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is taught in the charter of our independence; this is the lesson which our example is to teach the world.

The epic poet of Rome-the faithful subject of an absolute prince-in unfolding the duties and destinies of his countrymen, bids them look down with disdain on the polished and intellectual arts of Greece, and deem their arts to be

To rule the nations with imperial sway;

To spare the tribes that yield; fight down the proud ;
And force the mood of peace upon the world.

A nobler counsel breathes from the charter of our independ-
ence; a happier province belongs to our republic. Peace
we would extend, but by persuasion and example,-the
moral force, by which alone it can prevail among the
nations. Wars we may encounter, but it is in the sacred cha-
racter of the injured and the wronged; to raise the trampled
rights of humanity from the dust; to rescue the mild form
of liberty from her abode among the prisons and the scaf-
folds of the elder world, and to seat her in the chair of state
among her adoring children; to give her beauty for ashes;
a healthful action for her cruel agony; to put at last a period
to her warfare on earth; to tear her star-spangled banner
from the perilous ridges of battle, and plant it on the rock
of ages.
There be it fixed for ever,-the power of a free
people slumbering in its folds, their peace reposing in its
shade!
E. EVERETT.

102.-CLOSE OF THE SPEECH OF DANIEL WEBSTER ON THE GREEK QUESTION, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY, 1824.

The house had gone into committee of the whole, Mr. Taylor in the chair, on the resolution offered by Mr. Webster, which is in the words following:

"Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law for defraying the expense incident to the appointment of an agent, or commissioner, to Greece, whenever the president shall deem it expedient to make such appointment."

MR. CHAIRMAN,It may be asked, will this resolution do the Greeks any good? Yes, it will do them much good. It will give them courage and spirit, which is better than money. It will assure them of the public sympathy, and

will inspire them with fresh constancy. It will teach them that they are not forgotten by the civilized world, and to hope one day to occupy, in that world, an honourable station.

A farther question remains. Is this measure pacific? It has no other character. It simply proposes to make a pecuniary provision for a mission, when the president shall deem such mission expedient. It is a mere reciprocation to the sentiments of his message; it imposes upon him no new duty; it gives him no new power; it does not hasten or urge him forward; it simply provides, in an open and avowed manner, the means of doing, what would else be done out of the contingent fund. It leaves him at the most perfect liberty, and it reposes the whole matter in his sole discretion. He might do it without this resolution, as he did in the case of South America,-but it merely answers the query, whether on so great and interesting a question as the condition of the Greeks, this house holds no opinion which is worth expressing? But, suppose a commissioner is sent, the measure is pacific still. Where is the breach of neutrality? Where a just cause of offence? And besides, Mr. Chairman, is all the danger in this matter on one side? may we not inquire, whose fleets cover the Archipelago? may we not ask, what would be the result to our trade should Smyrna be blockaded? A commissioner could at least procure for us what we do not now possess-that is, authentic information of the true state of things. The document on your table exhibits a meagre appearance on this point-what does it contain? Letters of Mr. Luriottis and paragraphs from a French paper. My personal opinion is, that an agent ought immediately to be sent; but the resolution I have offered by no means goes so far.

Do gentlemen fear the result of this resolution in embroiling us with the Porte? Why, sir, how much is it ahead of the whole nation, or rather let me ask how much is the nation ahead of it? Is not this whole people already in a state of open and avowed excitement on this subject? Does not the land ring from side to side with one common sentiment of sympathy for Greece, and indignation toward her oppressors? nay, more, sir-are we not giving money to this cause? More still, sir-is not the secretary of state in open correspondence with the president of the Greek com

mittee in London? The nation has gone as far as it can go, short of an official act of hostility. This resolution adds nothing beyond what is already done-nor can any of the European governments take offence at such a measure. But if they would, should we be withheld from an honest expression of liberal feelings in the cause of freedom, for fear of giving umbrage to some member of the holy alliance? We are not, surely, yet prepared to purchase their smiles by a sacrifice of every manly principle. Dare any Christian prince even ask us not to sympathize with a Christian nation struggling against Tartar tyranny? We do not interfere we break no engagements-we violate no treaties; with the Porte we have none.

Mr. Chairman, there are some things which, to be well done, must be promptly done. If we even determine to do the thing that is now proposed, we may do it too late. Sir, I am not of those who are for withholding aid when it is most urgently needed, and when the stress is past, and the aid no longer necessary, overwhelming the sufferers with caresses. I will not stand by and see my fellow man drowning without stretching out a hand to help him, till he has by his own efforts and presence of mind reached the shore in safety, and then encumber him with aid. With suffering Greece now is the crisis of her fate,-her great, it may be, her last struggle. Sir, while we sit here deliberating, her destiny may be decided. The Greeks, contending with ruthless oppressors, turn their eyes to us, and invoke us by their ancestors, slaughtered wives and children, by their own blood, poured out like water, by the hecatombs of dead they have heaped up as it were to heaven, they invoke, they implore us for some cheering sound, some look of sympathy, some token of compassionate regard. They look to us as the great republic of the earth-and they ask us by our common faith, whether we can forget that they are struggling, as we once struggled, for what we now so happily enjoy? I cannot say, sir, that they will succeed; that rests with heaven. But for myself, sir, if I should to-morrow hear that they have failed that their last phalanx had sunk beneath the Turkish cimeter, that the flames of their last city had sunk in its ashes, and that naught remained but the wide melancholy waste where Greece once was, I should still reflect, with the most heart

felt satisfaction, that I have asked you in the name of seven millions of freemen, that you would give them at least the cheering of one friendly voice. WEBSTER.

103.-MR. POINSETT'S SPEECH ON THE SAME QUESTION.

MR. CHAIRMAN,-To view this question calmly and dispassionately as a statesman ought to do, requires us to exercise the utmost control over our feelings.

It is impossible to contemplate the contest between the Greeks and the Turks, so eloquently described by the gentleman from Massachusetts, without feeling the strongest indignation at the barbarous atrocities committed by the infidel oppressor, and the deepest interest in the cause of a brave people struggling alone, against fearful odds, to shake off the yoke of despotism.

Our sympathies are always with the oppressed-our feelings are always engaged in the cause of liberty. In favour of Greece, they are still more strongly excited by recollections, which the scholar cherishes with delight, and which are associated in our minds with every pure and exalted sentiment.

The descendants of that illustrious people, to whom we owe our arts, our sciences, and, except our religion, every thing which gives a charm to life, must command our warmest interest: but the Greeks have other claims to our sympathies. They are not only heirs of the immortal fame of their ancestors-they are the rivals of their virtues. In their heroic struggle for freedom, they have exhibited a persevering courage, a spirit of enterprise, and a contempt of danger and of suffering worthy the best days of ancient Greece. The enthusiasm and liberality manifested in their cause, by our fellow citizens throughout the union, are, in the highest degree, honourable to their feelings. As men, we must applaud their generosity, and may imitate their example. But the duty of a statesman is a stern duty. As representatives of the people, we have no right to indulge our sympathies, however noble, or to give way to our feeling, however generous. We are to regard only the policy of a measure submitted to our consideration. Our first and most important duty is, to maintain peace, whenever that

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can be done consistently with the honour and safety of the nation; and we ought to be slow to adopt any measure which might involve us in a war, except where those great interests are concerned. The gentleman disclaims any such intention. He does not believe that we run the slightest risk, by adopting the resolution on our table. He considers it as a pacific measure, and relies entirely upon the discretion of the president, to accept or reject our recommendation, as the interests of the country may require. The object of passing such a resolution can only be to give an impulse to the executive, and to induce him, by an expression of the opinion of this house, to send a commission to Greece. I have as great a reliance upon the discretion of the executive as the gentleman from Massachusetts. I believe that he would resist the suggestion of this house in favour of any measure if he thought the public interest required him to do so. But, unless we wish and expect him to act upon our recommendation, we ought not to throw upon him, alone, the responsibility of resisting the strong public feeling, which has been excited on this subject. The question for us to consider appears to me to be, whether, if the power rested with us, we would exercise it to this extent. I think we could not do so, without incurring some risk of involving the country in a war foreign to its interests. Let us suppose that these commissioners were to fall into the hands of the Turks; an event by no means impossible, in the present state of Greece-what would be their fate? The Porte has not been remarkable for its strict observance of the laws of nations, in its intercourse with the powers of Europe; and it is not probable, that such a court would be very scrupulous in its conduct toward a nation whose flag it has never acknowledged. Or, let us imagine, what is much more probable, that on the rumour of our having taken any measure in favour of Greece, the barbarous and infuriated Janissaries at Smyrna were to assassinate our consul and fellow citizens residing there; might not a war grow out of such acts? The gentleman from Massachusetts said, yesterday, that we had already taken steps, which would offend the Ottoman Porte as much as the one he proposed. Money has been freely and publicly contributed in aid of the Greeks What we have done in that respect is common to all Chris tian Europe. Large sums have been contributed for that

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