The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 46
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46
.APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
Jan.'il844.
28th Cong 1st Sess.
Fine on General Jackson—Mr. A. V. Brown.
H. of Reps.
ter of the American people, if they, suppose they
can sever the cords which bind them to their great
benefactor, by continued acts of wanton injustice
and base ingratitude. Why this persevering resist-
ance to the will of the people, which has been ex-
pressed in a manner too imperative and authorative
to be successfully resisted? The people demand this
measure; and they will never be quieted until their
wishes shall have been respected, and their will
obeyed. They will ask—they will demand the
reasons why General Jackson has been selected as
the victim, and his case made an ignominious ex-
ception to the principles which have been adopted
in all other eases, from the foundation of the Gov-
ernment until the present moment. Was there any
thing in his conduct at New Orleans to justify this
wide departure from the uniform practice of the
Government, and single him out as an outlaw, who
had forfeited all claim to the justice and protection
of his country ? Does the man live, who
will have the hardihood to question his pa-
triotism, his honesty, the purity of his motives
in every act he performed, and every power he ex-
ercised on that trying occasion? While none dare
impeach his motives, they tell us that he assumed
almost unlimited power. 1 commend him for it;
the exigency required it. I admire that elevation of
soul which rises above oil personal considerations,
and, regardless of consequences, stakes life and
honor and glory upon the issue, when the salvation
of the country depends upon the result. 1 also ad-
mire that calmness, moderation, and submission to
rightful authority, which should always prevail in
times of peace and security. The conduct of Gen.
Jackson furnished the most biilhant specimens of
each that the world e-i cr witnessed. I know not
which I ought to applaud most—his acts of high re-
sponsibility and deeds of noble daring, in the midst
" of peril and danger, or his mildness and moderation
and lamb-like submission to the laws and civil au-
thorities, when peace was restored to his country.
Can gentlemen see nothing to admire, nothing to
commend, m the closing scenc, when, fresh from
the battle-field, the victorious general—the idol of
his army and the acknowledged saviour of his coun-
trymen—stood befoie Judge Hall, and quelled the
tumuli and the indignant niurnims of the multitude,
by telling him that "the same arm which had de-
fended the city from the ravages of a foreign enemy,
should protect him in the discharge of his duty?" Is
this the conduct of the lawless desperado, who de-
lights in trampling upon Constitution, and law,
and right? Is there no reverence for the supremacy
of the laws and the civil institutions of the country
displayed on this occasion' If such acts of heroism
and moderation, of chivalry and submission, have
no charms to excite the admiration or soften the
animosities of gentlemen m the opposition, I have
no desire to see them vote for this bill. The charac-
ter of the hero of New Orleans requires no endorse-
ment from such a source. They wish to fix a mark
—a stigma of reproach—upon his character, and
send him to his grave branded as a criminal. His
stern, inflexible adherence to Democratic principles,
his unwavering devotion to his country, and his in-
trepid opposition to her enemies, have so long
thwarted their unhallowed sehenes of ambition and
power, that they fear the potency of his Mine on
earth, even after his spirit shall have ascended to
heaven.
SPEECH OF MR. PEYTON,
OF TENNESSEE.
Ill the House of Representatives, January 2, 1844—
On the bill to refund General Jackson's fine.
Mr PEYTON rose and said: It was not my pur-
pose to have said a single word on this subject; it
was my wish to vote for the bill belore the House,
the purport of which is simply to refund to General
Jackson the fine imposed on him at New Orleans by
J udge Hall, without having any debate on it what-
ever. I regret that gentlemen have felt themselves
called on to take a different coursr; and, not content-
ing themselves with a restoration of the fine to Gen.
Jackson, awd studied high-wrought eulogiums upon
his character, have heaped mountains of abuse upon
the character and motives of the deceased judge. Is
this just' Is it right? Is it required that, in order
to do honor to General Jackson, we should tram-
ple upon the judiciary, and prostrate this great bul-
wark of our institutions—this safest repository of
our liberties, upon which depend our lives, our
property, and the peace and good order of society?
It is necessary to invade the sanctuary of the grave,
and, hyena-like, dig up the bones of the dead, and
blacken them all over with the rankest abuse, the
most virulent vituperation? No, sir, no! It is not.
I, for one, shall not do it; nor do I feel myself called
on to say aught against General Jackson. I feel as
much pride in his military fame as any one of those
who are making so much noise about it. I regard
his military fame as national property, in which you
and I, and every man in this country, have an inter-
est. But X am not quite sure that those who are
most active and clamorous about this fine are _ the
best guardians of the general's fame. I believe
that they are mere pretenders; that they are going
for themselves and for their party, and not for Gen-
eral Jackson or their country? If this stain, as they
call it, on the'bright escutcheon of Jackson, has been
preying like a vulture upon their vitals, why have
they not been restive before now' Why have they
suffered it to remain, corroding, rusting, and
eating like a cancer into the very vitals of Gen-
eral Jackson's fame for thirty long years, with-
out an effort to expunge it? Sir, you were in pow-
er twelve long years, and not a word was ever heard
about this stain. Why did you not then clamor as
loud as you do now, to have itwashed out? Your
plea is that General Jackson was then in power,
and delicacy forbade that this matter should then be
agitated. But what pretext have you for your
negligence during the reign of Mr. Van Buren?
Was delicacy tfi the way then? Did you regard
him as the only begotten political son of the general,
and that it was indelicate for the son to act in be-
half of the character of the father? It seems to me
that this was the most propitious time for erasing
the stain; time was precious; many of those who
had witnessed the transaction had gone down to the
grave; others were daily following them; and
the memories of the survivors were daily and hourly
growing more and more dim and forgetful of the facts
and circumstances of that important event. Why did
you not act then? Because, sir, you did not care one fig
about it. It has all been the result of an after thought.
You were then rich, strong, and proud; your po-
litical capital was at "the flood," and you needed
the aid of no such humbugs. You are now poor,
bankrupt, humble, timid, and, like drowning men,
you are catching at stiaws. Mr. Van Buren was a
mere political parasite, a branch of misletoe, that
owed its elevation, its growth—nay, its very ex-
istence, to the tall trunk of an aged hickory; but so
soon as it was attempted to transplant it and force it
to live upon its own resources, independent of hicko-
ry sap, it shrunk, and withered, and died; and you
now found out that the only mode of reviving it
again, and restoring it to its former elevation and
vigor, is to call to its aid the strength and support
and sustenance of the same old hickory. This, sii,
is the secret of all this clamor about this fine. Its
intended for political effect, for political capital, and
for no other purpose under the sun. This I regret
exceedingly; and it is to be deeply regretted by the
whole country, and especially by the true friends
of General Jackson.
But, as his friends, or those who have taken it
upon themselves to become the peculiar keepers of
his fame, and the representatives of the feelings and
wishes of Gen. Jackson on this subject, ask for the
money, I say let them have it; although I believe it
is striking down one of the proudest monuments of
his glory—although these injudicious or pretending
filends are selling the mighty space of his large
honor "for so much trash as may be grasped thus.'
This act, which you are now about to reverse, was
the crowning glory of that great man's brilliant
career, who wou for himself at New Orleans immor-
tal honor, and for his country imperishable re-
nown. His military fame is the pride ofthe nation.
Is it not a shame that it should, by political ma-
nreuvcnng, be placed m the scale, to be balanced
against a few dollars and ccnts? In all time to
come, our children could have pointed back with
pride and exultation to this noble, this godlike sacri-
fice; the conquering general, surrounded by his vie
torious soldiers, fresh from the field of Ins glory,
bowing in dignified submission to the laws and civil
tribunals of his country. What a spectacle! Worthy
of the admiration of mankind to tlie_ end of time.
This act stands out above all others in his eventful
life. It is the Andes of his glory, upon which pos-
terity will gaze in after ages, when all the rest of his
renowned feats shall have been forgotten or eclipsed.
Is it not humiliating that this brightest flower in the
wreath of his fame, which should be cherished as
one ofthe piiceless jewels ofthe nation, should be
thus tarnished for the sake of a few votes for an un-
worthy and ambitious aspirant to power, from which
he has been once so signally ana justly ejectcd by
an indignant people? But, in God's name, if they
want the money, let them have it.
SPEECH OF Mr. A. V. BROWN,
OF TENNESSEE.
Im the House of Reprssentativesj January 8, lb44—-In
Committee of the W^hole, on the bill to refund
General Jackson's fine.
Mr. Pratt, of New York, introduced the follow-
ing resolution:
Whereas the Legislatures of eighteen States of
this Union, containing, at the last census, about
fifteen millions out of the seventeen millions of the
inhabitants of the United States, have instructed
their Senators and requested their Representatives
to refund the fine imposed on General Andrew Jack-
son by Judge Hall: And whereas strong expression
of public opinion has been made in favor of the
same measure, in the remaining States of the Union:
Therefore
Resolved, That at 4 o'clock, this day, all debate
in Committee ofthe Whole House on the state of
Union, on House bill No. 1, to refund the fine im-
posed on General Jackson, shall cease, and the
committee shall proceed to vote upon such amend-
ments as may be pending, or as may be offered to
said bill, and then report the same to the House,
with such amendments as have been agreed by the
committee.
Which said resolution was adopted; and there-
upon the House resolved itself into a Committee of
the Whole on the State of the XJnom, and proceeded
with the consideration of said hill.
Mr. AARON V. BROWN obtaining the floor, said:
That it had not been his intention to say one word
in favor of the passage of this bill.' So far as he
was concerned, he had intended to let its fate depend
on the known wishes of the American people, and
the express instructions of seventeen or eighteen of
the sovereign States of this Union; but cniefly on
resolutions of the Legislature of Louisiana, declar-
ing that, if this fine was not refunded by Congress
at the present session, the Legislature of that fetate
would feel bound to refund it themselves—a noble
resolution, reflecting everlasting honor on those
who adopted it. But this bill had been opposed by
arguments so extraordinary, that he now felt it to be
his duty, as one ofthe Representatives of Tennessee,
to make reply to them.
The gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Gridef.]
had asserted that, if this bill were passed, General
Jackson would never touch a dollar of the money.
Is the gentleman sure of that? Whatnot, then,
vote for this bill, and let it stand out as a bright and
shining example of a nation's gratitude and justice.'' It
would be cheap enough, I am sure, (said Mr. B.,)
to meet that gentleman's views of national economy.
In one point of view, that gentleman was right.
General Jackson would never receive this money
as a mendicant at your door. He will ne\ er touch
it, if he must come here, according to the allusion
once made on this floor by the gentleman from Mas-
sachusetts, [Mr. Adams,] like the old Roman gen-
eral, begging from door to door, holding oat his
wooden trencher, and crying "Date obolum ftelfco-
rio." No, no. It is the amendment offered by his
enemies that would bring the greatest gencial of our
age, as Behsarius wat> of his, to this degrading atti-
tude. This bill but returns to General jackson his
oicn money, extorted from him by a cruel and unjust
judge, for a noble and praiseworthy action. In this
light General Jackson wiLl receive it. He will re-
ceive it with pride and gi allocation. He will look
upon it as the last act of his countiymen, paying
homage to justice, and bearing testimony for poster-
ity to the purity and patriotism of his motives.
The same gentleman [Mr. Grider],contended that
the glory of New Orleans would be tannshed by the
passage of this lull; that it was a common glory, in
which he and Ins constituents participated; and,
therefore, he was opposed to passing the bill. Sure-
ly that gentleman nor his constituents would wish
to take the glory, and keep the money too ! Ought
he not rather to have concluded that, il the infamy of
fining General Jackson one thousand dollars foi
achieving ro much glory should be consulted by
posterity as a common mfamy, he and his con-
stituents, if they refuse to refund, might be con-
sidered as participating in it1 He was pleaded fur-
ther to remind us that we had assembled here for
the purpose of general legislation, such as our con-
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session, book, 1844; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2368/m1/56/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.