The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 61
viii, 784 p. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Jan. 1844.
APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
6i
28th Cong 1st Sess.
Fine on General Jackson—Mr. Weller.
H. of Reps.
than there is from a malicious and vicious judge,
who, in the plenitude of his power, under the sol-
emn garb of justice, strikes his victim with an un-
seen arm, that admits of no resistance, because he is
shielded by the forms of law. Sir, if Gen. Jackson
acted without law, or lawful authority, in imprison-
ing Judge Hall, (which I by no means admit,) so
did Judge Hall in inflicting the penalty upon Gen.
Jackson; while, for the general, there is the excuse
that he was impelled to do the act by the noblest
principles of patriotism, and from imperious neces-
sity; but for the judge there is no excuse. The
whole transaction shows that the judge was gov-
erned by the worst of motives, and that he sought
and availed himself of that oppportunity to wreak
his vengeance upon the head of one who had done
him no wrong worthy of such a punishment.
I will now, sir, for a few moments, look over the
whole scene presented by this transaction, and en-
deavor to bring together some of the leading facts in
the history of this case, and present them, as well as
I can, to the consideration of this committee. The
battle of the ever-memorable 8th of January, 1815,
had been won; the enemy had been driven back
with slaughter and disgrace from their attack upon
the city; they had been defeated, but not destroyed;
they still remained upon our coast, almost within
striking distance of the city of New Orleans, with a
well appointed array, composed of veteran soldiers,
and commanded by some of the ablest captains of
Europe, far more numerous than that commanded
by General Jackson, and chafing under the mortifi-
cation of defeat and disgrace. Was it not reasonable
to suppose that they would seize the first favorable
opportunity to return, and, if possible, avenge their
defeat, and regain their lost honor? Yes, sir; this
was to be apprehended by all who knew the charac-
ter of that enemy. And, sir, would it not have been
pusillanimous—nay, sir, would it not have been
criminal in General Jackson to have relaxed at all
in the discipline of his army, and in holding himself
m readiness to meet any emergency that the extra-
ordinary crisis of the times required? And because
he did this—because he took every precaution that
was necessary, and those only which were necessa-
ry, is he to be sacrificed, his character traduced, and
his fair name (dearer to him than life) branded with
the infamy of having violated the Constitution of
his country, and trampled upon the laws, alike re-
gardless of the rights of her citizens and the institu-
tions of his country? Sir, the conduct of General
Jackson in arresting Louallicr and Judge Hall, and
in trying the former by a court martial, and sending
the latter, escorted by a band of soldiers, beyond the
limits of his camp, has been sanctioned by the
American people, and applauded by every patriot of
the country. Sir, it seems to me that no unpreju-
diced mind can doubt but that General Jackson,
throughout this whole affair, was actuated by the
best motives, and governed by the noblest princi-
ples of patriotism; but if there be any who still
doubt his motives, let him go with me to the scene
► of his trial before Judge Hall, and witness his firm-
ness, blended with meekness, in submitting, without
a murmur, to an unjust sentence inflicted by a vin-
dictive and tyrannical judge.
Sir, when General Jackson had taken his seat in
the court, surrounded by those brave men who had
with him met the invading foe, and perilled their
lives in the defence of the country—those, sir, who
had stood side by side, and shoulder to shoulder
with him throughout the conflict of that dreadful
day; the glory of which now gleams with so much
brilliancy in the history of our countiy—those
who had witnessed his gallant and noble dar-
ing on the field of battle, and had been led on by him,
himself the foremost in the fight, "to victory and re-
nown," all animated with the warmest enthusiasm
of lotc and gratitude and veneration for their gallant
general, and believing that he was about to be of-
fered a victim to appease the vengeance of an angry
and vindictive judge,—the swelling indignation of
the multitude could not be suppressed, but became
so manifest that the judge began to tremble for his
safety; and was about to adjourn the court. The
general arose, and desired that his friends (and
they were all his friends) would do no act that
would disturb the deliberation of the court, or in any
manner deny the supremacy of the civil over the
military law of the land; and then turning to the
pale and trembling judge, he bade him go on and do
his duty; assuring Lim that The same arm which
had protected the country from the ra'.ages of a
mercenary foe, would protect him in the discharge
of his official duties; and with this assurance for his
safety, the judge proceeded to inflict upon General
Jackson this excessive and vindictive penalty of a
tlwnsand dollars fine. General Jackson made no com-
plaint. He submitted to the supremacy of the law—
even though administered in vengeance—and paid
the fine without a murmur. But so palpably unjust
was this sentence, that there was one universal
burst of indignation from the multitude against
the judge; and it required all the firmness of
the hero to curb and keep in check those who
could not consent to see justice so perverted, and
their heroic and gallant commander sacrificed to
appease the vengeance of a vicious judge. Such,
sir, were the feelings of the multitude on this occa-
sion, that the general was borne in triumph from this
humiliating scene, with the strongest demonstrations
of regard and respect from all the citizens. Yes,
the ladies too—and they are always right—joined in
the welcome; cheered him with applause, and
greeted him with smiles; whilst the conduct of the
judge was denounced as barbarous, and his person
shunned as a pestilence. So feelingly alive were the
ladies of the city of New Orleans to the wrong
which they believed had been done to the gallant
defender of their homes, their lives, and their honor,
that they, almost with one accord, raised the amount
of the fine, and tendered it to their beloved general;
but even this demonstration of affection and regard,
coming as it did from the hands of his fair coun-
trywomen, could not induce him to relax at all
from his firm and unyielding purpose of presenting
to the world his determination to do no act tliat
could be construed into a desire, on his part, to
bring the judiciary power of this country into con-
tempt; and with a magnanimity and generosity,
equalled only by his gallantry, he consented to receive
this generous donation from the hands of the ladies,
only on condition that it should be appropriated to
relieve the miseries and the wants of those whose
husbands and fathers had fallen in defence of the
city.
What man, possessing an American heart, can
contemplate the scene of General Jackson before
Judge Hall, at the time of the trial, without feeling
his bosom heave with emotion, and his heart swell
with joy, and love, and veneration, to sec the hero—
the conquering general, fresh from the field of glory,
with his honors thick upon him, clothed with the
panoply of military power, and surrounded by an
enthusiastic and devoted soldiery, ready and willing
to avenge any indignity offered to the honor or rep-
utation of tkeir chief—not only bowing in humble
submission to the majesty of the law, but exerting
his unbounded-influence against the wishes of an
enthusiastic multitude to sustain that law, whose
instrument, under its shield, was ahout unlawfully
to inflict upon him an ignominious punishment.
Sir, if the consummate wisdom and ability dis-
played by General Jackson as a military command-
er, and his gallantry as a soldier, have immortalized
his name among the first heroes of our country, lus
conduct on this occasion will add new lustre to his
name, as our country's noblest champion and the de-
fender of her laws and civil institutions; and will, in
all time to come, stand out in bold relief as the
proudest monument of his fame. Sir, the heroes,
the statesmen, and philanthropists in after time, will
point to this act as the most noble and magnanimous
in the eventful life of this illustrious man, and wor-
thy of the admiration of mankind; for on this occa-
sion he combined all those virtues which constitute
true greatness, and exhibited to the world a magna-
nimity and grandeur of soul never equalled by
any other, and without a parallel in the history of
man.
Sir, we have been told by the honorable gentle-
man from New York, that, however triumphantly
we may pass this bill through this House, it
cannot be "licked*' into such a shape as fo pass the
ordeal of the Senate. Sir, I do not believe in the
prediction of that gentleman. I do not believe that
that honorable body will be so deaf to the calls of
justice ns to reject this bill; nor do T believe that
they will feel disposed to disregard the merits of this
claim, backed, as it is, by the almost universal ex-
pression of the great body of the people of this coun-
try. But if they refuse to pass this bill, let me too
predict that the time will shortly come, and come it
must, when other men, governed by other motives,
will have it in their po\yer to do ample justice to the
old hero,.
SPEECH OF MR. WELLER,
OF OHIO,
In the House of Representatives, January 6, 1844—
On the bill to refund the fine assessed against
General Jackson, at New Orleans.
Mr. Chairman: I had no desire to address the
eommittee on the subject now under consideration.
I had supposed that this question had been so often
passed upon by the American people, that there was
no necessity at this day for any farther discussion. The
gentlemen, however, on the other side of the House,
have been pleased to denounce, in unmeasured terms,
the advocates of this bill; and to suffer their remarks
to pass sub silentio might be considered discourteous.
X must, therefore, even at the expense of trespassing
upon the indulgence of the committee, be permitted
to pay my respects to some of those gentlemen who
seem so anxious to provoke a discussion.
When this bill was first introduced, the gentle-
man from New York [Mr. Barnard] lashed him-
self into a prodigious rage, and announced, with the
tone and manner of a dictator, that we of the ma-
jority were madly rushing on to a violation of the
Constitution; that he must take the occasion to
warn us of the enormities of the act we were
about to perpetrate; that we should be fully advised
of all the consequences before the deed was done!
How exceedingly fortunate we are in having the
advice of this learned and sagacious lawyer upon
constitutional questions! But for the light which
has been shed from his luminous mind on this be-
nighted majority, we should have been left to grope
our way in the dark at this important crisis ! A
" Daniel has come to judgment"—a doctor well
learned in the law, with a head filled with constitu-
tional lore, who can show us satisfactorily that to
refund a fine, assessed most unjustly, illegally, and
iniquitously upon one of the noblest defenders of
the country, in her hour of peril, is a palpable (vio-
lation of the Constitution! Fortunate, indeed, that
"the school-master is abroad," ready and willing to
instruct us m our duties, and point out the rocks on
which we are about to split! How proud this
House should be of such a brilliant luminary—such
a profound expounder of constitutional law! Long—.
long may he live to give us the light of his
mighty genius!
The gentleman from New York spent a large por-
tion of his hour (and he is a striking illustration of
the necessity for the hour rule) in proving that there
was no clause in the. Constitution which authorized
General Jackson to declare martial law in New Or-
leans ! Who ever pretended that it did' The
friends of this bill place his justification on the law
of necessity; a necessity which existed above and
beyond the Constitution. That declaration was an
act for which the commander was responsible to
his countrymen, if the circumstances by which he
was surrounded do not constitute a sufficient justi-
fication. That necessity, I grant you, must be clear-
ly and conclusively established. General Jackson
staked his destiny on the issue: "if necessary, he
was right, and would be sustained by his country-
men; if wrong, his reputation was destroyed forever.
In order to decide this question as to the necessity,
we are compelled to go back and ascertain the pre-
cise facts connected with this declaration of martial
law, and the position in which he was placed when
he took the responsibility of the act. In settling
this, I will appeal to history,and not to the garbled
statements of lieated partisans on either side. Be-
fore General Jackson proceeded to New Orleans, he
recehed several letters fiom Mr. Claiborne, the Gov-
ernor of Louisiana, advising him of the existence
of great disaffection amongst a portion of the popu-
lation of that State. In his letter of the 8th August,
1814, he says:
' On a la'e occasion, I had the mortifiration to acknowledge
my inability to meet a requisition from General Fiournoy;
the corps of ihis city having for the most part, res elect my
orders, and being encouraged in their dtswbedience by the Le-
gislature of ttie Slate then in se-sion— one blanch of which
([he S'-nate) having declared the requisition illegal, unnecessa-
ry, and oppressive; and the tiouse of lU-pieseri'a'ives having
ipjecied a proposition to approve the measure I?ow far I shall
be supported m my late orders remains yet- to be proven. I
knovv, also, thai theic aie m.;ny f.iithfuj citizens in New Or-
leans; but there are others in whose attachment to the United
States Ioughtnot to confide "
Governor Claiborne, in another letter to General
Jackson, dated 12th August, 1814, says:
* On the nafive Americans, ami a vast majority of the Cre-
oles of ihccounhy I place much confidencc; nsr doldoi.bt
the* fi-te'itv ol niony Europeans who h<tve Ions resided m Ihe
conn ry But thtie are others much devoted to the inteifsta
of Spain, and whose partiality to the English is not less
observable than their dislike to the American Governments*
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
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/m1/71/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.