful in the approaching contest ; and, while these apprehensions are oppressing us, the name of a Whig general, rendered illustrious by his triumphs, is proclaimed by acclamation, and, apparently, by all parties. The result was natural. Many leading
* Col. Owen.
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Whigs, sincere friends of Mr. Clay, adopted Gen. Taylor as their can- didate, and justified their abandonment of the former by declaring their belief that he could not under any circumstances be elected.
It has been thus with us in Georgia, with a superadded motive, spring- ing from the belief that Gen. Taylor's nomination would have aided us in the late election for Governor,-in which we were sadly mistaken. My firm belief is, and was, that if we had relied less on the military prestige of our candidate and the effect of the nomination of Gen. Taylor, and had conducted that canvass zealously on the ordinary issues, with the super- added one of the Mexican War, we would have succeeded.
But I am omitting to answer your inquiry, whether Mr. Clay or Gen. Taylor will be the Whig candidate; and, in truth, it is difficult to do so. I can only state facts and opinions as they appear to me here. Mr. Clay's name is not yet at the disposal of the party. He came here with a determination to forbid its use, but was prevailed upon to postpone the announcement of it until after the Connecticut elections, concerning the result of which there are fears. This was at the instance of Eastern gentlemen. It is now understood that when at home, whither he has gone, he will survey the whole ground and make and publish his final determination. The truth I believe to be, that, naturally desirous as he is to attain a prize for which he has been so long striving, he is yet extremely reluctant to hazard defeat, and will endeavor to ascertain the probable result before his determination is announced. Yet I presume his name will be before the Convention, because I think the recent mani- festations of public feeling are calculated to bias the judgment of a man of far less sanguine temperament than Mr. Clay. Before the Convention Mr. Clay will not, as compared with Gen. Taylor, be as strong as he would be before the people. Gen. T. will get in Convention the votes of dele- gates from Democratic States, from which he will get no support at the polls. The nomination is, therefore, I think, somewhat uncertain, though the friends of each party claim it as undoubted.
My fear has been that we could not elect any Whig. My belief is that Mr. Clay stands a better chance, if nominated, than any other. My reasons are, that he would get every State he got before, except perhaps Tennessee, in lieu of which he would, it seems to be coneeded, get New York. Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Georgia would be to be contended for. If we had not unfortunately committed ourselves, I would not fear a contest in Georgia. I could name a dozen men whose cordial co- operation, if they were unembarrassed by previously-expressed opinions, would insure it. So much for Mr. Clay.
Now, as to Gen. Taylor, I think he will lose more Whig than he will gain Democratic votes. I have no idea that he can get any Democratic State but Mississippi. While in his present position, which he deelares to be immutable, gentlemen from the Northern and Eastern States say they will not vote for him. They require a man who will avow himself their candidate and the exponent of their principles. I do not hesitate to avow my preference for Mr. Clay, and my readiness to support Gen. Taylor if he is nominated.
I have answered your inquiries frankly ; but I do not write for the public. You are entitled to such information as I can give, and you have it. Let me hear from you, and believe me, always, Very truly, yours,
JNO. MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
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JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN.
In 1847, Mr. Berrien had been re-elected by the Legislature of Georgia for a new term in the Senate, to expire March 4, 1853. During this service the Compromise measures were discussed and adopted by Congress. It will not be necessary to follow the learned Senator through the debates on the Oregon question, Wilmot Proviso, Mexican War, Clayton Amendment, Slave Rescue in Boston, support of President Fillmore in executing the Fugitive Slave Law, and other agitating questions, in which he bore a con- spicuous part, always to the instruction of the Senate, and to the delight of the crowded gallery of spectators when it was known that he would occupy the floor. Much space has already been devoted to extracts from his speeches which appeared necessary to his vindication ; for it was his fortune, good or bad, to be ever severely scrutinized, and to have less than justice meted to him by his political opponents, as a general thing. It is no discredit to them that his eminent abilities, commanding reputation, the splendor of his eloquence in debate, the graces of his pen, and the influence of his unsullied name, constituted him an adversary whom they might well dread. But why he was traduced in so persevering a manner by a portion of the press and certain party leaders in Georgia can be explained only by the plea of human infirmity when interest and justice are in opposite scales.
Much has been said of late of the petition signed by three thou- sand clergymen of New England, praying the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law. On the 17th of February, 1851, Mr. Hamlin, of Maine, presented to the Senate a petition for this object, which is believed to be the same in substance, if not in the precise form, of that signed by the clergy, as follows :-
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States.
Whereas, Congress, at its late session, did pass a bill entitled An act to amend and supplementary to an act entitled An act respecting fugitives from justice and persons escaping from the service of their masters. approved February 12, 1793, which said enactment was approved by the President, September 18, 1850;
We, the undersigned, residents of the town of Burnham, in the county of Waldo and State of Maine, regarding that said act is in conflict with the Constitution of the United States, and also as infringing upon the duties which we owe to benevolence, to humanity, and to God, and being unwilling to comply with its requisitions or submit to its penalties. earnestly ask its speedy repeal or modification.
On the motion of Mr. Hamlin, the petition was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which fact coming to the knowledge of Mr.
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Berrien, he on the same day urged his objections, which may be seen in the official reports* of the Senate, thus :-
When the Senator from New Hampshire advises his coadjutors to transfer these speeches-calculated, if not intended, to produce excitement among the people of this Union-from the Senate-Chamber to the stump, it would have been gratifying if he had enforced his precept by his example. But I rise for the purpose of calling the attention of the Senate to the nature of the memorial which has produced this discussion. Unquestionably it was by an oversight that the vote of the Senate to refer it to the Judiciary Committee was taken. Sir, what is it? We are told that the signers of the paper are respectable persons. What evidence is there in the paper presented to the Senate that this memorial was ever signed by those individuals ? Here are several sheets of paper on which names are inscribed, and on the top of these papers is pasted a memorial. There is not the slightest evidence upon the face of the paper that the memorial was ever subscribed by the individuals whose names are attached to it. And, sir, if they are of the respectable character which is given to them by the Senator from Maine, of which I will not permit myself to express, because I do not entertain, a moment's doubt, the inference is a plain one that such men of respectable character have never signed such a petition. What is it? It states that you passed a law at the last session of Congress which violates the Constitution of the country, which is in conflict with the duties which we owe to benevolence, to humanity, and to God,-a law with the requisitions of which they are not willing to comply, and to the penalties of which they are not disposed to submit. It is this memorial, calling for a modification or repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law, which, by a vote of the Senate, is to be referred to the Judiciary Committee. And now, I pray you, what is the inquiry, or what are the inquiries, which that Committee is to make? We are to inquire if the Congress of the United States at the last session have passed a law in violation of the Constitution,-have passed a law violating the duties of benevolence and humanity, and the duty which we owe to God. We are to inquire whether these memorialists are bound by the requi- sitions of that law to submit to its requirements or bear the intliction of its penalties. I ask whether this is such a memorial as ought to be referred by this Senate to one of its committees. I think, apart from all that has been said on this subject, the character of this memorial is one that forbids such a reference. I trust that the motion of the Senator from Missouri will prevail, that the subject will be reconsidered, and, since the memorial has been received, we shall do, from respect to our- selves, what that respect would have indicated if this suggestion had been made anterior to its reference, that we shall dispose of this memorial in the most summary manner possible. Such a memorial, if its substance had been known to the Senate, I trust would not have been received ; and, the motion to reconsider having been made, I trust it will prevail.
The motion to reconsider was agreed to, and, on motion of Mr. Badger, the whole subject was laid on the table.
The visit of Kossuth to the United States, and his formal recep-
* Globe and Appendix, vol. xxiii. p. 577.
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1
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tion by Congress, formed something of an epoch difficult to charac- terize. It may be, and was, in fact, claimed, by a certain impul- sive class of our statesmen, as not only the expression of sympathy by the American people for the oppressed of all nations, but an obligation to assist those who prove worthy of freedom by an effort to cast off the yoke of despotism. While on the other hand equal sympathy is felt, the uniform established policy of the Government, from the lessons and examples of the first President down to our day, to abstain from all interference with foreign powers, must be maintained with inflexible impartiality. Such was the opinion of Mr. Berrien, as will be shown hereafter.
On the 26th of February, 1851, the substitute offered by Mr. Shields to the resolution originally proposed by Mr. Foote was adopted by the Senate in the following words :-
Whereas the people of the United States sincerely sympathize with the Hungarian exiles, Kossuth and his associates, and fully appreciate the magnanimous conduct of the Turkish Government in receiving and treating those noble exiles with kindness and hospitality; and whereas it is the wish of those exiles to emigrate to the United States, and the will of the Sultan to permit them to leave his dominions : Therefore,
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, requested to authorize the employ- ment of some one of the public vessels which may be now cruising in the Mediterranean to receive and convey to the United States Louis Kossuth and his associates in captivity.
This resolution also passed the House of Representatives, and, in compliance with it, Kossuth and his followers were brought to the United States. After their arrival, Mr. Seward, on the 8th Decem- ber, 1851, submitted this joint resolution in the Senate :-
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, That the Congress of the United States, in the name and behalf of the people of the United States, give to Louis Kos- suth a cordial welcome to the Capital and to the country; and that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to him by the President of the United States.
The next day it was taken up, and the question was on order- ing the resolution to a second reading. Mr. Berrien addressed the Senate, opposing its adoption. As the " Kossuth mania" has sub- sided, it is well enough to circulate the arguments of a statesman so judicious as Mr. Berrien proved himself to be on that occasion. A part of his speech* is here given, as containing the pith of the whole matter :-
The consideration which I am disposed to give to this subject, the
* Sce Cong. Globe, vol. xxiv. part 1, p. 43.
VOL. I .- 6
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gravity of the question presented to us, arises, therefore, from the fact, patent on the face of the proceedings exhibited to us, that Mr. Kossuth expects from us, from the American Goverment, voluntarily,-of their own accord, if they will, and, if not, from the American people, acting upon the American Government, under the excitement produced by his narra- tive of Hungarian wrongs, a similar result,-a pledge that they will so far interfere in the contest about, as he says, to be renewed in Hungary, as to say to every foreign power, "You must abstain from all interposition. The people of Hungary have the right to establish the principles of their own government. They are engaged in a contest with the power of Aus- tria. You must not interfere. We hold this to be the principle which
our position in the civilized world requires us to maintain."
We are
to become the champion of this principle, and, in union with Great Britain, we are to say to the Emperor of Russia, "Stand off! If you attempt to interpose in this contest between Hungary and Austria, we shall be bound to render such interposition fruitless." Is this a fair interpreta- tion of the facts which are before the public? I ask, without quoting them, a reference to the speeches of Mr. Kossuth delivered in various places in Europe, to the speech of a distinguished citizen of our own country in England, to the sentiments avowed by an American official there, and to various declarations made by Mr. Kossuth since his arrival on our shores.
Now, what is the position in which he places this matter ? Hc says to you, "The expression of your sympathics-of that feeling which is natural to every freeman -- is grateful to the Hungarian : but the expression of your sympathy is valueless ; it can do us no good. Our necessities require that the expression of your sympathy should be followed by some efficient act on your part. I am a plain man," he says; "I am now here, where I am free to speak ; and I tell you that I come to ask the aid of your Govern- ment to secure to my countrymen the enforcement of the principle that no foreign power shall be permitted to interfere in the contest which we shall wage with Austria for the establishment of our independence." Sir, if gentlemen have read the speech of the distinguished American citizen in Europe to whom I have referred, they have seen distinctly avowed this proposition.
There is about to be a convulsion in Europe. A league of despots have combined for the purpose of destroying all republican governments, and the question proposed is, Shall we wait until, isolated and alone, we are compelled to arrest their aggression? or shall we unite ourselves with the ouly really free Government on the other side of the Atlantic, and announce, in advance, our determination to maintain the principles for which . Mr. Kossuth contends ? In express language, it is said, in the speech to which I have referred, that England and the United States, looking to their mercantile and naval marine, command the ocean; that they have it in their power to blockade the ports of those despotie powers, if it be necessary, or, if not necessary, to place their vessels at the mouths of the harbors of their different ports, and to repeat the operation which was practised by our own Government upon Mexico during our war with that power,-to levy duties on vessels entering those ports, and in that way to destroy their commerce.
I refer to these details not for the purpose of commenting upon them, not of expressing au opinion as to their efficiency, still less to intimate any opinion of the correctness of their avowal, but simply to show that it is not your sympathy which Mr. Kossuth asks. It is not public honors
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to himself which he seeks. No, sir : he comes here to obtain from you a pledge to enforce the principle that no foreign power shall be permitted to interfere between the Hungarian people and the Austrian Government in the event of a renewal of the contest. Are we prepared to give that pledge? Whence do we derive our authority? We have in these two Chambers the right to exercise all legislative power which is conferred by the Constitution ; and among these powers is that of declaring war. Have we the power, under circumstances like the present, to pledge this Government irredeemably to a course of action which may lead to war, and which must, in all human probability, have that result ?
I do not know what estimate is formed of the character of the Emperor of Russia : it has not been a subject of my study. But I can imagine that if any thing could arouse the feelings of an individual to resistance against such interference as is proposed, it would be the annunciation of the principles that we, to them a trans-Atlantic power, a free people who have hitherto declared that, while maintaining the principles of freedom within our own limits, we abstain absolutely and entirely from all inter- ference with any other Government,-nay, more, that we will allow (as some are disposed to assert) no interference of any European power in the affairs of this Continent,-if any circumstance, I say, could arouse the feelings of the individual who is now at the head of the Russian Empire to a degree which must inevitably result in war, it would be the course which it is now proposed to pursue. That this course is contrary to the settled policy of the Government from its foundation, I think no one will be disposed to deny. Our Presidents and our Congresses have not hesitated to express, in times past, their devotion to the principles of civil liberty. They will not hesitate now. But, from the time of General Washington's Farewell Address to the American people, down to the present moment, the principle of avoiding entangling alliances with other nations,-such as, I think, must be the inevitable result of the progress of these proceedings, if they should be adopted,-the principle of avoiding all interference with the disturbances or convulsions of Europe, has been uniformly and emphatically avowed.
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