EMANCIPATION OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN

STATES.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCH 24, 1818.

[MR. CLAY had had occasion, in 1816 and 1817, to make some incidental allusions to the great subject of the two following speeches, and in one instance to come out boldly upon it. The war between Spain and her American colonies, had now been carried on for several years, with great, even barbarous atrocities on the part of Spain, and with constantly augmenting chances in favor of the ultimate independence of the colonies. The example and successful career of the United States of North America, had inspired them with hope, and the wrongs of Spain were much more grievous than those inflicted by Great Britain on her colonies. Spain was more remote from her rebellious provinces, and less able to send against them efficient forces, being herself in a condition of rapid decadence. But her American continental possessions constituted a vast domain, and the richest gem in her crown. To lose them, was like cutting off the legs and arms of a man, leaving only the trunk. Three things, in such a case, invariably follow a relentless despotism, sooner or later: first, that despotism knows not how to relax its severities; next, that it drives its victims to desperation; and thirdly, that, if there be any hope of freedom, freedom will at last crown the efforts of the oppressed.

It was morally impossible for a man of Mr. Clay's temperament as a man, and his position as an American statesman, to look on this struggle with feelings of indifference, or not to make an effort, in some form, to aid these oppressed provinces of Spain. He had even suggested, on a former occasion, that it might be expedient for the United States to form an alliance, offensive and defensive, with these interesting communities, against the mother country. On the present occasion, however, he only proposed a recognition of one of these Spanish colonies-The United Provinces of Rio de la Plata-as a government de facto, and providing for a minister-as an entering wedge for a similar

recognition of all the other South American States, when circumstances should favor. In 1817, Mr. Monroe, president of the United States, had sent a commission of inquiry to South America, Messrs. Rodney, Graham, and Bland, to report on the condition and political prospects of those Spanish provinces, and at the next session of Congress, asked for an appropriation to defray its expenses. Mr. Clay moved to amend the bill by providing for a minister to the La Plata, to be appointed in the discretion of the president; and opened the debate by the following speech The entire field of the independence of the South American States was, of course, now open, and Mr. Clay entered it with a boldness characteristic only of himself-alone in the moral power of his sympathy and of his position. He consulted naught but his own heart and the cause of freedom. He regarded the American continental domains of Spain as occupying precisely the position of the North American British colonies, when they started and while they were struggling for independence-excepting only, that the Spanish colonies had stronger claims for freedom, arising from their greater grievances. The political prospect was at that moment the most inspiring to every lover of freedom, which the world ever beheld. It was nothing less than that the entire American continent should become a republican empire, in contrast with the European continent groaning under a variety of despotisms. Nor did Mr. Clay propose any thing that could be construed into a casus belli by Spain. It was only to send a minister to a government de facto—a right established by public law. Public law, therefore, was in harmony with those sympathies which, at this time and in this case, were natural to all American freemen; and the outburst of argument from the mouth of Mr. Clay, on this occasion, came down with tremendous effect, not only upon the House of Representatives, but upon the country; and not only on this country, but on the Spanish provinces; and not only in these quarters, but it burst on Spain herself, and on all Europe, as a clap of thunder from the skies. It was republican America, from Cape Horn to Hudson's Bay, against monarchical Europe, from the Mediterranean to Finland, that suddenly started up before the surprised imaginations of men—all from this débût of Mr. Clay for South American independence. Mr. Clay had now come out in this field, armed with a panoply which no weapon could pierce; for he had only proposed to send a minister to a government de facto.]

I RISE, Mr. Chairman, under feelings of deeper regret than I have ever experienced on any former occasion, inspired, principally, by the painful consideration, that I find myself, on the proposition which I meant to submit, differing from many highly esteemed friends, in and out of this House, for whose judgment I entertained the greatest respect. A knowledge of this circumstance has induced me to pause; to subject my own convictions to the severest scrutiny, and to revolve the question over and over again. But all my reflections have conducted me to the same clear result; and, much as I value those friends, great as my deference is for their opinions, I can not hesitate, when reduced to the distressing alternative of conforming my judgment to theirs, or persuing the deliberate and mature dictates of my own mind. I enjoy some consolation, for the want of their cooperation, from the persuasion that, if I err on this occasion, I err on the side of the liberty and happiness of a large portion of the human family. Another, and, if possible, indeed a greater, source of the regret to which I refer, is the utter incompetency, which I unfeignedly feel, to do any thing like adequate justice to the great cause of American independence and freedom, whose interest I wish to promote by my humble exertions in this instance. Exhausted and worn down as I am, by the fatigue, confinement, and incessant application incident to the arduous duties of the honorable station I hold, during a four-months' session, I shall need all that kind indulgence which has been so often extended to me by the House.

I beg, in the first place, to correct misconceptions, if any exist, in regard to my opinions. I am averse to war with Spain, or with any power. I would give no just cause of war to any power-not to Spain herself. I have seen enough of war, and of its calamities, even when successful. No country upon earth has more interest than this in cultivating peace and avoiding war, as long as it is possible honorably to avoid it. Gaining additional strength every day; our numbers doubling in periods of twentyfive years; with an income outstripping all our estimates, and so great, as, after a war in some respects disastrous, to furnish results which carry astonishment, if not dismay, into the bosom of states jealous of our rising importance, we have every motives for the love of peace. I can not, however, approve, in all respects, of the manner in which our negotiations with Spain have been conducted. If ever a favorable time existed for the demand, on the part of an injured nation, of indemnity for past wrongs from the aggressor, such is the present time. Impoverished and exhausted at home, by the wars which have desolated the peninsula, with a foreign war, calling for infinitely more resources, in men and money, than she can possibly command, this is the auspicious period for insisting upon justice at her hands, in a firm and decided tone. Time is precisely what Spain now most wants. Yet what are we told by the president, in his message at the commencement of Congress? That Spain had procrastinated, and we acquiesced in her procrastination. And the Secretary of State, in a

late communication with Mr. Onis, after ably vindicating all our rights, tells the Spanish minister, with a good deal of sang froid, that we had patiently waited thirteen years for a redress of our injuries, and that it required no great effort to wait longer! I would have abstained from thus exposing our intentions. Avoiding the use of the language of menace, I would have required, in temperate and decided terms, indemnity for all our wrongs; for the spoliations of our commerce; for the interruption of the right of dépôt at New Orleans, guarantied by treaty; for the insults repeatedly offered to our flag; for the Indian hostilities, which she was bound to prevent; for belligerent use made of her ports and territories, by our enemy, during the late war; and the instantaneous liberation of the free citizens of the United States, now imprisoned in her jails. Cotemporaneous with that demand, without waiting for her final answer, and with a view to the favorable operation on her councils in regard to our own peculiar interests, as well as in justice to the cause itself, I would recognize any established government in Spanish America. I would have left Spain to draw her own inferences from these proceedings, as to the ultimate step which this country might adopt, if she longer withheld justice from us. And if she persevered in her iniquity, after we have conducted the negotiation in the manner I have endeavored to describe, I would then take up and decide the solemn question of peace or war, with the advantage of all the light shed upon it, by subsequent events, and the probable conduct of Europe.

But

Spain has undoubtedly given us abundant and just cause of war. it is not every cause of war that should lead to war. War is one of those dreadful scourges, that so shakes the foundations of society, overturns or changes the character of governments, interrupts or destroys the pursuits of private happiness, brings, in short, misery and wretchedness in so many forms, and at last is, in its issue, so doubtful and hazardous, that nothing but dire necessity can justify an appeal to arms. If we are to have war with Spain, I have, however, no hesitation in saying, that no mode of bringing it about could be less fortunate than that of seizing, at this time, upon her adjoining province. There was a time, under certain circumstances, when we might have occupied East Florida with safety; had we then taken it, our posture in the negotiation with Spain would have been totally different from what it is. But we have permitted that time, not with my consent, to pass by unimproved. If we were now to seize upon Florida, after a great change in those circumstances, and after declaring our intention to acquiesce in the procrastination desired by Spain, in what light should we be viewed by foreign powers, particularly Great Britain We have already been accused of inordinate ambition, and of seeking to aggrandize ourselves by an extension, on all sides of our limits. Should we not, by such an act of violence, give color to the accusation? No, Mr. Chairman; if we are to be involved in a war with Spain, let us have the credit of disinterestedness. Let us put her yet more in the wrong. Let

us command the respect which is never withheld from those who act a noble and generous part. I hope to communicate to the committee the conviction which I so strongly feel, that the adoption of the amendment which I intend to propose, would not hazard, in the slightest degree, the peace of the country. But if that peace is to be endangered, I would infinitely rather it should be for our exerting the right appertaining to every state, of acknowledging the independence of another state, than for the seizure of a province, which, sooner or later, we must certainly acquire.

In contemplating the great struggle in which Spanish America is now engaged, our attention is first fixed by the immensity and character of the country which Spain seeks again to subjugate. Stretching on the Pacific ocean from about the fortieth degree of north latitude to about the fiftyfifth degree of south latitude, and extending from the mouth of the Rio del Norte (exclusive of East Florida), around the Gulf of Mexico, and along the South Atlantic to near Cape Horn; it is about five thousand miles in length, and in some places near three thousand in breadth. Within this vast region we behold the most sublime and interesting objects of creation; the loftiest mountains, the most majestic rivers in the world; the richest mines of the precious metals, and the choicest productions of the earth. We behold there a spectacle still more interesting and sublime -the glorious spectacle of eighteen millions of people, struggling to burst their chains and to be free. When we take a little nearer and more detailed view, we perceive that nature has, as it were, ordained that this people and this country shall ultimately constitute several different nations. Leaving the United States on the north, we come to New Spain, or the vice-royalty of Mexico on the south; passing by Guatemala, we reach the vice-royalty of New Granada, the late captain-generalship of Venezuela, and Guiana, lying on the east side of the Andes. Stepping over the Brazils, we arrive at the united provinces of La Plata, and crossing the Andes, we find Chili on their west side, and, further north, the vice-royalty of Lima, or Peru. Each of these several parts is sufficent in itself, in point of limits to constitute a powerful State; and, in point of population, that which has the smallest, contains enough to make it respectable. Throughout all the extent of that great portion of the world, which I have attempted thus hastily to describe, the spirit of revolt against the dominion of Spain has manifested itself. The Revolution has been attended with various degrees of success in the several parts of Spanish America. In some it has been already crowned, as I shall endeavor to show, with complete success, and in all I am persuaded that independence has struck such deep root, that the power of Spain can never eradicate it. What are the causes of this great movement?

Three hundred years ago, upon the ruins of the thrones of Montezuma and the Incas of Peru, Spain erected the most stupendous system of colonial despotism that the world has ever seen the most vigorous, the most exclusive. The great principle and object of this system, has been,