p1  Chapter I
Cession of Louisiana to the United States —
Formation of the Territorial Government of Orleans —
Feelings of the Inhabitants — Debates in Congress.
1803‑1804.

On the 20th of December, 1803, the colony of Louisiana had passed from the domination of Spain into that of the United States of America, to which it was delivered by France after a short possession of twenty days, as I have related in a former work.​1 Its inhabitants, of French or Spanish descent, and almost all the ornamenters who resided in the province, either permanently or temporarily, were discontented and gloomy. To them the change of government, or nationality, was extremely distasteful, for reasons as various as the habits, tastes, prejudices, passions, disappointments and hopes of each individual. A few Americans, who were almost lost in the vast numerical superiority of the rest of the population, and who had just expectations to profit, in every way, by the great event of the cession, were alone to feel and to manifest any degree of exultation. The immediate  p2 effect of that cession was to vest all the powers of the defunct government (a sort of Gallic and Spanish hybrid) in Governor Claiborne, until Congress should legislate on the organization of the government of the new territory. Thus this officer, as he informed the inhabitants in a set proclamation, had suddenly become the Governor-General and the Intendant of Louisiana, uniting in his person all the authority severally possessed by those two functionaries under the despotic government of Spain. Well might he be astonished at the strange position in which he was placed; for he, a republican magistrate, found himself transformed into an absolute proconsul, in whom centered all the executive, judicial and legislative authority lately exercised, in their respective capacity, by the superseded Spanish dignitaries. Moreover, he was to wield those extraordinary powers in maintaining and enforcing the laws and municipal regulations of Spain, which were to remain in vigor until modified by the Government of the United States, and of which he was entirely ignorant. Not only were they unknown to him, but they were written in a language with which he was not acquainted, and they were thoroughly impregnated with a spirit completely foreign to his inclinations — to the atmosphere in which he was born and had grown up to manhood — and to the very moral and political training of his mind. Besides, he was to construe and to execute these laws in their application or adjustment to the wants of a population of which he knew nothing. These were circumstances which could not but startle him by their novelty, and by the danger with which they were fraught. Surely it is not to be wondered at, if the colonists looked at their new ruler with a jealous eye, and if they awaited with nervous apprehension the course which he was to pursue. He himself must have felt that his situation was such as to require that he should  p3 tax to the utmost all the knowledge, talent, sagacity, prudence and firmness which he might possess, and that no time was to be lost in his giving a decided manifestation of his being gifted with these qualifications.

His first measure was to organize the judiciary, and he established, on the 30th of December, 1803, a Court of Pleas, composed of seven justices. Their civil jurisdiction was limited in cases not exceeding in value three thousand dollars, with the right of appeal to the Governor, when the amount in litigation rose above five hundred dollars. That tribunal was also vested with jurisdiction over all criminal cases in which the punishment did not exceed two hundred dollars and sixty days' imprisonment. Each of those seven justices was clothed, individually, with summary jurisdiction over all debts under one hundred dollars, reserving to the parties an appeal to the Court of Pleas, that is, to the seven justices, sitting together in one court.

In confirmation of what I have written on the discontent existing among those whose allegiance was now to be claimed by the United States, I quote Judge Martin's views on the same subject, as expressed in his History of Louisiana. "The people of Louisiana, especially in New Orleans," says this learned jurist, who came to the territory shortly after the cession, "were greatly dissatisfied at the new order of things. They complained that the person whom Congress had sent to preside over them was an utter stranger to their laws, manners and language; and had no personal interest in the prosperity of the country — that he was incessantly surrounded by newcomers from the United States, to whom he gave a decided preference over the Creoles and European French in the distribution of offices — that in the new Court of Pleas, most of the judges of which were ignorant of the laws and language of the country, proceedings were carried  p4 on in the English language, which Claiborne had lately attempted to introduce in the proceedings of the municipal body, and that the suitors were in an equally disadvantageous situation in the Court of the Last Resort, in which he sat as sole judge, not attended, as the Spanish Governors were, by a legal adviser. That the errors in which he could not but help falling​2 were without redress. They urged that, under the former government, an appeal lay from the Governor's decision to the Captain-General of Cuba, from thence to the Royal Audience in that island, and in many cases from thence to the Council of the Indies at Madrid." Thus Claiborne was at the same time the Governor, the intendant and the supreme judge of Louisiana. There could not be under the sun a more perfect despotism.

It is true that this state of things did not last beyond the time which was strictly necessary for Congress to modify it. On the 26th of March, 1804, an act was passed to organize the newly acquired province, and to divide it into two parts: the one called "Territory of Orleans," and the other "District of Louisiana," and their executive, judicial and legislative organization was provided for.​3 But that act was so framed that it proved to be a fresh source of discontent, instead of a healing ointment on festering wounds. The severing of Louisiana into two distinct fragments turned out to be a very unpopular measure, and was keenly resented by the old population. It had always been a unit in the hands of France and Spain. Now that it was relieved from the burden of its colonial vassalage, and was promised the speedy possession of sovereignty, it would not have been affected, in the opinion of the Louisianians, with  p5 this odious partition, which was evidently destined, they thought, to diminish their importance, and to retard the advent of that sovereignty which had become the object of their desires. They maintained that Congress had no right to curtail Louisiana of the magnificent proportions which it possessed when ceded, and that it was with those proportions, and not in a state of mutilation, that it was to be received into the Confederacy, as soon as possible, according to the very terms of the treaty of cession.

The Louisianians, who had objected to the immense power possessed by Claiborne as Governor, intendant and judge in the last resort, did not think that a sufficient guarantee had been given to them by the slight change made in the recent act of Congress for the organization of the Territory. Thus, by that act, the Supreme Court had been made to consist of three judges, it is true, but one of them was sufficient to constitute the court; so that, according to circumstances, the change might amount only to this: that one man, called "Judge," could dispossess them of their property, tarnish their honor, and hang them at will, instead of the man formerly called "Governor."

There was another feature in that act which was exceedingly unpalatable. It was the prohibition to import slaves, except by those American citizens who should come to settle in good faith in the Territory, with such slaves as they owned in their former domicile. This was looked upon as a blow purposely aimed at the old inhabitants, who, by such legislation, were deprived of the means of increasing that manual labor which was so much needed for the development of their resources. It may not be amiss to state that a Convention "for promoting the abolition of slavery and improving the condition of the African race," had assembled at Philadelphia  p6 on the 13th of January, and had called, through "resolutions," submitted to Congress on the 26th of that month, the attention of that body "to the utility and propriety of passing such laws as should prohibit the importation of slaves into the Territory of Orleans." They appealed to the solemn declaration made by the United States, that "all men were born free and equal," and hence they argued, "that our Government could not authorize man to enslave unoffending man." Such was their language. They also urged other magniloquent considerations which have become familiar to the American mind, from the persevering zeal with which they have ever since been pressed into the service of ambitious demagogues, according to the different views taken of the subject by their respective friends and supporters. Be it as it may, on this occasion, the importation of slaves was partially prohibited in conformity with the wishes of the petitioners against slavery. The Louisianians were greatly mortified. They thought that it was an encouragement to further interference, and some predicted that it was but an entering-wedge.

There was also in that act a provision which excited the ire of the former colonists. It was one which declared that certain concessions of lands made by the Spanish Government were "null and void." This was considered as a demonstration of hostility, and as a threatening indication that something else would soon be forthcoming in violation of what the Louisianians believed to be their rights and privileges. An intense anxiety was produced by the authority granted to the President of the United States to appoint "Registers and Recorders of Land Titles," who were to receive and to record all titles acquired under the Spanish and French Governments, and also commissioned to take  p7 cognizance of all claims to land, and to decide on them in a summary way, and with such proceedings as they might deem best to adopt — which proceedings and decisions were to be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury, and laid before Congress for their final judgment. The people thought that this was a complicated machinery to dispossess them of all their broad and fertile acres. They trembled at the consequences which they foresaw — such as arbitrary spoliations, or ruinous litigation, with an endless train of troubles and vexations which were dolefully predicted to them by this who pretended to read the dark pages of futurity.

Such was the state of feelings which prevailed among the former subjects of Spain and France, when the Colonial Prefect Laussat, who had been the agent of France in delivering the territory to the United States, and who had remained in it several months after the cession, departed for the island of Martinique, not without having addressed to his Government some interesting observations, which show that he sagaciously appreciated, to a certain extent at least, some of the results which were to follow from the cession, at no distant time. "The Americans," he said, "have given fifteen millions of dollars for Louisiana; they would have given fifty, rather than not possess it. They will receive one million of dollars for duties at the custom-house in New Orleans during the present year, — a sum exceeding the interest of the money they have paid for the acquisition, without taking into the consideration the value of the very great quantity of vacant lands. As to the twelve years during which our vessels are to be received on the footing of national ones, they present but an illusive prospect, considering the war,​4 and the impossibility of our being able to enter into competition with their merchantmen. Besides, all will  p8 in a short time turn to the advantage of English manufacturers, on account of the great facility which this place will exclusively enjoy, from its situation, to supply the Spanish colonies as far as the Equator. In a few years, the country, as far as Rio Bravo, will be in a state of cultivation. New Orleans will then have a population of about thirty to fifty thousand souls; and the new territory will produce sugar enough for the supply of North America and part of Europe. Let us not blind ourselves; in a few years the existing prejudices will be worn off; the inhabitants will gradually become Americans by the introduction of native Americans and Englishmen — a system already begun. Many of the present inhabitants will leave the country in disgust; those who have large fortunes will retire to the mother-country; a great proportion will remove into the Spanish settlements, and the remaining few will be lost among the new-comers. Should no fortunate amelioration of political events intervene, what a magnificent New France have we lost! The Creoles and French established here unite in favor of France, and cannot be persuaded that the convention for the cession of Louisiana is anything but a political trick; they think that it will return under the dominion of France."​5 It is important to remark, for the better understanding of the history of Louisiana, in its future developments, that the representative of France seemed to admit the possibility of what he mysteriously and quaintly called "the intervention of a fortunate amelioration of political events," by which the territory which his country had reluctantly relinquished might be recovered, and that the Creoles and the European French remaining in that territory thought that the cession was a "political trick," and that they would return "under the dominion of France."

 p9  Before his departure, Laussat caused to be distributed among such of the inhabitants of Louisiana as had shown themselves most zealous in favor of the French Government, as a feeble testimonial of the satisfaction and goodwill of that Government, seven hundred and sixty-five pounds of powder, which, "being French," he said, "was much appreciated by the inhabitants, who are ardent sportsmen."6

In another dispatch, he gives the most graphic description of the condition in which he leaves the ceded province, and comments harshly on the organization of the territorial government, which was to go into operation on the 1st of October, in compliance with the act of Congress passed on the 26th of March. He also reflects in no measured terms on the blunders which he attributes to the new proprietors of Louisiana, in taking possession of their magnificent acquisition.

Laussat further speaks of the excitement as being so intense, that, at night, placards, in which insurrection was openly preached, were put up at all the corners of the streets. Crowds gathered round and copied them, preventing also their being torn away. Even public officers who attempted it were driven off. In the country, particularly  p12 in the districts of the Attakapas and of the Opelousas, which were the most populous, and which, says Laussat,

He then asserts that the animosity which prevailed at the time against the Government of the United States would soon die away, unless unskillfully kept alive by the faults of the Administration.

To those who may become familiar with what I have related in my work on the "Spanish Domination in Louisiana,"​a and in the preceding pages, and with what I shall recite in the sequel of this history, the famous Burr conspiracy, which was to convulse the public mind two years after, and which has remained to this day a mooted mystery, may not appear an altogether baseless fabric. General Wilkinson, who was destined to act in its a conspicuous part, and who had been commissioned, jointly with Claiborne, to take possession of Louisiana, departed a short time after Laussat, and sailed for New York, leaving the few companies of the United States troops which he had brought with him, distributed at  p15 the following points: New Orleans, Natchitoches,º Pointe Coupee and Fort Adams.

Nothing is more apt to produce discontent in any community than the want of a circulating medium; and where discontent exists from any other sources, nothing is more powerful in contributing to bring it to its climax than this very cause. So it was in Louisiana at that time. The distress in the province had become very great from the scarcity of money. The flow of silver from Vera Cruz, which was so refreshing under the Spanish Government, had ceased with the change of dominion, and Spain showed no prompt disposition to redeem a large quantity of paper which she had set afloat in the late colony under the name of "liberanzas," and which had fallen into considerable depreciation. It became necessary to find a remedy for the evil, and Claiborne sought it in the establishment of a bank styled "The Louisiana Bank," with a capital which was susceptible of extension to two millions of dollars. Were the people pleased? Not in the least. On the contrary, this measure excited lively apprehensions. A Bank! Such an institution was entirely new to them. Many thought that it would turn out to be nothing else than legalized robbery. Was it not to issue paper money, and had they not already greatly suffered from the depreciation of French and Spanish paper? What better results could be expected from American paper? They believed it to be the renewal of what the "assignats" had been in the worst times of the French republic. Hence the general impression was, that the country would be ultimately ruined, rather than benefited, by the newly devised plan of relief.

The militia, which was quite a respectable corps under the Spanish Government — which Laussat had partially, and with considerable difficulty, succeeded in keeping  p16 together — and which Claiborne had been attempting to retain in existence, had at last become entirely disorganized. On the other hand, most of the individuals who were flocking from all parts of the United States, had eagerly formed themselves into companies of various denominations, under the cheerfully granted patronage of Claiborne, who hoped that it would stimulate some of the natives to enroll themselves. But such was not the case. They stood apart, and looked with sullen displeasure on the new military associations, of which they were keenly jealous. Resenting the conduct of the late colonists, the Americans showed perhaps a want of policy in parading, more than was necessary, through the streets of New Orleans, with ostentatious display, and with what was thought to be an expression of defiance. The dissatisfaction was increased, a more marked estrangement from the new order of things ensued, and a line still more distinct was drawn between the two populations.

But these causes of discontent paled before those which arose from the 4th section of the act providing for the temporary government of the Territory of Orleans. By that section they were flatly denied any participation whatever in that government, as the members of their Legislative Council were to be annually selected by the President, and as all the other civil and military officers were to be appointed either by the President or by the Governor, who were authorized to choose them, if they should deem it advisable, from among those who had resided only one year in the province, and who were utter strangers to the old population.​12 Thus it is seen that Congress was then very far from suspecting that there could exist any sovereignty whatever in  p17 territories, not even that squatter sovereignty which has since become so famous in the vocabulary of politicians.

At last, the dissatisfaction rose to such a pitch that it manifested itself in open and public acts. In the name of some of the most influential merchants of the city and of the wealthiest and most respected planters in its neighborhood, a public meeting was called for the 1st of June, in which it was unanimously determined to apply to Congress for the repeal of so much of their late act as related to the partition of Louisiana and the restriction on the importation of slaves. It was further resolved to ask for the immediate admission of Louisiana, in its original entirety, into the Union, in accordance with what was deemed the obvious intention of the treaty of cession. A committee was appointed to prepare and submit to the next public meeting the draft of a memorial to Congress. That committee was composed of Jones and Livingston, Americans, Pitot, a Frenchman, and Petit, a Creole. The second meeting, which was held in the beginning of July, was much more numerous than the first, and an enthusiastic approval was given to the report of the committee. Twelve individuals were chosen to circulate copies of it in the parishes and to procure the signatures of the most notable inhabitants, without forgetting, at the same time, to collect voluntary contributions for paying the expenses of the deputies who were to be sent to Washington City with their list of grievances and their memorial for redress. The last and third meeting took place on the 18th of July. A deputation of three was resolved upon, and its members were: Derbigny and Sauvé, European French, and Destréhan, a native of Louisiana. It is evident that, in this choice, the Louisianians were guided more by their sense of outraged dignity and violated rights, than by prudential considerations of policy. Violent prejudices  p18 were to be removed; and in order to obtain this object, three deputies, with French habits, French minds and a French tongue, could not be called a judicious selection.

In the mean time, if the inhabitants below Manchac, and on the right bank of the Mississippi, were adverse to the change which had taken place in their destinies by the transfer of their allegiance from the French flag to the flag of the United States, the population of that district included in the present parishes of West and East Feliciana and of East Baton Rouge, being of English descent, and composed of settlers who had originally come from the old Thirteen States, were extremely anxious for annexation to the kindred race from which they had been severed, as Spain still retained possession of the territory in which they lived, and refused to acknowledge that it was comprehended within the cession. They were incensed at the omission, on the part of the commissioners of the United States, to claim them as an integral portion of the recent acquisition, and at their abstaining to enforce that claim by physical means if necessary. In the hope of giving a pretext for an intervention in their behalf, or under the belief that they could achieve for themselves the liberation which they desired, they raised the standard of revolt against the Spanish authorities; they assembled to the number of about two hundred men, and resolved to attack the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge. But it was an ill-concreted scheme; some disagreement took place among the leaders, who had to give up the enterprise, and who took refuge across the line in the Mississippi territory. Such of their followers as relied for protection on their obscurity, or insignificancy, returned peacefully to their respective homes.13

 p19  This insurrection had been preceded by one which had been headed by Kemper, one of the most redoubtable enemies of the Spaniards. To compel the release of some of his friends imprisoned by the Government which he hated, he had seized the persons of Don Vincente Pintado, a militia captain, and of the Alcalde Juan Ocono, and was threatening to attack the fort at Baton Rouge. Order was restored without bloodshed by the prudence and firmness of the ex-governor of Louisiana, Marquis of Casa Calvo, who was still lingering in the territory, and who sent troops and an armed vessel to the seat of these disturbances.14

On the 1st of October, the territorial government which had been decreed by the act of Congress of the 26th of March, went into operation, with Claiborne as Governor, and Brown as Secretary.

Boré, Bellechasse, Cantrelle, Clark, De Buys, Dow, Jones, Kenner, Morgan, Poydras, Roman, Watkins and Wikoff had been appointed members of the Legislative Council by the President.

Duponceau, a Frenchman, who subsequently obtained great celebrity in Philadelphia as a jurist, Kirby, and Prevost, a stepson, I believe, of Vice-President Aaron Burr, were appointed Judges of the Superior Court. D. Hall, an Englishman by birth, was commissioned District Judge of the United States, with Mahlon Dickens as District Attorney, and Lebreton D'Orgenoy as Marshal. Duponceau declined, Kirby died, and Prevost opened the first territorial court, alone, on the 9th of November.

 p20  Boré, Bellechasse, Jones and Clark had been the leaders of the opposition which had arisen in the territory; they had acted the most conspicuous part in the meetings of the inhabitants; they had been the most zealous in stimulating their fellow-citizens to remonstrate against the form of government which had been forced upon them; they could not, therefore, with any consistency, aid in establishing that very government against which they had protested, and they declined accepting the proffered seats in the Legislative Council. On the 8th of October, Jones wrote on the subject to Governor Claiborne a very spirited letter, in which he said "I cannot accept of any office under a law of which I have, from the beginning, so openly expressed my disapprobation, and which, for the happiness of my fellow-citizens, forgive me if I add, for the honor of my native country, I ardently wish to be annulled.

"When calm reflection shall have taken the place of passion and of party spirit, I flatter myself that my conduct on the present occasion will be approved. I was born an American. I glory in the name. In defence of that happy land which gave me birth my life and my fortune shall always be staked, but I cannot consent, for any consideration, to do an act which I think subversive of the rights and liberties of my fellow-citizens."

Their refusal to take their seats, on the part of these gentlemen, had considerable influence on the other members, who held back in dubious suspense, without declining, but without accepting. Two months nearly elapsed, and no council could be formed, notwithstanding the incessant efforts of Claiborne to soothe and conciliate the refractory tempers he had to deal with. What was to be done in this perplexing emergency? It happened that the President, not knowing the first names of the persons whom he had selected, had contented himself  p21 with designating them by their surnames, and had sent blank commissions to be filled on the spot. Claiborne, thinking himself authorized by the necessity of the case, and anxious to avoid the mischief which would have resulted from further delay, assumed the responsibility of appointing Dorcière, Flood, Mather and Pollock in the place of the four gentlemen who had declined the President's appointment.​15 In this way a mere quorum was obtained on the 4th of December.16

The Territory was divided by the Legislative Council into twelve counties, with an Inferior Court for each, composed of one judge, and the practice therein was provided for, as well as in the Superior Court. Suits were to be instituted by a petition in the form of a bill in chancery. These words, "A bill in Chancery," grated strangely on the ears of the old inhabitants of Louisiana. What was meant by chancery? What was a bill in chancery? The attempt to enlighten them on the subject would have been ludicrously futile; hardly any one would have understood the explanation, and no explanation or instruction was sought, or given. The definition of crimes and the mode of prosecution in criminal cases, according to the common law of England,  p22 were adopted, and were not more intelligible to the people. Common Law! What was it? They were told that it was "unwritten law." Unwritten law! That, indeed, was something new under the sun for those who had always been governed by precise laws, regulations and ordinances! How could law be unwritten? Where was it to be found? They were answered, it "that law which draws its binding force from immemorial usage and universal reception in England." Is it to be wondered at if they shook their heads in utter bewilderment? But when it was added, for a clearer elucidation of the matter, that they might, if they pleased, take it to be "a bodyº of rules, principles and customs, which derived their authority and sanctity from their filtration for centuries through the thick strata of successive British generations, and which, originating in natural justice and equity, or local customs, were only to be evidenced by the records of judicial decisions scattered through hundreds of volumes written in a language which they did not comprehend, the only distinct impression which such an explanation left on their minds was, that the common law was the most unfathomable of all laws, and some mysterious and complicated engine of oppression, which would certainly be used to their detriment. They much better understood the provision which was made for the inspection of flour, pork and beef. They also understood the charter of incorporation which was given to the city of New Orleans, and other acts relating to the formation of a public library and to the establishment of navigation and insurance companies. The creation of a university, which was intrusted with the locating of schools in each county, was all within their comprehension; but as no appropriation of funds was made for those seminaries of learning, the people were sadly puzzled to discover how the views of the Legislature were to be  p23 carried into execution for the education of their children. Some may have thought that the "Common Law," in its amplitude, had provided for the statutory omission, and that some relief for the projected schools might be found in a "chancery bill." But vain was the hope, if it ever existed; and this first attempt to educate the population proved an absolute failure.

The Council adjourned in February, 1805, after having appointed a committee to prepare a civil and a criminal code, with the assistance of two professional men, for whose remuneration five thousand dollars were appropriated. A moderate remuneration for such a work, if worthily done!

After this sketch of the proceedings of the Council, it will not be out of place to make a rapid review of the acts of the Governor. As before stated, the new territorial organization went into operation on the 1st of October, and Claiborne was sworn into office​17 on the 3d of that month, by Pitot, mayor of the city. On that very day, giving information of the fact to Mr. Madison, Secretary of State, he said, "Mr. Brown, Secretary of the Territory, is at Natchez, and does not propose adventuring into New Orleans until about the close of this month; and I think this is a very wise precaution, for the city is not yet free from that dreadful scourge, the yellow fever." In the proclamation which he issued a few days after, to convene the Legislature, he used this language: "In the course of my late administration, which, from a variety of circumstances, was accompanied with peculiar difficulties, I received from the officers, civil and military, a zealous and able co-operation in all measures for the public good, and from the people in general an indulgence and support which encouraged harmony and insured  p24 the supremacy of the law." This document must have been very acceptable to the Louisianians, for it put them in possession of a direct official contradiction, proceeding from the best and most authentic source, of those offensive suppositions and apprehensions which had been entertained against them by that Congress who had voted the odious territorial organization to which they were to be subjected after the 1st of October.

On the 18th of August, Mr. Madison had written to Claiborne​18 that the continuance and conduct of the Spanish officers at New Orleans justly excited attention; that, in every view, it was desirable that those foreigners should be no longer in a situation to affront the authority of the United States, or to mingle by their intrigues in the affairs of the Territory; and that the 1st of October, the day fixed for the inauguration of the territorial government, would be an epoch which might be used for letting it to be understood that their stay, so much beyond the right and the occasion for it, was not seen with approbation, leaving the mode and manner of the intimation to the discreet judgment of the Governor. In answer to this communication, Claiborne wrote on the 5th of October: "There is no doubt with me but that the Spanish officers encourage the discontents which arise here," and on the 9th he hastened​19 to communicate to the Marquis of Casa Calvo the instructions he had received from the Secretary of State in relation to his desired departure and that of his followers.

An able pamphlet,​20 written in French, and entitled  p25 "A Sketch of the Political and Civil Situation of Louisiana from the 30th of November, 1803, to the 1st of October, 1804, by a Louisianian," had been widely circulated, and had produced so great a sensation, that Claiborne thought it of sufficient importance to make it the subject of a special communication to Mr. Madison. This pamphlet contained an almost complete review of the grievances of which the Louisianians complained, and the tone of moderation and conviction in which it was conceived added to its force and effect. It attacked unsparingly the conduct of the American Government, and some of the acts of Claiborne. But, at the same time, it spoke respectfully of that magistrate's character, and rendered unequivocal justice to his integrity and to the purity of his intentions. This is the more remarkable, from the fact that the excitement then prevailing among all the classes of that population for whose perusal it was intended, had been carried to its utmost point of intensity. Claiborne's communication​21 to Madison is an elaborate vindication of himself against the charges specified in the pamphlet, and if not a refutation, it is at least a positive denial of many of the assertions contained in it, and in a document of which, however, he was ignorant, — that is, the dispatch of Laussat to the French Government on the state of the late colony, and which is inserted in the preceding pages. Claiborne's defence seems imbued with the spirit of a man who is conscious of having done nothing but what was right; and in perusing it, the reader can hardly refrain from coming to the conclusion that the Governor, whether correct or not in his views, was at least in earnest, and believed every line which he wrote.

On the 19th of October, as an instance of the inflammable  p26 temper of the population, Claiborne informed Madison that a private affair — the caning of a Frenchman in the street by an Englishman — had nearly produced a very serious affray, in which the Americans had sided with the Englishman, and the French or those of French extraction with his adversary. "This city," he said, "requires a strict police; the inhabitants are of various descriptions, many highly respectable, and some of them very degenerate. Great exertions have been made (and with too much success) to foment differences between the native Americans and the native Louisianians — every incident is laid hold of to widen the breach, and to excite jealousy and confusion — the intrigues of certain late emigrants from France, and some of the satellites of the Spanish Government, have tended considerably to heighten the discontents in this quarter. Everything in my power has been done to counteract these intrigues, but with little success. The fact is, that the affections of many of the Louisianians for their mother-country are warm, and others seem attached to the Spanish Government. I have to complain also of some of the native Americans; they are rash, and very imprudent. The newspaper publications likewise add to my embarrassments; they give inquietude to the Louisianians and trouble to me. The present state of things here mortifies me excessively, but I hope that good order will be preserved, and harmony soon restored. These objects shall constitute my first and greatest cares."

Another of his communications to the Secretary of State at Washington, dated on the 26th of the same month, contains these sagacious observations: "Although there has been much discontent manifested in New Orleans and its vicinity, yet I do not believe that the disaffection is of a serious nature, or that it is extensive. That some difficulty should attend the introduction  p27 of American government and laws, was to have been expected. On every change of dominion, discontents, more or less, invariably ensue; and, when we take into view the various and rapid transitions and transfers which have taken place in this territory, we may indeed felicitate ourselves on the great share of good order which has been preserved. The most arbitrary governments find advocates, and the most unprincipled despot is seldom without friends. When despotism reigns, silence (produced by fear) is received as the test of contentment, and a tame submission to injustice as proof of the public sanction. Had an administration, rigid, coercive and unjust, been introduced into the ceded territory, under the authority of the United States, I am persuaded there would have been less murmuring, and a delusive appearance of popular approbation. But under a mild and just government, which admits of freedom of speech and of opinion, the man, indeed, must be little acquainted with human nature who would expect to find in Louisiana union in expression and sentiment."

On the next day, in another communication which he intended to be in justification of his course of administration, he observed: "My object has been to avail the public of the services of the well-informed and deserving citizens, and as there are many native Americans of this description residing in Louisiana, it ought not to be a matter of surprise that some of them should have received offices. The ancient Louisianians hold as many appointments as their numbers and qualifications entitle them to, and therefore they ought not to complain."

On the 3d of November, Claiborne received the information that a vessel, with near two hundred Frenchmen on board, who had been prisoners of war to the British Government, but who had successfully risen against their captors on the high seas, had entered the  p28 Mississippi, with the design of coming up to New Orleans with their prize.​22 He immediately wrote to Capt. Samuel Davis: "If this statement be correct, no refuge or shelter can be given in any port of this Territory to the said vessel, and she must depart as soon as possible. You will therefore proceed immediately to Plaquemine, where you will find that vessel detained, and ascertain how far the statement made to me is true. If you find that the vessel is a prize, or that she was captured in the manner described, you will hand the letter herein inclosed to the person who shall appear to have command of said vessel, and urge her immediate departure." On the same day, giving information of this fact to Madison, he said: "I determined that, under the treaty, it would be improper to permit this vessel to find an asylum here, and I was further convinced that the sudden arrival of so many Frenchmen in this city (whose habits and situation are not, probably, calculated to render them useful members of society) might disturb the harmony of our community."

But Claiborne's intentions were completely defeated. The two hundred Frenchmen who had captured the vessel had no idea of going back to sea in her, and many of them deserted her and found their way to the city. Finally, she and her cargo were seized by the U. S. Marshal at the request of British claimants, and the case had to be adjudicated upon by judicial authority. As to those Frenchmen who had thus made their escape, Claiborne wrote to Madison, "that they had already proved themselves unworthy members of society, and that he was therefore the more desirous to prevent the men remaining on board from landing."23

The arrival of those two hundred Frenchmen with  p29 the vessel "Hero," which they had captured, to the great contentment of the Louisianians, who had no friendly feelings for the English, had produced some degree of agitation, which was greatly increased by another incident. On the 15th of November, the Sheriff, Louis Kerr, had received an order from the Superior Court to hold to bail Captain Manuel Garcia, a Spanish officer, at the suit of D. B. Morgan, in the sum of six hundred dollars and upward. Morgan was a native citizen of the United States, and had been for some time past employed as a surveyor for Spain in West Florida. For some cause or other he had been arrested by the Spanish authorities on Spanish ground, and with the property in his possession had been put on board of a Spanish galley commanded by Garcia and bound to Pensacola. On her way down the lakes, the galley anchored at the mouth of Bayou St. John, from which Morgan made his escape to New Orleans. On his arrival, he applied to Folch, the Governor of Florida, who was then in New Orleans on his way to Pensacola, in order to obtain the restoration of his property, which was detained on board of the galley. But his application not having been attended to, Morgan had recourse to judicial process against Garcia, who also happened to have come to the city, and against whom a writ was issued. This Spanish officer, on his being waited upon by the Sheriff, refused to be taken into his custody, or in lieu thereof, to give bail, although several gentlemen offered to go security for him. He declined their services, on the ground that such were his orders from his superior officers, and declared that he would submit only to force. He requested, however, the Sheriff to await the arrival of Governor Folch, whom he had sent for and expected every moment. To this the Sheriff gave his assent; but Governor Folch, being confined to his room by indisposition, sent his son,  p30 who directed Captain Garcia not to give bail, and to resist by force any attempt to remove him from the house in which he was. This youth was excited, and in giving these orders, used some intemperate language. By this time the room in which this scene took place had become crowded, principally by Spaniards, many of whom were armed. The Sheriff was about ordering in a few men whom he had left in the street, when he was entreated to desist a few minutes longer, and to see Governor Claiborne, the Marquis of Casa Calvo and Governor Folch, between whom it was presumed that this affair could be amicably arranged, on the plea that, in virtue of Governor Claiborne's permission to the Spanish officers generally to pass through the ceded territory from Baton Rouge to Pensacola, Captain Garcia thought himself protected by the law of nations and the good faith of the American Government from arrest. Leaving Garcia in the hands of his friends, the Sheriff called on Judge Prevost, and related to him the circumstances of the case. The Judge's stern answer was, that the writ must be executed, or that the Sheriff would have to abide the consequences of its non-execution. This officer, therefore, had nothing else to do but to obey, and on his way back to Garcia's house, being informed that a large concourse of people, at least two hundred in number, had gathered round it in a state of great excitement, he thought it advisable to add to his constabulary escort the reinforcement of a corporal and three men whom he took from the guard-house. But on his making his appearance where Garcia was, swords were drawn by his opponents, and he found himself too weak to effect the arrest which he had contemplated, Finally, Garcia surrendered to a detachment of the United States troops commanded by Lieutenant Wilson.24

 p31  The Spanish authorities were much excited by this outrage, as they considered it, and the Marquis of Casa Calvo wrote to Governor Claiborne a letter, in which he expressed his feelings of indignation, and maintained that Captain Garcia could not be made liable on American territory for what he had done by the command of his superiors in the Spanish dominions. Claiborne was no less irritated by the tone assumed toward him, and returned, on the 16th of November, this spirited answer to Casa Calvo:

A long correspondence ensued on the subject between  p32 Casa Calvo and Claiborne, and it was at last agreed to leave the case in the hands of the judiciary, as appears by a communication of the 22d of November, in which Claiborne said to Casa Calvo: "I learn with pleasure that you are at last convinced that the affair of Captain Garcia is placed on the only footing which the existing laws of this territory can admit of. How far my permission for Governor Folch and suite to pass by this route to Pensacola entitles Captain Garcia to exemption from arrest, is matter for the consideration of the court, and on this question there is no doubt but the decision will be a proper one."

But as soon as one difficulty was settled another would spring up, and Claiborne was never allowed to enjoy long any degree of undisturbed tranquillity. Thus he had hardly got rid of the Garcia controversy, when another arose between him and Casa Calvo, in consequence of his refusing to carry into execution certain judgments which had been rendered against certain individuals by the Spanish authorities. Casa Calvo bitterly complained of this refusal, which made it impossible for him to collect "the arrears of the king's revenue." At last Claiborne put an end to it by addressing to the Marquis this final note on the subject: "A mere acquaintance​25 with the laws of the United States, sir, would be sufficient to inform you that they will suffer no judgment to be executed, but those rendered in their own courts; that in those courts foreign judgments, however respectable the tribunal which rendered them, are only evidence, and require the confirmation of an American judgment be any execution can flow therefrom. I have therefore only to add, that in all cases of this nature, the courts of this Territory are open to you, and  p33 are vested with the power (no longer in my hands) of redressing any grievances which you may have occasion to complain of."

Another source of tribulation to Claiborne was the necessity of soon preventing altogether that slave-trade to which the ancient population was accustomed, and which could not continue under the new régime. It was a task which, had he been so disposed, it would have been impossible, for the present, to perform strictly and effectually. Negroes were daily smuggled into the Territory through the Spanish possessions, by the way of the lakes, Borgne, Pontchartrain and Maurepas, to the districts of East Baton Rouge and Feliciana, and also through the innumerable bayous which empty into Barataria Bay and other sea outlets. At the North, Claiborne was accused of conniving at the trade, and he had to defend himself against the accusation. In a communication​26 of the 25th of November to the President, he says: "The late admission of foreign negroes has also been a subject of complaint against me. The Searcher of all hearts knows how little I desire to see another of that wretched race set his foot on the shores of America, and how from my heart I detest the rapacity that would transport them to us. But, on this point, the people here were united as one man. There seemed to be but one sentiment throughout the province. They must import more slaves, or the country was ruined forever. The most respectable characters could not, even in my presence, suppress the agitation of their temper, when a check to that trade was suggested. Under such circumstances, it was not for me, without the authority of previous law, or the instructions of my government, to prohibit the importation."

 p34  On the 27th of November, the peace of New Orleans was disturbed by a quarrel between the city militia and the troops of the United States, arising from a feeling of jealousy which had sprung up between them, and Claiborne was again called upon to settle this difficulty, on a formal complaint laid before him by the City Council against Lieutenant Wilson, the same who had arrested Captain Garcia. A court-martial had to be convened, which took cognizance of the charges brought by the city authorities against the lieutenant, and the affair was finally settled, not without leaving, however, some ill blood fermenting on both sides.

The new Legislative Council, which it had been so difficult to form, met on the 4th of December, as before stated, and Claiborne addressed to them an appropriate message on that important occasion, which was the harbinger in Louisiana of the era of self-government by the people. He particularly recommended to them the subject of education: "Let exertions then be made," he said, "to rear up our children in the paths of science and virtue, and to impress upon their tender hearts a love of civil and religious liberty. Among the several States of the Union an ingenuous emulation happily prevails, in encouraging literature and literary institutions, and some of these are making rapid strides toward rivaling the proudest establishments of Europe. In this sentiment, so favorable to the general good, you, gentlemen, I am certain, will not hesitate to join."

Shortly after this paragraph comes this passage, which, no doubt, was designed to quiet some anxiety then existing among the clergy, as to their position under the new order of things: "As connected with the education of youth," he remarks, "every constitutional encouragement should be given to ministers of the Gospel. Religion exalts a nation, whilst sin is the reproach of any  p35 people. It prepares us for the vicissitudes which so often checker human life. It deprives even misfortune of her victory. It invites to harmony and good-will in this world, and affords a guaranty for happiness hereafter." This was certainly very acceptable to the religious-minded part of the community, but any political body, attempting to act on such a recommendation from the Executive, and to determine what kind of constitutional encouragement, under our institutions, can be given by legislation to ministers of the Gospel, would probably find the subject fraught with considerable difficulties.

It is a curious fact that, when thus going through the solemnity of opening, with commendable dignity and with apparent reliance on those he addressed, the first Legislative Assembly in Louisiana, Claiborne was aware that there was among the population very little faith in the duration of the system of government which he was gravely introducing to their supposed grateful acceptance. This is proved by his communication of the 11th of December to Madison:​27 "The President's Message," he says, "has been translated into the French language, and I will take care to have it circulated among the people. It will tend to remove an impression which has heretofore contributed greatly to embarrass the local administration, to wit — that the country west of the Mississippi would certainly be re-ceded to Spain, and perhaps the whole of Louisiana. So general has been this impression, particularly as it relates to the country west of the Mississippi, that many citizens have been fearful of accepting any employment under the American government, or even manifesting a respect therefor, lest at a future time it might lessen them in the esteem of  p36 Spanish officers. This opinion as to re-cession has been greatly encouraged by the Marquis of Casa Calvo and Governor Folch, who are really so uninformed of the strength of the United States, as to suppose that the Spanish monarch could readily acquire and maintain possession of Louisiana, and I doubt not but they have made such representations to their court."

The yellow fever had, in the autumn of this year, been very fatal in New Orleans, and in connection with other remarks on this subject, Claiborne, in a message to the Legislative Council, on the 14th of December, had called the attention of that body to a plan devised by Jefferson to prevent the recurrence of such a calamity. Referring to the probable growth of New Orleans, the President said: "The position of New Orleans certainly destines it to be the greatest city the world has ever seen. There is no spot on the globe to which the produce of so great an extent of fertile country must necessarily come. It is three times greater than that on the eastern side of the Alleghanies, which is to be divided among all the seaport towns of the Atlantic States. In the middle and northern parts of Europe, where the sun rarely shines, they may safely build cities in solid blocks without generating disease; but under the cloudless skies of America, where there is so constant an accumulation of heat, men cannot be piled on one another with impunity. Accordingly, we find this disease confined to the solid-built parts of our towns, and the parts on the water-side, where there is most matter for putrefaction, but rarely extending into the thin-built parts of the towns, and never into the country. In these latter places it cannot be communicated. In order to catch it, you must go into the local atmosphere where it prevails. Is not this, then, a strong indication that we ought not to contend with the laws of nature, but  p37 should decide at once that all our cities shall be thin-built?"

After these introductory observations, the President expressed the opinion that, in building cities in the United States, the people should take the checker-board for their plan, leaving the white squares open and unbuilt forever and planted with trees. "As it is probable,"​28 he observed to Claiborne, "that New Orleans must soon be enlarged, I inclose you this same plan for consideration. I have great confidence that, however the yellow fever may prevail in the old part of the town, it would not be communicated in that part which should be built on this plan, because this would be like the thin-built parts of our towns, where experience has taught us that a person may carry it after catching it in its local region, but can never communicate it out of that. Having very sincerely at heart that the prosperity of New Orleans should be unchecked, and great faith, founded, I think, on experience, in the effect of this mode of building against a disorder which is such a scourge to our close-built cities, I could not deny myself the communication of the plan, leaving it to you to bring it into real existence, if those more interested should think as favorably of it as I do. For beauty, pleasure, and convenience, it would certainly be eminent." It must be apparent to all those who may look at the map of the city of New Orleans as it stands at this time, in 1859, that thus far, in its ever progressive enlargement, the plan recommended by Jefferson has met with very little attention.

Toward the end of December, the elements of discord which had distracted the country seemed to come to a temporary truce, and to be disposed to allow the expiring year to make in peace its exit from the stage; for Claiborne  p38 wrote to Madison on the 31st: "I have​29 never witnessed more good order than at present pervades this city, and, as far as I can learn, the whole territory. I discover also, with great pleasure, the existence of a friendly understanding between the modern and the ancient Louisianians. The winter amusements have commenced for several weeks; the two descriptions of citizens meet frequently at the theatre, at the balls and other places of public amusement, and pass their time in perfect harmony. A great anxiety exists here to learn the fate of the memorial to Congress. The importation of negroes continues to be a favorite object with the Louisianians; and I believe the privilege of electing one branch of the Legislature would give very general satisfaction. Immediate admission into the Union is not expected by the reflecting part of society, nor do I think there are many who desire it." But this roseate hue, which had spread over the horizon, flattering Claiborne with halcyon days, was soon to give way to the darkening shades of a stormy sky. Claiborne had suffered himself to be blinded by a pleasing delusion. The discontent which was rankling in many hearts was too deep and too bitter to be soothed by the occasional amenities of social intercourse in the public places to which he refers. That discontent arose from feelings which were proof against the fascinations of the ball-room, the attractions of theatrical performances, the bewitching influence of musical entertainments, or the sparkling bowls of the festive board. It was hardly possible that it should have been otherwise; for if the act of Congress, dividing Louisiana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof, had excited the indignation of its inhabitants, and if Boré, Bellechasse, Jones, Cantrelle and Clark,  p39 when refusing to take their seats in the newly appointed Legislative Council, and to aid in carrying into execution "an act" which they had proclaimed to be an infringement of the rights and dignity of those to whom it was to be applied, had been approved by the immense majority of their fellow-citizens, it is due to them to say that the debates in Congress, on the discussion of that very act, had been of such a nature as to wound their just susceptibilities. Many members of that body, who had opposed its passage, had taken of it the same view in which it presented itself to the people of Louisiana. In relation to the power vested in the Governor "to convene and prorogue the Legislative Council, whenever he might deem it expedient," Mr. Leib, in the House of Representatives, had said "that it made that body the most dependent in the United States; and that, when the power of prorogation vested in the Governor was duly considered, it seemed to him that the people of the Territory would be much better without such a body. It was a royal appendage." . . . .

Not only did Mr. Gregg agree with Mr. Leib, as to the objectionable feature that gentleman had pointed out, but he was also opposed to the power given to the President to appoint the members of the Council. "It was a burlesque. How was the President to know anything of their qualifications? From whom was he to derive that information except from the Governor? And why, therefore, should not that officer himself be at once the appointing power?" Mr. Varnum was of opinion that they were establishing a kind of government hitherto unknown in the United States. "Why not make provision for the election of a legislative body by the people? Policy, justice, propriety and the obligations of the treaty of cession required it at their hands." Mr. Elliot declared that, "to authorize the President to appoint the  p40 members of the Legislative Council, was neither consistent with the spirit of the Constitution, nor with the treaty."

Mr. Lyon said in reply, that the bill contained many traits which were exceedingly disgusting to him.

Mr. Lucas seemed to have taken up the strange idea that the United States were bound by the treaty of cession, only to secure to the people of Louisiana as large a  p45 portion of liberty, and as full an enjoyment of their rights, as they would have been permitted to possess, had they remained under the Government of France or Spain.

Mr. Macon's first objection to the bill was, that it created a species of government unknown to the laws of the United States.

Mr. Campbell was very energetic in his denunciations of the bill.

Mr. Jackson succeeded Mr. Campbell on the floor, and was proceeding to attack the bill on the same grounds with his predecessors on his side of the question, and was objecting to certain injurious reflections cast on the people of Louisiana by Huger of South Carolina, who had intimated that, in his opinion, the Louisianians were no better than negroes, and consequently were to be treated as that degraded race, when he was interrupted by  p54 Mr. Huger, who explained that his meaning was not such as the gentleman's language implied, and declared that he had spoken barely by way of comparison, to show that nothing was more dangerous to pass from the extreme of slavery to perfect liberty.

"I will not pretend to say," resumed Mr. Jackson, "that I accurately comprehend the meaning of the gentleman. His words were: they ought to be looked upon as a certain portion of people among us and treated as such. If he did not allude to slaves, I do not know to whom he did allude. But as he says he did not allude to them, I will avoid any remark that may implicate him in such an allusion."

When Mr. Jackson took his seat, up started Mr. Holland. "Gentlemen maintain," he said, "that if we deny the people of Louisiana the right of self-government, we deny them everything. But before they are permitted to make laws, ought they not to understand what law is? If we give power to these people, will they not choose persons as ignorant as themselves? It is a fact that many of the most respectable characters in Louisiana conceive the principle of self-government a mere bubble, and they will not consider themselves aggrieved if it is not extended to them. Does the history of nations show that all men are capable of self-government? No such thing. It shows that none but an enlightened and virtuous people are capable of it; and if the people of Louisiana are not sufficiently enlightened, they are not prepared to receive it. For what are they prepared? To remain in a passive state, and to receive the blessings of good laws; and receiving these, they have no reason to complain."

Many more members of the House of Representatives than those whose names are here mentioned took their share in these debates. The subject was also fully discussed  p55 in the Senate, and Congress, after the most lengthy deliberations, voted by a large majority for the passage of the bill, which, however, had been strongly opposed in that body, and with as vehement language as could be desired by the Louisianians, to whom it was so objectionable.

These debates, and their final result, it must be admitted, were of a character to wound deeply the just susceptibilities of the people of Louisiana, and to keep up that excitement of which I have already related some of the baleful effects. Huger, of South Carolina, a gentleman of French descent, had been understood to say on the floor of the Capitol, notwithstanding his subsequent explanations of a retractive nature, that the French of Louisiana were hardly above the standard of a certain portion of the population of the United States, which was, with propriety, deprived of all political rights. Another, without going so far, had said that they ought to be treated as a conquered people. Many had maintained that it was impossible to suppose that a population long subjected to the debasing governments of France and Spain were fit subjects to be intrusted with the dangerous possession of liberty, without a gradual training and a slow process of emancipation. The whole length and breadth of the debate was narrowed down to this question: "Are the people of Louisiana capable of self-government?" "If they are, and if we are convinced of it," said the warmest advocates of the bill, "we give it up; for we admit that it establishes a form of government hitherto unknown to us, and at variance with our other institutions. We admit that it would be an infamous act of tyranny if applied to any other people, but we are persuaded that it is demanded by the necessities of the case." This was avowedly the basis on which stood "the bill to organize the government of the Territory  p56 of Orleans", and that bill, notwithstanding the extraordinary features which it was admitted to possess, was voted a law by an immense majority in Congress — which law was readily sanctioned by the President of the United States. Thus the Louisianians, a few months after they had been delivered to the warm embraces and paternal protection of that great Republic which invited all mankind to the enjoyment of liberty, had the intense mortification of being branded, before the whole world, with a solemn official declaration that they were incapable of self-government — a declaration which derived an additional humiliating pungency from the circumstances that it was made by a democratic Congress, and promulgated by Thomas Jefferson, that great apostle of universal liberty, and the immortal author of that celebrated document in which all men are proclaimed to be born 'free and equal.' "

These debates, of which I have here given a short abridgment, deserve to be studied with care, and possess much interest, particularly when taken in connection with the projected annexation of Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua and other Territories, and with the probable expansion of the protection, if not of the government, of the United States, over nations whose vitality is threatened with destruction, and who, it is believed, are destined to take shelter under the strong eagle wing of their colossal neighbor.

It will also be remarked that no one, in those days, seems to have imagined that there could exist any degree of sovereignty, not even squatter sovereignty, in the people of a territory of the United States, and that the introduction and advocacy of a doctrine which was destined in after years to assume proportions of great magnitude in the politics of the country, would then have probably been looked upon, however  p57 sound and correct it might be, as nothing short of a monstrous heresy.

Before dismissing from further consideration this bill for the organization of the ceded province of Louisiana, it may not be improper to notice a feature in it which is important in itself, but which is entitled to still greater importance from its connection with a question which perhaps overshadows every other on the political map of the country. It is that Congress, in 1804, when it passed that bill, exercised the contested power of preventing the importation of slaves into territories, for it regulated, on that memorable occasion, the slave-trade between the slave States and a slave Territory. To give that act its due weight, one must recollect that it was sanctioned by Thomas Jefferson, and by that party which had lately defeated the Federal party, and had proclaimed itself pledged to a strict construction of the Constitution, and to an uncomplaining opposition to the assumption of powers not expressly delegated to the General Government. Should the adversaries of slavery, as it exists in some of the States of our Confederacy, ever obtain the ascendency in both Houses of Congress, it is probable that they will attempt to legislate on the slave-trade between the States, and that this act to organize the Territory of Orleans in 1804, will afford a precedent of which they will avail themselves with that pertinacity of purpose and that fanatical vigor of intellect they have ever displayed in assailing that institution, which the South considers as its very life-blood and the indispensable condition of its existence, and also as the very breath and essence of its prosperity.

---

The Author's Notes:

1 History of Louisiana. Spanish Domination. Redfield, Publisher. New York, 1854.

2 Considering that he was administering Spanish laws, which he hardly comprehended.

3 See the Appendix.

4 The war of France with England.

5 Martin's History of Louisiana, 2d vol., p244.

6 Chasseurs passionnés. See the Appendix.

7 Mauvais entourage.

8 Governor Claiborne and General Wilkinson.

9 Peu de moyens et beaucoup de gaucherie.

10 Connu ici de longue main sous de vilains rapports.

11 Un brise raison à boutades.

12 As to the Legislative Council, that body could not even take the initiative in legislation, but was only to deliberate on such subjects as might be laid before them by Claiborne.

13 The repression of this insurrection cost the Spanish Government a pretty considerable outlay. As soon as the news reached Pensacola, Governor Folch (p19)departed at the head of 150 men, of infantry and cavalry, and soon reached Bayou Manchac through the lakes. But he found that tranquillity had been restored by the efforts of Governor Grandpré. (See the dispatch of Intendant Morales to Miguel Cayetano Soler, one of the Spanish ministers, dated New Orleans, Sept. 26th, 1804, and also the same to the same, October 31st, 1804. State Archives, Baton Rouge.)

14 Morales to Cayetano Soler, 19th August, 1804. State Archives at Baton Rouge.

15 Martin's History of Louisiana, p252, 2d vol.

16 Julien Poydras, of Pointe Coupée, one of the most influential and wealthiest men in the Territory, had greatly contributed by his efforts to the formation of the Council. In his letter of acceptance to Claiborne he had used this language: "The President of the United States having appointed me a councilor, I conceive it a duty to accept. If those who have great interest in the country should decline serving it when called upon, their conduct would be unwarrantable. I could offer many plausible excuses, such as age, insufficiency of talents, self-interest, &c. But in so doing I should not act the part of a patriot. A beginning must be made; we must be initiated into the sacred duties of freemen and the practices of liberty." This reasoning, however, had no influence on Cantrelle, who also refused a seat in the Council. Commenting on the course pursued by Poydras, Governor Claiborne said: "His acceptance is a fortunate occurrence, and his conduct and reasoning form a happy contrast to the part acted by Jones, Clark and others."

17 Claiborne's dispatch to Madison, on the 3d of October, 1804.

18 State Archives at Baton Rouge.

19 State Papers at Baton Rouge.

20 Esquisse de la situation politique et civile de la Louisiane depuis le 30 Novembre jusqu'au 1er Octobre 1804, par un Louisianais. Diverso intereà miscentur maenia Luctu. Virg. Æneid. A la Nouvelle Orléans, de l'imprimerie du Télégraphe, chez Beleurgey et Renard, rue Bourbon.

21 Claiborne to Madison, 16th of October, 1804, p8 of the Executive Journal at Baton Rouge, vol. 1.

22 Claiborne to Davis, 3d November, 1804, p21, Executive Journal, vol. 1.

23 Claiborne to Madison, 15th Nov., 1804, p27. Do.

24 L. Kerr's report to Claiborne, 17th Nov., 1804. Executive Jour., p29, vol. 1.

25 Claiborne to Casa Calvo, 22d of November, 1804. Executive Journal, page 39, vol. 1.

26 Page 43, vol. 1, Executive Journal.

27 Page 55, Executive Journal, vol. 1.

28 Executive Journal, vol. 1, page 56.

29 Executive Journal, vol. 1, page 61.

---

Thayer's Note:

a Vol. III of this same work, viewed as a self-contained book (which it really cannot be).

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