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intended to take possession of the city of New Orleans, with force and arms. To all which Burr pleaded "not guilty." The line of defence adopted by Burr's counsel was, the overthrowing of the evidence of Wilkinson, Eaton, and Truxtun. The first of these had received a letter from Burr, in cipher, which had been sent to the president as conclusive of the prisoner's guilt; and the two latter were ready to testify to Burr's determination to assassinate Mr. Jefferson, corrupt the navy, and overthrow Congress. There can be no doubt, we think, that Burr entertained some designs of the nature of those he stood charged with; but Wilkinson's testimony was looked upon as rather suspicious, for the letter in cipher was altered by him before the translation, which he swore to as correct, was made; and Mr. Eaton and Commodore Truxtun could only serve to prove an intention on the part of Burr to commit acts of treason against the United States. The prosecutors found it extremely difficult to make the overt acts they were able to establish, look like "the levying of war" against the government of the country. It could not be proved that, if the alleged overt act did take place, Burr was present and had part in it, for he happened to be hundreds of miles away, in another state, at the time specified. And Marshall, in his opinion, delivered on the 31st of August, submitted to the jury that, whether or not the assembling of the men in Blennerhasset's Island were the "levying of war," the presence of Burr, being nowhere alleged, except in the indictment, the

overt act was not proved by so much as a single witness, and consequently, all other testimony was irrelevant.

The next day, Hay stated, that he must leave the case with the jury; and a verdict was after a short time returned, which, though objected to by Burr as informal, was allowed to stand, and was in fact, Not guilty. The indictments against Burr's alleged associates in his treason, were thereupon relinquished; and Burr's second trial

came on.

The jury was impanelled on the 9th of September; the substance of the charge being, that the accused was guilty of a misdemeanor, in setting on foot a military enterprise against a foreign power, with whom the United States were at peace. After the prosecution had examined some of their witnesses, and the court had decided that the testimony of others was not relevant, Hay moved that the jury should be discharged. But Burr, who was fully sensible of the advantage he had gained, insisted upon a verdict: and as the court agreed that the jury could not be discharged without the consent of the accused, and that they must give a verdict, they retired, and soon returned and pronounced him "Not guilty."

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This was on the 15th of September; but the whole matter was once more examined, and in the course of it, (so Burr wrote to his daughter,) Wilkinson "acknowledged, very modestly, that he had made certain alterations in the letter received from me, by erasures, etc., and then swore it to be a true copy." And the issue was a committal of Burr

CH. IV.]

SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF BURR.

and Blennerhasset for trial in the District of Ohio, upon the old charges. They gave bail for their appearance, and were set at liberty; but after all, they were never tried, having forfeited their recognizances. The other trials all came to naught; only one of the so-called conspirators was brought in guilty, and he only of a misdemeanor. Although the chief justice had recommitted Burr, Mr. Hay advised that all further prosecution be desisted from, as not likely to attain the end of convicting the guilty. No one doubted that Burr was, to a greater or less extent, a criminal; and the conduct and decision of the chief justice was severely commented upon by those who thought that he was bound to accomplish a very different result from that to which the trial was brought.* Burr soon after sailed for England, and his name and character were consigned to infamy. "An exile from his country, he wandered in poverty, a stranger in other

1807.

* "Why did you not tell Judge Marshall that the people of America demanded a conviction ?" was the question put to Mr. Wirt after the trial. "Tell him that!" was the reply, "I would as soon have gone to Herschel, and told him that the people of America insisted that the moon had horns as a reason why he should draw her with them."

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lands; and when at last he returned to his own, it was to encounter the harder calamity of being treated as a stranger among his own countrymen, With the recklessness produced by a present which had no comfort, and a future which promised no hope, he surrendered himself without shame to the grovelling propensities which had formed his first step on the road to ruin, until at last, overcome by disease, in the decay of a worn-out body, and the imbecility of a much abased mind, he lay a shattered wreck of humanity, just entering upon eternity, with not enough of man left about him to make a Christian of. Ruined in fortune, and rotten in reputation, thus passed from the busy scene one who might have been a glorious actor in it; and when he was laid in the grave, decency congratulated itself that a nuisance was removed, and good men were glad that God had seen fit to deliver society from the contaminating contact of a festering mass of moral putrefaction.*

* See the "New York Review," for January, 1838, p. 212. The reader will find it useful to compare this scathing review of Burr's life and career, with the life of the same prominent actor in our political history, by Mr. Matthew L. Davis.

it to the Senate

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CHAPTER V.

1807-1809.

CLOSE OF JEFFERSON'S PRESIDENCY.

Mi. Jefferson's gunboat system— His message on the subject - Boats ordered to be built-Law respecting the abo lition of the slave-trade-State of relations with England - Napoleon's "continental system" - England's “Orders in Council" - Treaty with England concluded by Monroe and Pinckney - The president refuses to submit - Censured for his course-Attempted renewal of negotiations-Assault on the Chesapeake by the Leopard-The president's proclamation on the subject ―The result-Congress meets in October, 1807 -Substance of the president's message-Action of the House - Embargo recommended and passed in December, 1807-Denounced by the federalists - Views and policy of France-" Orders in Council" of November 11th, 1807.- Napoleon's "Milan Decree”- Effects upon the commerce of the United States - Mr. Rose sent as minister to Washington - Accomplishes nothing - Papers sent in by the president to Congress - Report of the committee Action of Congress - Discussion as to who should succeed Jefferson-Madison and Clinton the republican, C. C. Pinckney and King the federalist candidates - The embargo question and results—Mr. Tucker's remarks- Efforts of ministers at London and Paris-Congress meets in November, 1808 - The president's last message-Its contents-Results of the election — The debates, reports, etc., respecting the embargo — The enforcing act-The embargo repealed-J. Q. Adams's statements as to movements in New England against the Union End of Mr. Jefferson's administration - Address of legislature of Virginia to him- Mr. Jefferson's true position in our history. APPENDIX TO CHAPTER V. John Quincy Adams's remarks on Jefferson's administration.

1807.

NOTWITHSTANDING Mr. Jefferson's | we are told, "was vehemently assailed popularity, and the decided majority which the republicans possessed in Congress, there was a strong disposition manifested not to accede further to his favorite scheme of increasing the gunboats; and early in the year 1807, a resolution was passed calling on him for information as to the efficacy of gunboats in protecting harbors, together with the number wanted for the several ports.

by the president's adversaries, (1803,) in every form of argument and ridicule, and was triumphantly adduced as a further proof that he was not a practical statesman. The officers of the navy were believed to be, with scarcely an exception, opposed to the system of gunboats; especially those who were assigned to this service; partly because it was found to be personally very uncomfortable, and yet more perhaps, beWe have, on a previous page (see cause the power they wielded was so p. 64,) referred to Mr. Tucker's de- inferior, and their command so insigfence of the plan proposed by the pres-nificant, compared with that to which ident. He has said all, probably, that they had been familiarized. It was can be said on that side of the ques-like compelling a proud man to give tion; but, as is evident, with very par- up a fine, richly caparisoned charger, tial success. The gunboat scheme, as for a pair of panniers and a donkey.

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To stem the current of public opinion, which, so far as it was manifested, set so strong against these gunboats, and to turn it in their favor, Mr. Jefferson prevailed on Paine, who had, since his return, been addressing the people of the United States on various topics through the newspapers, to become their advocate. He set about it with his wonted self-confidence, and real talent in enforcing his views, and proceeded to show that a gun from a gunboat would do the same execution as from a seventy-four, and cost no more, perhaps less; but that a ship, carrying seventy-four guns, could bring only one half to bear upon the enemy at once; whereas, if they were distributed among seventy-four boats, they would all be equally effective at once. In spite of this logic, the public, pinning its faith on experienced men, remained incredulous; and when, soon afterwards, many of the new marine were driven ashore in a tempest, or were otherwise destroyed, no one seemed to regard their loss as a misfortune, and the officers of the navy did not affect to conceal their satisfaction; nor has any attempt been since made to replace them."

Having been called upon, as above stated, to furnish some proof of the efficacy of gunboats in protecting the harbors of the country, the president, on the 10th of February, sent a message to Congress on this subject. He stated, that the proposed mode of defence combined, 1. Land batteries, furnished with heavy cannon. 2. Movable artillery. 3. Floating batteries. 4. Gunboats to oppose an enemy at his entrance, and to co-op

1805.

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erate with the batteries for his expulsion; that professional men in the army and navy favored the plan; and that gunboats are in general use among maritime nations for the purposes of defence, in proof of which several examples are cited. The president further stated, that two hundred gunboats would be required for the various harbors; that some of these would be of a size large enough to go out to sea if required: that seventy-three were already built or building, and the remaining one hundred and twenty-seven would cost from $500,000 to $600,000. Suggesting that only a few of these would be needed in times of peace, and that it was altogether a very economical arrangement, he concluded his message in the following terms: "It must be superfluous to observe, that this species of naval armament is proposed merely for defensive operations: that it can have but little effect towards protecting our commerce in the open seas, even on our coast; and still less can it become an excitement to engage in offensive maritime war, towards which it would furnish no means.'

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An appropriation was subsequently made, by a vote of sixty-eight to thirtysix, of $150,000, for the purpose of building thirty gunboats. At the next Congress, in December, a law was passed

* Sullivan, who represents the views of the federalists, speaking of the gunboats, says, they "were fit for nothing but to destroy the lives of those who at tempted to navigate them. A small boat with one great gun mounted in its bows, was well adapted to roll over in a heavy sea; and so it proved on actual

experiment, and Mr. Jefferson's gunboats have long been abandoned; and even he seems to have been convinced of the folly of the invention."

tion in the president's message, (see p. 79,) Congress during the present session, passed a law prohibiting 1807. the African slave-trade, after the 1st of January, 1808, under very severe penalties. The debate was protracted to an unusual length, and gave rise to great and unwonted excitement among the members. There was a very general disposition in favor of the prohibition, but in regard to the details great contrarieties of opinion existed. Early in March, the debate was brought to a close, and the substance of the law as passed, was briefly as follows: a fine of $20,000, with forfeiture of the vessel, forbade the regular trade; and one of $5,000, with forfeiture of the vessel likewise, forbade the engaging in the traffic casually. Importation and sale were to be punished by fine, not below $1,000 nor above $10,000, and impris onment varying between five and ten years. A fine of $800 was to be laid on the purchaser, who should know that the slave was imported contrary to this act. The states severally were to dis pose of such slaves. And to prevent contraband trade, by means of the coasting vessels, it was enacted, that each coaster should have entered in its papers full descriptions of all slaves on board for transport, under penalty of heavy fine and forfeiture. Other regulations tended in the same direction, but the question of slavery itself was left untouched. It deserves, however In accordance with the recommenda- to be noted here, as a matter of justice to our country, that this action of Con

which authorized the construction of one hundred and eighty-eight gunboats, in addition to those already built; which would raise the total number of vessels of this description in the navy, to two hundred and fifty-seven.* "This was the development of the much-condemned 'gunboat system,' which," as Mr. Cooper justly remarks, "for a short time, threatened destruction to the pride, discipline, tone, and even morals of the service. There can be no question, that, in certain circumstances, vessels of this nature may be particularly useful; but these circumstances are of rare occurrence, as they are almost always connected with attacks on towns and harbors. As the policy is now abandoned, it is unnecessary to point out the details by which it is rendered particularly unsuitable to this country; though there is one governing principle that may be mentioned, which, of itself, demonstrates its unfitness. The American coast has an extent of near two thousand miles, and to protect it by means of gunboats, even admitting the practicability of the method, must involve an expenditure sufficient to create a movable force in ships, that would not only answer all the same purposes of defence, but which would possess the additional advantage of acting, at need, offensively. In other words, it was entailing on the country the cost of an efficient marine, without enjoying its advantages."+

* See Benton's "Abridgement of the Debates of gress was in advance of that taken by

Congress," vol. iii., pp. 625–40.

+ Cooper's "Naval History," vol. ii., pp. 23-24.

any other nation in the civilized world, and that, though we may be reproaclied

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