to bare their blades and rush with the fury of unchained tigers at each others' throats. And who were to be the leaders in this deadly strife? The Hamiltons, and the Haynes, and the Pinckneys, and the Rutledges, and the Draytons, and the Hugers, and the Middletons, and the Poinsetts, and the Pettigrues,-men whose sires, shoulder to shoulder, had stood the brunt of Revolutionary battle, cemented with their blood our independence, raised up by the wisdom of their councils this mighty fabric of government, which secures the happiness of millions of freemen, whilst its blessed influence is circling like the sunlight over the darkness of the whole earth, sons worthy of such sires, illustrious by their moral and intellectual worth, who had performed all their duties in peace and war, who had emblazoned their names in deathless characters on the fairest pages of our history. These were the men who were about to present to a pitying and astonished world the heart-withering spectacle of patriots' swords dyed in civil conflict with patriots' blood. It was not the will of the Omnipotent that another bloody sacrifice should be made to atone for the sins of the people as the price of the precious blessings bestowed by his bounty. The cup of bitterness, humiliation, and woe passed untasted from our lips. Would it thus have passed away if that despised, reprobated, vilified, hated, but just and stern, old man had not occupied the House and the hearts of the people?

It is not necessary to dwell longer on the Congressional services of Mr. Forsyth. He had become a man of note, of high renown as a statesman and an orator. President Jackson appointed him Secretary of State; and his nomination was confirmed by the Senate on the 27th day of June, 1834, in place of the Hon. Louis McLane,* resigned.

Throughout the remainder of Gen. Jackson's term, and until March 4, 1841, when President Van Buren retired, Mr. Forsyth continued at the head of the Cabinet. His official communications were remarkable for their ability, polish, and all those elevated courtesies which give a charm to diplomacy. The Cabinets of Europe were familiar with, and appreciated, his generous and patriotic character.

One subject is deemed so interesting that it is here specially noticed, the proposed annexation of Texas to the United States, under Mr. Van Buren's administration. The reply of Mr. Forsyth is also given, not only for the sake of the argument, but as a specimen of his style.

On the 4th of August, 1837, General Memucan Hunt, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Texas, addressed a note to Mr. Forsyth, as Secretary of State, offering to cede Texas to the United States and to open negotiations for that purpose. Owing to the length of his note, (occupying about ten pages in documentary form,) only a synopsis can be

* Mr. McLane died in October, 1857.

given in this memoir. The note is ably written, abounding in details and in argument, showing "some few of the great advantages -both national and social-which would result to the two contracting parties from the proposed amalgamation of their respective sovereignties." Events in chronological order will be noted.

In 1698, the old Spanish town of Bexar was founded; in 1716, La Bahia, afterward Goliad; Nacogdoches in 1732; Victoria at a later period. These old settlements were surrounded and cramped by the Indians of various savage tribes up to 1821, when the dawn of civilization began. In January of that year, Moses Austin, and after him his son, Stephen F. Austin, planted a colony of Anglo-American emigrants on the river Brazos. In the mean time Mexico had shaken off the Spanish yoke and had formed an independent government. The Emperor Iturbide in 1823, by a decree, authorized Austin to proceed with his colony.

In 1824, the Constitution of Mexico, based upon that of the United States, was established, and the provinces of Texas and Coahuila were united as one of the States of the Mexican Confederacy. During the year 1825, another general colonizationlaw was passed, granting lands, under which the country was rapidly settled. But, in 1830, the Supreme Government prohibited the further introduction of American settlers in Texas. In 1832, hostilities broke out between Bustamente and Santa Anna, two rival chieftains. Under the latter, the colonists took possession of the Mexican forts at Velasco, Anahuac, and Nacogdoches. In 1833, Texas attempted to avail herself of the privilege secured by the Constitution of 1824,-that whenever she possessed the elements of self-government she might maintain a separate organization. Stephen F. Austin was duly commissioned to wait upon the Government with a petition for this object. The petition was not only treated with marked insult, but Austin himself was imprisoned in the city of Mexico.

Centralism then became a project with Santa Anna, who, in 1835, attempted to overthrow the State Governments, and to consolidate all power, civil and military, in the hands of a single in dividual. Most of the States were trampled down by the usurper. In this emergency, the people of Texas declared for the Constitution and took up arms.

General Hunt then describes the preparation, the conflict, and the victory at San Jacinto on the 21st of April, 1836, when Santa Anna, then President of Mexico, was made prisoner and his army annihilated. The names of Fannin, Bowie, and Crockett appear

in the list of heroes who perished in the cause of freedom. Passing over other matters touched upon, the language of Gen. Hunt is here quoted:

She [Texas] has a territory estimated at near two hundred thousand square miles, a population of one hundred thousand, capable of throwing into the field an army of eight thousand strong; and such is the fertility of her soil and the industry of her people that, besides the productions necessary for the support of her population, her exports of cotton will probably this year amount to fifty thousand bales. Her revenue-arising from imposts and taxes under a law of the late Congress, without reference to the income accruing from the public domain-has been estimated at half a million of dollars. The great extent of her public domain— capable of sustaining a population of ten millions, embracing every variety of soil, and blessed with a climate most propitious for agricultural pursuits—justifies the assertion that Texas is, for her population, a nation of equal resources with any other on the globe. The undersigned, therefore, feels confident that the Honorable the Secretary of State will at once perceive that the people of Texas, in assigning their affection for the people of the United States as their principal reason for desiring annexation, are amply provided with all the resources to become of themselves a powerful nation.

Thus, then, it is that Texas, in seeking to place herself among the States of the Union, is prompted mainly by a filial reverence for the Constitution and the people of the United States. She has no expectation of an invasion, much less of a reconquest, at the hands of Mexico. The humiliating defeat and capture of General Santa Anna at San Jacinto is too fresh upon the memories of her soldiery to justify the indulgence of any such apprehensions. Nor does she seek annexation as a shield of protection against the interference of European monarchies. Since the recognition of her independence by the Government of this country, she has too much reliance upon the wisdom and the justice of England and France to suppose that either of the crowned heads of those two nations will occupy any other than positions of the most decided neutrality with reference to the difficulties between Mexico and herself; and, should this proposition of annexation not be acceded to by this Government, she confidently expects at the hands of every civilized nation of Europe the honors of a recognition, as a preliminary step to the formation of treaties of amity and commerce.

In reviewing the interests of the two republics involved in this question of annexation, the undersigned cannot concede that the United States encounters an equal sacrifice with the people of Texas. Texas brings to this negotiation not only the resources already recapitulated, but her sovereignty. She brings, too, that which, in the eyes of the naval powers of Europe, will constitute the material ground for the formation of the most liberal commercial treaties,-viz.: her immense forests of live-oak, comprising, according to the estimate of President Houston in his message of the 5th of May, 1837, four-fifths of all that species of timber now in the world.

She brings, too, a market for all the various manufactures and for all the agricultural products of the United States, excepting those of cotton and sugar; and these she will contribute from her own soil to swell the already colossal amount of the exports of this nation. The territory, and

with it the enterprise, of the country will be extended; her political power will be increased; and the undersigned trusts that he will not be considered intrusive in expressing his deep conviction that the Union of these States will be strengthened by the annexation of a people whose proudest impulses are for its continuance and glory.

What advantage the United States brings to this negotiation the undersigned will not presume to suggest. Her immense resources, her splendid fleets, her power to raise armies, her magnificent Government, her unexampled career of prosperity, her incomparable administration of justice, and, finally, all her attributes of greatness, are sources of as much congratulation to the people of Texas as they can possibly be to herself. What Texas wishes at the hands of the Government of this Union is simply annexation,—an amalgamation of flags; and the undersigned assures the Honorable the Secretary of State that this is the solitary advantage which he seeks to gain in this negotiation, but which, he begs leave to say, he hopes to accomplish upon the high principle of a strict adherence to the just rights and dignity of the sovereignty of the Texan nation.

From the portion of Gen. Hunt's note here given, it will be seen that the question was managed with competent skill. The remaining part was not less manly, open, and respectful. Mr. Forsyth replied as follows:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, August 25, 1837. The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has had the honor to receive the note of his Excellency General Hunt, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Texas, dated the 4th instant, proposing a negotiation for the purpose of annexing that country to the United States.

That communication has been laid before the President, who has considered it with just sensibility. In giving to the undersigned instructions to present in reply a prompt and decisive indication of the course it has been necessary to adopt, the President indulges the confident expectation that no unfriendly spirit toward the Government or the people of Texas will or can be imputed to the United States.

Neither the duties nor the settled policy of the United States permit them to enter into an examination of the accuracy of the historical facts related by General Hunt, nor to allow them, if even admitted to be correct, to control the decision of the question presented by him. The United States were foremost in acknowledging the independence of Mexico, and have uniformly desired and endeavored to cultivate relations of friendship with that power. Having always, since the formation of their Government, been exempt from civil wars, they have learned the value of internal quiet, and have consequently been anxious yet passive spectators of the feuds with which their neighbors have been afflicted. Although, in the controversy between Texas and Mexico, circumstances have existed and events have occurred peculiarly calculated to enlist the sympathies of our people, the effort of the Government has been to look upon that dispute also with the same rigid impartiality with which it has regarded all other Mexican commotions.

In determining with respect to the independence of other countries, the United States have never taken the question of right between the

contending parties into consideration. They have deemed it a dictate of duty and policy to decide upon the question as one of fact merely. This was the course pursued with respect to Mexico herself. It was adhered to when analogous events rendered it proper to investigate the question of Texan independence. That inquiry was made with due circumspection, and the result was not arrived at until its probable consequences had been accurately weighed. The possibility of a collision of interests, arising, among other causes, from the alleged superior aptitude of the climate and soil of Texas for the growth of some of the staples of the United States, was not overlooked. A sense of duty and a reverence for consistency, however, it was considered, left this Government no alternative, and it therefore led the way in recognising Texas. A hope was certainly entertained that this act and the motives that conduced to it, even if no other considerations were to have influence, would point out to the Government of Texas the propriety not only of cherishing intimate and amicable relations with this country, but of abstaining from other connections abroad which might be detrimental to the United States. Apart from this, however, it was presumed that Government would enter upon the execution of the intentions intimated by its envoy extraordinary with respect to connections with foreign powers with a full understanding of the just and liberal commercial stipulations existing between the United States and other nations. A pervading principle of those compacts is impartial treatment of the citizens, vessels, and productions of the parties in their respective territories. As it was not to be believed that the commercial allies of the United States would swerve from their engagements, no apprehension was felt that the interests of this country would suffer from the arrangements which Texas might enter into with them.

The question of the annexation of a foreign independent State to the United States has never before been presented to this Government. Since the adoption of their Constitution, two large additions have been made to the domain originally claimed by the United States. In acquiring them, this Government was not actuated by a mere thirst for sway over a broader space. Paramount interests of many members of the Confederacy, and the permanent well-being of all, imperatively urged upon this Government the necessity of an extension of its jurisdiction over Louisiana and Florida. As peace, however, was our cherished policy, never to be departed from unless honor should be perilled by adhering to it, we patiently endured for a time serious inconveniences and privations, and sought a transfer of those regions by negotiations and not by conquest.

The issue of those negotiations was a conditional cession of these countries to the United States. The circumstance, however, of their being colonial possessions of France and Spain, and therefore dependent on the metropolitan Governments, renders those transactions materially different from that which would be presented by the question of the annexation of Texas. The latter is a State with an independent Government, acknowledged to be such by the United States, and claiming a territory beyond, though bordering on, the region ceded by France in the treaty of the 30th of April, 1803. Whether the Constitution of the United States contemplated the annexation of such a State, and, if so, in what manner that object is to be effected, are questions, in the opinion of the President, it would be inexpedient, under existing circumstances, to agitate.

So long as Texas shall remain at war, while the United States are at