The republic. [volume], June 30, 1849, Image 2

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From the -V. Y. Journal qf Commerce
Rrvltw uf the IluAKurlvu War Its origin
and consequencesAs
the Hungarian war assumes now the character
of a European revolution, encouraging the Liberal
party throughout the world, and casting down
the mind of tyranny every where, we will give a
brief and comprehensive view of the development
of this gigantic movement.
It is well known that, in the fall of 1847, (half a
year before the outbreak of the French revolution
of February,) a set of revolutionary resolutions for
reform were adopted by the Hungarian Congrats
at Freiburg, which removed all the burdens of feudalism,
and brought it to an end. Afterwards they
granted to the tenants the right to sell their real
estate, and to remove where they pleused. To the
Jews a complete emancipation was extended ; to
the different Sclavonic tribes, the use of their own
language in all their interior affairs. The nobles
yielded to equul taxes and burdens with the other
classes. The creaiion of a separate responsible
ministry was consummated, and so the first slip
was taken towurds separation from Austria.
The French revolution broke out, and purulyzi 4
the strong opposition of the despotic Austrian Gh>w
eminent. All demands of the Hungarian nuti >n
were acceded to, and so Hungary's union with
Austria became a personal one, as the Emperor i?T
Austria wus King of Hungary- Revolutionary reform
m Hungary then assumed a more positive
character. General suffrage was introduced, every
political prerogative was abolished, the lithe (uupaid
labor) abrogated, the union with Transylvania
completed, the appointment of Kossuth as Minister,
and the removal of Jellase.hich as Ban of Croatia,
enforced.
Meanwhile the Austrian Government recovered
from its panic; die Camarilla and Court of Inspruck
(Tyrol) became more resolute, supported by the
victories of the imperial urmy in Italy, and by the
national eagerness, stubbornness, and stupidity of
Czechs, Croats, Servians, and Ruthenens, (all
Sclavonic tribes in the Austrian empire.) On the
17th of June, 1848, instigated by the Camarilla, an
insurrection of the Servians in Banat and Baska
(provinces in South Hungary) against the HunJartans
broke ouL The Emperor reappointed
ellaschich as Ban of Croatia (province in South
Hungary.) After having returned to Croatia, the
Ban declared his determination not to obey the
J Hungarian Ministry, and on the 25th of August
I j this champion of the Camarilla commenced a war
with Hungary. The perfidiousness of the Cama
rilla of Hapsburg Lorrain was now evident, although
the Hungarians made one more effurt to
obtain from it an acknowledgment of their constitution.
A deputation of two hundred of their
representatives arrived at Vienna. The Emperor
received them coldly, and afterwards answered their
demaMs with all the reservation possible. The
deputation returned to Hungaiy.and the excitement
of the nation rose to a high pitch. The
treacherous Hungarian Ministers, sitting at Pe?th.
were dismissed, and Kossuth was elected President.
Four days afterwards, viz., on the24th September,
the Palatine Stephen, representative of the Emperor
in Hungary, escaped from Pesth to Vienna, atnl on
the 26th September the notorious manifesto of the
Emperor was published at Vienna, deposing the
new Hungarian Ministers, and nominating the despised
Ban of Croatia, Jeilaschich, (the favorite
of the princess Sophia) to be Governor of Hungary.
This manifesto, not countersigned by any of the
Hungarian ministers, was declared by Kossuth null
and void. Jeilaschich, who commenced the war,
advanced to Stuhlweissenburg, and was there defeated
by the Hungarians, although the officers in
the Hungarian army were mostly of the old imI
penal party, and treacherous to the Hungarian
^ cause. The brave Hungarians pursued Jeilaschich,
who fled before them to the Austrian territories.
Some days before he entered Austria, the Emperor,
K and the old traitorLalour, resolved to send assistance
to Jeilaschich, and to reconquer Hungary by Sclavonic
and German troops ; but this project was defeated
by the Vienna revolution of 6th of October.
The sympathy of the people of Vienna for the
Hungarian nation stopped the imperial projects
The treacherous irresolution of the Imperial Aus
I irian Diet, at Vienna, prevented the union of the
Hungarians with the Austria! f>eople, and the disorganization
of the irregular troops of Kossuth and
the faithlessness of their officers retarded the attack
of the Hungarians upon the Austrian army before
Vienna, uJI it became too late, and Vienna fell into
the hands of Windischgrutz and his brutal bands.
Six weeks then elapsed in preparations for the
next onset between Austria and Hungary. Both
( nrties exerted themselves to the utmost. At the
same tune the Camarilla at Olmulz achieved a coup
which had long been premeditated. The Emperor |
Ferdinand, the. idiot, who was compromised by the
concession.-- which he u.adc town r- vnhmon, w*??
forced by the Camarilla to abdicate, and their tool,
a boy eighteen years, Francis Joseph, son of the
k was pieced upon the throne The
Hungarian Congress, relying upon their constitution,
rejected this change
In the middle of December, 1848, the war commence*}
in full vigor. The imperial Austrian troops
at this time surrounded Hungary on all sides. The
main army, consisting of three corps numbering
at least 90.000 men, advanced from Austria under
ihe command of Genera! Windiachgratz. Another
corps marched from Siyria, in number of 25,1100 lo
30.000 men, under the command of General Nugent.
(This w ?s the army from ti e West.) Froi
the South, General Dahlen advanced witn 10.0" I
men through Croatia; and in the Banal itself, in
the South, regiments of the Turkish boundaries
the garrison of Temeawar, the Servian Landstunn.
and the assistant corps of Kneaciu, all together
40,000 men, under the command of Pedorovich and |
of Kukavina, joined in the war. (Thin was th< '
army from the South.) General Puchner occupied
Tr.naulu,r.i> uri'h 'llllMSI ,..,H l",? . M...
kow?ky came through the Buckovina with 15,U0b
men (This was the army from the East.) From
Gailicia, north, |>enetratetj General Schlick, with
not less than '25,000 men. Altogether, the im |
. perial army amounted to 230,000 or *240,000
men, regular troops, mostly accustomed to war,
without counting the Sclavonic Rumenen and Sax- j
onian Landsturrn and National Guards, who, in
the 8outh >r>d Transylvania, participated in the
war. T<? this tremendous force Hungary had only
to oppose 80,000 to 90,000 men, raw recruits, anil
24,(?00 regular*, ex-inif>erial trooj??, and 40 001
unorganized Honveds ; an army mostly command
ed by officer* as unfaithful a* those who were, sent
to orison by Kossuth in the affair on the Lcitha.
But, meanwhile, in suppreased Austria, no more
soldiers could be furnished, and the Austrian finances
were ruined. To the Hungarians great resources
were opened. The enthusiasm for liberty,
sustained bv nationality, increased every day, and
offered to Kossuth an immense number of warlike
men. The Hungarian uyme of bank notes was an
inexhaustible source of money. Every Hungarian
took these national assignats the same as silver
money. Manufactories of guns and cannons were
in full activity. The army wanted nothing but
arms and exercise and good officers. All these
[ were created in a few months.
The main point w^s to gain lui.e ; ?o eniice the
imperialists into the interior of ti.e rn?<niry. where
'' they would I* incessantly troubled by u?e cucrmas.
to weaken their army by the necessity of leaving
behind them strong garrisons and detachments
The plan of the Hungarians was to fall back
slowly?to exercise the recruits by constant attacks '
upon the enemy?and to defend in the extremcat
oee*J in' nnroi uir river i ii'-i*?;< uniurn cnire nment
*urrounded by unacceamble nwamtia. By all
calculation the Hungarian* ought, in tin* way, to
t>e able to reaiat the overwhelming military force of
Auatria, two or three month* ; but in fxlrmmjinmi,
i fid tr inter covered all th< i.intvrli'i k .< < 11
the heavy cannon* could be brought over?and tin*
circumatance deprived the Hungarian* of every favorable
position for defence. All the entrenchment*
which were made became uaelcaa, and (awn
I able by the invader*. The Hungarian army war
i onseijuei vol ,. ?>! n, ,rurr. in le?* t|,nn tw-niy
day*, irom < tedenhurg to Raab, from Raab to Moor,
and from Moor to Penth Finally they were obliged
to leave Peath too, and to retire behind the river
Tbeia.
While thia wa* happening to the main body of
the army, it v, n* not latter with tin ., !,? r corns
In the aouth, the General* Nugent and I)ahlen advanced
to Eaaeg, (a fortrea* in pomw-nmon of the
Hungarian*,) ami united with the Servian* in (he
line of the river Maro*. In Tranaylvama, Puchtoer
and Malkowskv alao formed a junction near W*rshnhelly.
In the nortli of IIntitrnry, Gen SiMnk
advanced through theCarpate* (mountain*) to the
river Theia, and approached to the army under
Windiachgratz. near Miakolz At thia time it
eemed that the Auatrian* were to put an end to the
Magyar revolution. Two-third* of Hungary, and
three quarter* of Traneylvania, were already in
their po?*e**ion. The Hungarian* were defeated
in front and on both flank* The imperialist* were
advancing from all aide*, in order to pre** to death,
like n boa constrictor, the Hungarian revolution.
Now it became a commanding ne< canity to m?kc
impassable entrenchment* in front of the Theia, and
to get * free movement on one or both flank*. The
- !
I latter was achieved, by an unparalleled military
consummation on both Hanks.
General Gorgey, now the successor of Masuros
ns Minister of War?Gorgey, a young Hungarian
military genius like Napoleon, undertook this affair
of such high importance in the Slovakey, (toward
the north-west, where the main army of the invaders
entered;) and the celebrated old General
Bern, a German born in Gallicia, was entrusted
with a similar mission and authority in Transylvania.
Both achieved their task in u manner which
allowed that lliey are among the greatest generals
of our time. On the '29ih of December, Bern arrived
at Klauaenburg, the only |>oint of Transylvania
which was still in possession of the Htingari- ,
aas. There he united the remnants of the Magyars
uiid Szeckler troops with the forces which he !
brought, and suddenly fell on the Austrian* under |
Malkowsky, near Maros Wuchabelly, defeated
them, and drove them back through the Bukavinu
to the city of Stanislaus, in Gallicia. He then returned
to Transylvania, attacked Puchner, defeated
lyrn too, and pursued him to Hermunsiudt. He
wus victorious in some other battles, and was in
possession of all Transylvania, except Hermanstadt
and Cronstadt. Ten thousand Russians then entered
Transylvania to assist the Austrians. Bern
retired into the Szecklerland. There he organized
succeeded in so doing, he began to take the ofFen- 1
sive. Puchner was already in Schasburg. Bern j
turned this position, approached Hermanstadt, de- :
hated there the Russians, drove them out of the
country, defeated ufterwurds Puchner, (who followed
the Russians,) and entered the city of Cronsadt.
In this way Transylvania was re-conquere.l,
aid the Hungarian army freed from the enemy in
li s rear, where u row of mountains forms a natural
barrier.
At the same time General Gorgey was achieving
h# triumphs in the north and west of Hungary.
From Pest he moved to the Slovakey, kept in check
the Austrian main army two months, and as the
corps of General Gatz,' ;eneral Chorich, and General
Snnonich, had been so reinforced, that against
su-.h overwhelming numbers he could no longer
make a stand, he retired through the Carpates to
Epiries and Kaschuu. Here he defeated General
Schlick, who wua then obliged to give up his position,
so important for uniting with Windischgratz.
Gorgey then marched down the Theis, and united
with the Hungurian army under Gens. Dembinsky,
Klapka, and Vetter. The main Hungarian army
then passed the Theis, defeated the enemy at all
points, and advanced to Hatwan, six miles from
Pest. The Austrians being here in superior numbers,
the Hungarian army retired, defending Kopolna,
Maklar and Porozfo; (all these places are on
the river Theis.) As Gorgey arrived on the banks
of the Theis, and had untied with the Hungarian
main army, the signal for a great advance was
given. Strengthened by the recruits, now well
exercised, the campaign presented a new feature.
A German and Polish legion had been organized,
the skill of the generals had been developed by experience,
and instead of an organized mass without
leaders, as the Hungarians were in December, a
brave and well disciplined army, headed by skilful
officers, at once turned the current swollen by victories
to a mighty, irresistible stream, which has
already become the fear and sorrow of the Russian
despot.
Now the main army, under the command of Dembinsky,
Gorgey, and Vetter, advanced to the Theis,
and afterwards to the Danube. The right wing,
under Gen. Gorgey, marched again northwards towards
Epiries, attacking the left wing of the enemy,
und defeating him, driving him backwards to his
centre. This centre being beaten near Ellau, Gyon-'
gyas, Gadolle, and Hatwan, retired suddenly from
Pest, as Gorgey threatened to cut him off.
The left wing of the Hungarians, under the command
of Gen. Vetter, attacked the right wing of the
enemy under Jellaschich, and drove him from 1
Kechkemet to Szolnook and Czeyled, defeated him !
near Fash Barany, and put sued him to Pestli.
Here the Austrian* were posted, their lines extending
to Waitzen, along the Danube, surrounded
by the Hungarians in half a circle. As the Hungarians
were not willing to expose Pesth to a bom
bardment from (Ofen) Buda, they resorted to a
well-contrived expedient
They drove the Austrians out of their position, j
more by manoeuvres than by an attack from the I
front. General Gorgey took Waitzen, driving back
the Austrians to Gran,?then defeated the corps of
Wolgemuth, between Gran and Neutra, and re- j
lieved the fortress Comorn from the siege of the
Austrians.
The Imperialists, threatened as above, were
obliged to hasten their retreat. Welden, the new |
commander-in-chief, in place of Windischgratz,
returned to Raub and Preaburg, and Jellaachicn,
with his discontented Croats, hurried down the j
Danube to Sluvonui.
On the retreat of the Auntri&n Army, which re- i
| sembled a flight, the Corps of Welden, Schlick,
?nd Jellaschich, suffered a great deal; and mean- I
| * hile the corps of the latter could retire but siowlv
through the comitate of Toina and Barany. Wain
triad la gsiksr the r?a> aaats of the whole arm y 1
near Prsstonrg?reiunama which were not able to
make any mnous ri?lanea to the Hungarians.
In the south of Hungary, the Magyar army was
not less successful. There the bold, irresistible \
; Hungarian general, Morritz Tercxel, approached |
the fortress of Peterwardein, relieved it from siege,
reconquered the Baaka country, passed through the
B.omt us a hem, and united with General Bern, who
advanced from Transylvania. Bern is already in
possession of tlie fortress of Tenueswar and Arad.
Pe7.e7.el is in Wirschsts, on the Turkish boundaries.
I The Szecklers are over-watching the encampments
of Transylvahia ; the Hungarian (Landsturm) National
Guards, that of the mountain passes towards
Poland, snd Gorgey is on the Zablunka pass, near
the Moravinn ana Silesian boundaries, after having
taken the fortress of Buds.
In short, the Austnan army is totally ruined, the
Austrian monarchy broken lown. Assistance of !
Russia will cause her thej^>?* of Poland, if it do
not even drive her mil of Europe to her Asiatic territories.
The Prussian Government is exposed to
dissolution, as soon as Poland is united, snd 8iiesis
bei-omos independent under Hungarian influence.
South Germany, encouraged by the wonderful heroism
of the Magyars, is progressing in its repub- !
jican attainments.
So. after bloody struggles, Hungary, Germany,
Poland, and Italy, will become great republics, in
spile of reactionary France, hypocritical England,
and despotic Russia, however a vfcnal press mny try
to make the world believe the contrary.
L R BREISACH,
Hungarian by birth.
Oi a Mexican Bocndart.?It la already known
thai the Mexicana, in view of the gold an abundanti
ly found in Upper California, repent of their ceamon
of that region to the United Htatea, arid tena
of thouaanda ot them have openly avowed their determination
to reconquer it: It la known, too, thqt
the Treaty of Peace bound each of the contracting
partiea to Rend a Cominiaaioner and Surveyor to
San Diego within one year from the exchange of
ratificationa, to run and mark the new boundary between
the two eountrtee It ia known, too, that
Preaident Polk laat winter appointed John B. Wei- ]
ler, ex-membcr of Congreaa from Ohio and ex- 1
colonel in the Mexican war, Comnuaaioner on the I
part of the United Statea, and deanatched him aeaaonahly
on hia important duty. Of courae hia failure
to appear duly at San Diego (aa he eaaily might
have done) will afford Mexican ground of cavil
with regard to the validity of the treaty, or at leaat
of ita ceaaiona of territory. And yet a gentleman
direct from New Orleana informa ua that Welter
iwho aet out from Waahington laat January or
HVbruary) haa been apending moat of the tnterme|
diale time in New Orleana, ("on a tiewder," ia hia
expreaaion,) and haa finally juat aet out, with not
i half tim? cnoueh left in which to reach San Diem
by the period stipulated. The results of this unfaithfuii
< ss may tie extensively disastrous, but it
may be that oor,jnformant ia mistaken. We call
on the New Orleans and Ohio papers for light on
the an til- ct.??V. Y. Tnhunr
_Jt
At breakfast Old Roger throwing down the newspaper
with violence, exclaimed,. " D?n that crevasse"
What did you say'" asked the landlady,
with a look of horror. "Oh," aiud he, " I
I merely inquired why they don't dam that erevaeee
at New Orleans. There's lieen nothing else in this
, e? (1 paper for six weeks."?fhtton Pont
Romk.? Thf F.trning Pott had a letter from an
American at Rome, winch says:
" The people are unanimous in favor of the republic,
except the priests, who of course are deeirous
that the Pope should return, with all his old temporal
power. The great lione of contention ia, whether
Pnm IX shall lie a temporal and ecclesiastical
aovereisrn, or whether his power hereafter shall be
confined to church matters, leaving the republic to
regulate civil mnltera."
Amory Sildey, eao., a highly valuable citizen of
Augusta Georgia, aied in that city on Saturday
morning last. Mr Sibley was a native of Grafton,
Massachusetts, nnd bad been a resident of Augusta
for thirty yeara At the time of hia decease he was
president of the Mechaniea' l>ank tlyre, and prcsi,
dent of the Iron Steamboat Company.
-- - - --U. 1 THE
REPUBLIC.
WISH 1 N GTOJN:
SATURDAY MORNING. JUNE 30. 1843.
THE POLICY OP NEUTRALITY ANI?
PEACE.
i The course pursued by the present Administration
in reference to the steamer
United States, recently purchased by the
Prust^flB Government, and which was fitting
out in the port of New York as a
vessel' of war, continues to excite the animadversions
of the Union. It could hardly
be otherwise. That course is exactly the
reverse, and founded upon views of the
obligations and duties of the nation, antagonistic
to those of their immediate
predecessors. General Taylor and his
predecessor cannot both have been right;
one or the other is manifestly wrong.
It was not therefore to be expected that
a paper which, throughout the entire course
of the late Administration, claimed for it
not merely the negative praise of never
doing wrong even by accident, but the
affirmative eulogium of never having assumed
a position or advanced a doctrine
which could only be denied tt> be right
by personal malignity or blind partisan
prejudices, should confess its obvious infractioti
of law in the case of the war
steamer United States.
The conduct of General Taylor, and
the views taken of the case by Mr. Secretary
Clayton, and Mr. Attorney General
Johnson, are not merely asserted to be
without any proper foundation in law, but
the motives which induced them are denounced
as dishonorable and disgraceful
in the extreme, and as manifesting a desire
on the part of these distinguished
gentlemen to aid the combinat ion of European
despots against the friends of libe
ral and free governments.
What is the precise extent of the obligations
imposed upon a neutral nation,
has been a subject of much interest, and
involving great discussion almost from the
origin of our Government. During the administration
of General Washington, the
war which existed between France and
Great Britain forced upon the United
States the necessity for determining, with
great deliberation and caution, the principles
by which we were to be governed.?
The peculiar provisions of the treaty then
subsisting with France, and the circumstances
under which that treaty had been
negotiated, superadded new difficulties
and complications to those which necessarily
belonged to the subject. That treaty
had been framed during a most critical
period of our Revolutionary war. It secured
to us, on the one hand, the powerful aid
of that great nation in the struggle then
going on for the establishment of our independence;
and, on the other, it stipulated
on our side for allowing to France certain
privileges of a very specific character,
which it became exceedingly difficult to
reconcile with our neutral obligations in
future years.
Under these circumstances, the President
convened his Cabinet, and propound
ed to its members a series of interrogatories,
which, after a discussion which
elicited a considerable difference of opinion
on some points, and a very gratifying concurrence
on others, he requested them to
answer in writing. The opinions of these
gentlemen have never been published.?
Some years since, an oppo' tunity was
afforded to us of examining these papers,
a? they were respectively presented to the
President, and they certainly warrant the
opinion of them expressed by the late distinguished
Chief Justice Marshall. He
says, that "they attest the labor and reflect
honor on the talents of those by whom
they were formed, not less than they
evince the equal sincerity and zeal with
which the opinions on each side were advanced."
That Cabinet was composed of
Jefferson and Hamilton, of Randolph
and Knox. Points in which such men
deliberately concurred will not hastily be
questioned by the sober-minded people of
this country.
Resulting from this deliberation was
the proclamation of neutrality which, having
been prepared by Mr. Randolph, the
Attorney General, was unanimously approved
by all his official colleagues, and
published to the nation by(*eneral Washington.
To carry out the views of that
celebrated document, instructions wpre
prepared by the Secretary of tl e Treasury,
directed to the collector of the customs,
appended to which were certain
general rules prescribed for their government.
This paper also received the unqualified
sanction of the President. It was
in this way announced, that "the original
arming and equipping of vessels in the
ports of the United States, by any of the
helliuvri-nt narfil-M. fr> r militarv unrvirc
o i f "" -------/ * ,%-vj
offensive or defensive, are deemed unlawful,"
and that "equipments of vessels in
the ports of the I'nited States, which are
of a nature solely adapted to war, are
deemed unlawful."
On the IHth August, 1793, Mr. Jefferson
addressed a communication to Mr.
Morris, our minister at Paris, containing
a full exposition and most masterly vindication
of the course pursued hy the American
fJovernment. We earnestly recommend
this powerful paper to the special
THE REPUBLIC.
perusal of the editors of the Union. Some
extracts from it are entitled to particular
attention at this time. Mr. Jeffekson
says: 'y
"On the deplarution of war between France and
England, the United States being at |>euce with
both, their situation was an new and unexperienced
by themselves, that their citizens were not, in the
first instant, sensible of the new duties resulting
therefrom, und of lite restraints it would impose
even on their dispositions towards the belligerent
powers." In another passage, adverting to the
claims presented on the purt of France, Mr. Jefferson,
says: Mr. Genet asserts his right of arming
in our ports, and of enlisting our citizens, and
that we have no right to restrain him or punish
them. Examining this question under the law of
nations, founded on the general sense und usuge of
iiiaiifwiiU) wc iiuvc pruuutcu pruuia irum mo muoi
enlightened and upproved writers on the subject,
that a neutral nation must, in all things relating to
the war, observe un exact impartiality towurds the
parties; that favors to one to the prejudice of the other
would import a fraudulent neutrality of which no
nation would be the dupe; that no succor should be
given to either, unless stipulated by treaty, in men,
arms, or any thing else, directly serving for war;
that the right of raising troops, being one of the
rights of sovereignty, and consenuenlly appertaining
exclusively to the nation itself, no foreign power
can levy men within its territory, without its assent;
and he who does, may be rightly and severely
punished; that if the United Slates have a right to
refuse permission to arm vessels and raise men
within their ports and territories, they are bound by
the laws of neutrality to exercise that right, and to
prohibit such armaments and enlistments. To these
principles of the law of nations, Mr. Genet answers,
by calling them 'diplomatic subtleties,'and
'aphorisms of Vattel and others.' But something
more than this is necessary to disprove them, and
till they are disproved, we hold it certain that the
Inw of nations, and the rules of neutrality, forbid
our permitting cither party to arm in our ports."
Such were the views taken by the
Cabinet of Washington, and expounded
by Jefferson, of our duties resulting from
our neutral position, under the law of nations.
Such was the course pursued by
Washington, with the unanimous concurrence
of his Cabinet, at that early period
of our history, and under circumstances
which had so nowerful a tendencv to swav
the judgment and to swerve us from that
precise position which regard to law enjoined.
These views, be it remembered,
were thus expressed and acted upon in
reference exclusively to the rules prescribed
by public law, for Congress had
not then legislated upon the subject. No
act of Congress was then in existence recognising
these principles, imposing upon
the Executive the duty of enforcing them,
and subjecting parties to criminal prosecution,
and to severe penalties for their infraction.
This position of affairs was soon changed.
The President brought the subject before
Congress. Whatever may have been our
duties as a nation, and the duties of the
Executive as representing the nation in
its dealings with foreign powers, no means
had been provided for the enforcement of
those obligations through the instrumentality
of the tribunal of justice.
Congress responded to the call, and on
the 5th June, 1794, an act was passed
giving a legislative sanction to the views
of the Executive, and providing means
for making them effective. The 3d section
of this statute prohibited any person
within the United States from fitting oat,
arming, or attempting to fit out and arm,
or procuring to be fitted out and armed, or
being knowingly concerned in the fitting out
or arming, ''any ?ktp or reuel, with intent
that such ship or vessel shall he employed
in the service of any foreign prince or
State, to cruise or commit hostilities upon
the subjects, citizens, or property of another
foreign prince or State, with whom the
United States is at peace." The 4th section
prohibits, in like maimer, the increase
or augmentation of the force of any ship of
war, or other armed vessel, which, at the
time of her arrival within the United States,
was in the service of a foreign prince or
State, or belonged to the subjects or citizens
of such, the same being at war with
another foreign prince or State, with whom
the United States are at peace. Various '
other provisions were made in this statute,
which, having been limited in its duration,
..... _.,k. i.. r...ik.. . i i i >l.
w .i - "ui/Tijur in i > luiuin rAifiiuni uy III r
act of March 2, 1797, and made perpetual
by the act of April 24, 1800.
These various provisions are embodied
in, extended, and made more j>recise, by
the act of April 20, 1818; which has been
discussed by the parties in the late con;
troversy.
The question, then, as to the obligation
of the United States, as a neutral nation,
in the case of a pending war between two
foreign powers, with both of whom we are
at peace, may be viewed under two aspects.
First, what is the nature and ex
tent of that obligation resulting from the
general law of nations? Secondly, what
is it under the *|>ecial legislation upon the
subject? Under the first we have the authoritative
exposition of our duty from the
pen of Mr. Jefferson, sanctioned, so far
as regards the particular point, by that of
General W ashingtoi* and his entire Cabii
net. That interdicts any foreign nation,
being a belligerent, from in any way
strengthening his ability to carry on the
war against anoincr loreign jmwer with
whom we are at peace within our territory,
we being then neutral. Such is and wm
precisely the posture of the case in reference
to the steamer at New York. She
had become, by purchase, the property of
a foreign power with whom we were, at
|>eare, such foreign power being at the
time at war with another government,
with whom we were likewise at peace.
She was engaged actively in being equipped
as a man-of war, augmenting her
strength for war, increasing her armamei t.
The Executive deemed if proper to interfere,
to withdraw a permission which had
previously been given, sanctioning and j
aiding in these acts. Unless we have, from
the commencement of our history, misapprehended
our duty and misinterpreted the
law prescribing that dut^no other course
was open to the Executive. In doing
what it has done it has not merely exercised
a right which unquestionably belonged
to it, but it has only fulfilled a duty
of paramount obligation.
Even if the act of 1818 were couched
in lannrnuffo Iomu nrnr?iun oiul limn
... J,. U.OI...V,* .......
it is?if it admitted of doubt as to its true
meaning, still, as it was avowedly passed
for the very purpose of sanctioning and
enforcing those views of public law which
have been stated, it ought to receive a
construction otherwise reasonable, which
will correspond with our obligations. It
will be borne in mind that no prosecution
has been instituted or contemplated. What
has been done has been confined to a
friendly interposition. No punishment
for any alleged breach of the act of Congress
has been inflicted, or sought to be;
no attempt has been made to enforce any
penalty. Looking solely to his own duty,
and his rights as resulting from that duty,
the Execi.tive has wisely and kindly
sought to prevent a wrong which, if committed,
might have involved the necessity
of affording a remedy. The mode of accomplishing
this purpose has been as open,
frnnlr. mnnlv. nnrl rnnriliatino' r?? tfiA r>h_
ject was just, honorable, and patriotic.
Having disposed, it is believed, satisfactorily
of the main question involved in
this matter, it is unnecessary to occupy
much time in discussing the motive which
prompted a course of action which justice
demanded and duty enjoined. But the
wanton, and in every respect unjustifiable,
improper, and indeed criminal motives imputed
to the very distinguished functionaries
whose conduct has been under review, while
ti might afford a plenary justification for a
harsh comment, will certainly furnish
ample reason for a brief reply. So far as
the American people know any thing of
the causes which led to the existing war
between Denmark and Prussia, it did not
originate in any controversy between the
friends and the opponents of free institutions.
The entire question was and is as
to the right of sovereignty over a particular
territory. It has been claimed by the
one as part of Denmark, and subject to her
authority; by the other as part of Germany.
To characterize this, therefore, as a question
involving the right of self-government?
as a contest between despots on one side
and the people on the other?as one in
which either our interests are involved or
our feelings and sympathies ought to engage,
is to give a false and wholly unwarranted
color to the case. When facts are
wantonly misrepresented, we need not be
surprised if criminal motives are gratuitously
imputed.
THE CITY APPOINT]*KOTS.
The die public?Mr. Jacob Gideon.
From the Union of yesterday we clip
the following paragraph in relation to the
appointments made for this city and the
District of Columbia:
"Rumor! were spread over the city yesterday
evening that the appointments in this city were decided
in the Cabinet, and that a general whirlwind
has scattered all the Democrats. Among the real,
it is said that our meritorious and excellent postmaster,
Colonel Gardner, has l>cen removed. We
confeas we shall be surprised at nothing. It is reported,
also, that the two organs jostled each other,
nnd that the protege of the Republic went to the wall.
We presume that Gen. Taylor was agnin outvoted
in his own Cabinet. The organs will doubtless
.11 >k. 1.1 i .L.:. ...i
???c ?? wit ?f'|?MiHiiiciiui uin/.wiirii ill mcir axjiuiuim
this morning."
In so far a*- the remarks of the Union
convey the idea that the interest, the position,
or the influence of the Republic was
involved in the success of any candidate
for any office in the {rift of the Government,
they were penned in misconception
of the purposes for which it was established.
In so far as they insinuate an
opposition on our part to any of the gentlemen
appointed to office on account of
their being acceptable to the National Intelligencer,
they adduce for an objection
what we regard as a guaranty of the fitness
of their selection.
In the appointment of Mr. Wallach, the'
President has bestowed office on a gentleman
who was foremost in the ranks of
those who flocked around His banner when
first unfurled in the metropolis of the
Union?a gallant, zealous, and efficient
Whig, and the first native of the District,
we believe, upon whom the marshalship
was ever conferred.
In Mr. Kendall we recognise one of the
victims of proscription in 1S29. He was
then employed in the State Department.
Since that time he has become eminent in
his profession; and, during the long interval
of Whig banishment from Executive
favor, has held to the faith without a
shadow of turning. He is fit to be made
District Attorney.
Mr. Bradley is a Whig of high standing
in the District, and as such has filled the
office of Mayor of Washington, and leader
in her councils, with ability and public
spirit. His appointment as Postmaster will
meet with general satisfaction.
Over the promotion of such men to
official station, the Whigs of Washington
city may well rejoice ; and, though our lot
amongst them has been so recently cast,
they will permit us to rejoice with them.
Whom does the Vnirm allude to as the
/wo/cgs of the Kejnihlicl f an our contemporary
mean Jacob Gideon, the father of
one of the publishers of this paj?er? If so
it has ?peil a shaft where no wrankling
wound will follow. When the first alarm
of war roused the patriots of the Revolution
to the great work of erecting a free
Republic upon the ruins of colonial tyranny,
Jacob Gideon, senior, repaired to
the camp of Washington, and held to the
fortunes of his illustrious commander, till
at Yorktown he sounded the parley to the
surrender of Cornwallis. The old bugle
upon which he rung the requiem of British
sovereignty in the colonies is now in the
war office?a relic of the ancient time.
He votedfor Washington andJbfferson.
Forty-five years ago his son removed to
this city, where he established himself as
a printer?and where Mr. Gideon, senior,
died, the morning before the inauguration
of General Harrison.
In the course of near half a century of
toil and painstaking, and frugal life, the
present Mr. Gideon has gathered around
him wherewith to comfort his declining
years. Like his father before him, he is
a Whig?an active, working, giving Whig;
a man to be trusted in the dark. It was
for this that some of his friends proposed
him for an office. The connexion of his
son with a new paper was not relied upon
to add to his recommendation; nor was
any such pretension set up for him. The
Administration, in its wisdom, gave the
office to another; but, as office was not the
inducement to his becoming a Whig, the
withholding of it gives no shock to his
faith, nor abates one jot his zeal for the
cause, or his confidence in the President.
He is the same Jacob Gideon now he ever
was. A Whig of Revolutionary stock;
a devoted supporter of the cause in all
times of its prosperity, in all seasons of
adversity.
The Union speaks bf proteges. It is a
11 r Ar/I in PAnnnviAn lirif K I Kic i/Mir_
n ui u iiu iia V.UUUV aiuii n iiu lino juui
nal. If no one troubles the President
about offices more than we do, his head
will never ache with the din of application.
There is not a man in whose veins
there runs a drop of blood of any one of
the proprietors of the Republic who is an
officeholder. It was not to get the ear of
the Administration that we have undertaken
this enterprise. We are not here
to quarter our followers or our proteges
upon the treasury. These are motives
beneath the yearning to reason and commune
with the teeming millions of this
widespread Confederacy. To be able to
address a nation is privilege enough to
satisfy all our aspirations; to do so wisely,
and for the public good, would be to fill
the utmost measure of our ambition. We
desire not that sort of confidence from the
Administration which is exhausted in the
bestowal of a few paltry offices amongst
our favorites. Give us to know that the
people hear and believe what we say in
these ample columns, and "Heaven may
rain down mitres upon the heads that
ache for them."
' indiana pont opeickn a bl'mrn ex.
poked.
A gentleman, lately appointed postmaster
in an important town of Indiana, writes
to a friend in this city as follows:
"And hern lei me inform you of some facts which
none of us would hare thought could be. When
I came into office I found not leas than 500 documents,
sent by our late M. C., all laid carefully
aside. Some 100 copies of the life of Gen. Taylor
laid away, and numeroua other public documents?
at least two large canvass bags full; and, strange to
say, not five of them were Democratic documents;
all Whig, and franked by .
"This, and other matters which I found in the office,
convinced me that all the villany which man
could conceive was systematically carried on by the
office-holders. I gathered all such documents as
were fit to distribute and gave them out. Hundreds
were too filthy to handle."
It in right that the above malversation
in office should be exposed. It never
would have been exposed, except in consequence
of the exercise of the removing
and appointing power. The probability is,
that the documents remaining in the office
above alluded to form but a small portion
of the documents that were actually received
and withheld from circulation. In
the many months that have elapsed since
the campaign, no doubt many other re
; tained documents have been uned as waste
paper, wrapping paper, or been burned.
In how many of the offices this vile practice
has prevailed, to what extent it has
been carried, it is impossible to say, and
impossible to ascertain with any degree of
accuracy. The fact that it has been done
in one instance indicates clearly enough
that it may have been done in many
other instances.
But the opposition presses say that it is
better that misconcuct should have remained
undiscovered, than that the guilty
postmacter should have been removed !
Better for whom? For the Locofocos surely.
But for the people is it better ? For the
Whigs is it better ? And can the exercise
of that power be wrong, which leads to
such results > And d<?es not the discovery
of every new official abuse show the wisdom
and the necessity of the exercise of
this power by the President, unless he
would become responsible for the acts of
men of whom he knows nothing, except
that they belong to the party who denounce
him as an imbecile, ignorant tyrant
and a sanguinary butcher.
This is a parallel case to that of F.u
Moork. Three Locofoco district attorneys
had flourished in the southern district of
New York, and not oiie of them suspected
for a moment any thing wrong with Eli
Moore. Their optics were not keen
enough to spy out the delinquencies of a
brother Locofoco. A Whig district attorney
was substituted for the Locofoco, and
in about a week or less Eli Moore's delinquences
were exposed. 'And yet one
of these very district attorneys, Mr. , I
Butler, offered a resolution at a Deinocratico-abolition
meeting the other '
evening, censuring President Taylor for
exercising the removing power. Is not <
this the sublime of impudence ? It ought
+r\ he eelehrutpH in S) " nhnrt litinnel." a
?7. '
kind of composition for which his Locofoco .
friends used formerly to commend Mr.
Butlbr. He is indignant that Whig ^
attorneys should be appointed who have /> j
no better manners than to expose the mis- j \
deeds of Locofoco marshals, over which
Locofoco attorneys have slept four "mortal
years!
jvdqb embree, of indiana. j
|
We are gratified to learn that this gentleman
is a candidate for re-election to
Congress, with a very flattering prospect
of success.
i I
Notwithstanding the district last fall
gave General Cass a small majority, we
are assured that a large number of those
who voted against General Taylor are
disposed not to indulge a spirit of factious
opposition to his Administration. Having
the utmost confidence in the purity of his
purposes, and his desire to administer the
Government for the benefit of the whole
people, they will not be unwilling to be
represented by a friend of General Tay- a
lor, whose high moral character and faith- a
ful services as a member of the last Con
gress, furnish a sure guarantee that his
public efforts will be directed to the advancement
of the best interests of the
people.
Judge Embree, as a member of the last ;
Congress, bore a prominent part in the efforts
which were made to bring about a reform
in the expenses of the Government.
During the last twenty years, while the
Government has been in the hands of the
Locofoco party, notwithstanding their professions
of reform and retrenchment, the
expenses of the Government have been
stea .ily increasing in a much more rapid I I
ratio than its resources. The late Administration,
in addition to expending a large
surpllis which it found-in the Treasury, . <
with all the accruing revenue, entailed
upon its successors a heavy national debt.
Th? people of all parties should hail
with pleasure the return to Congress of ^
those who have honestly endeavored to
, arrest the wasteful expenditure of the
public money. Prominent among those 4 ,
has been Judge Embree. Uniting in an r
eminent degree industry with a sound
judgment and fine abilities, and enjoying
a character above all reproach, he has won
for himself an enviable reputation as an k ' ' (.
able, honest, and industrious representative.
We trust that the people of the first district
of Indiana will manifest their regard
for the cause of sound reform by re-elect- \
J ing the man who has been one gf its ablest
| and most consistent advocates.
VVe learn, unofficially, that Isaac Hull
i Wright was yesterday appointed Navy
Agent at Boston, Massachusetts, in place * ,
of Joseph Hall.
An Important Inquiry.
A Locofoco paper published in Lynn, Massachusetts,
has raised the Presidential flag of Mr.
Bkmtom. If it is not impertinent for the country
; to ask, the country would like to lie informed, the
country demands to know, if the "sole organ" re,
cognises the Locofoco Lynn editor as a member of
(Lit Locofoco party which the "sole organ" represents
at the seat of the Federal Government? If
' the country is not informed, the country will at
once call an indignation meeting on the Avenue to ,
1 take measures lo extract the desired information.
n. r a lorrh.lurhl nrnrMiinn null l*lf? >.I?mm
, the occasion.
An Artificial I?ce<-h.
We learn from an article in the Paria Journal Jet
Debats, quoted in Tuesday'a Courier Jet Elalt Unit,
I that an important discovery, which is likely to be
I of the greatest service to humanity, occupies at
this moment the attention of the French scientific ? j
world. It is a mechanical leech (tangtue mecaniqut)
which M. Alexander, civil engineer, already celebrated
for his useful discoveries, has submitted to
the judgment of all the scientific bodies, which, after
satisfactory trials, have caused this isngrur to
lie adopted in all the hospitals, after having proved,
not only the immense economy of its use, but, what
, is better, the derided advantages which it has over
the natural leech, often so rare, always repugnant
' to the patient, and'sometimes dangerous.
The President of the French Republic has given
orders for the supply of the apparatus in every
ommnne whrrr it mnv lie fnnnd wmi-uiliL l>? m.
i digent patient*.
RHODE IRLAND. I
"
The legislature of thia State will meet at Newport
on Monday. During the aeaaion, a time will
be assigned for a second trial to elect a representative
to Congress in the western district.
The //arrwfcurg (Prnn.) IntfUifrncrr of the 28th
instant anya: " We learn that even the late Secretary
of State?Hon James Buchawan?hne himself
admitted ihat President Tati-os is right, and
Mr. Pots and his Secretary of the Navy were
wrong, in the matter of the steamer United States.
Gold fish, originally from China, and hitherto
chiefly known in ornamental ponds or glass globes ^
in thm country, have been naturalized in the Hudson
river, near Newlmrg. Specimen* have been
caught from eight to ten inches long, both in the
Hudson itself and in the mouth of Mntteawnn creek,
which empties into the Hudson near Newburg.
The Rfjiithlirnn, of Saratoga, says that their village
was never more cleanly, healthy, or inviting
I than at the present moment. >