Part 196

If, in the execution of any part of these instructions, you should need the aid of a military force, the same will be afforded you upon your application to the commanding officer of the troops of the United States on that station, or to the commanding officer of the nearest post, in virtue of orders which have been issued from the War Department. And, in case you should moreover need naval assistance, you will receive the same upon your application to the naval commander, in pursuance of orders from the Navy Department.

From the Treasury Department will be issued the necessary instructions in relation to imposts and duties, and to the slave ships whose arrival is apprehended.

The President, relying upon your discretion, authorizes you to draw upon the Collectors of Orleans and Savannah for such sums as may be necessary to defraying unavoidable expenses that may be incurred in the execution of these instructions, not exceeding, in your drafts on New Orleans, eight thousand dollars, and in your drafts on Savannah two thousand dollars, without further authority; of which expenses you will hereafter exhibit a detailed account, duly supported by satisfactory vouchers.

POSTSCRIPT.--If Governor Folch should unexpectedly require and pertinaciously insist that the stipulation for the redelivery of the territory should also include that portion of the country which is situated west of the river Perdido, you are, in yielding to such demand, only to use general words that may by implication comprehend that portion of the country; but, at the same time, you are expressly to provide, that such stipulation shall not, in any way, impair or affect the right or title of the United States to the same.

The Secretary of State to General Matthews.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, April 4, 1812.

SIR,--I have had the honor to receive your letter of the fourteenth of March, and have now to communicate to you the sentiments of the President, on the very interesting subject to which it relates.

I am sorry to have to state that the measures which you appear to have adopted for obtaining possession of Amelia Island, and other parts of East Florida, are not authorized by the law of the United States, or the instructions founded on it, under which you have acted.

You were authorized by the law, a copy of which was communicated to you, and by your instructions, which are strictly conformable to it, to take possession of East Florida, only in case one of the following contingencies should happen: either that the Governor or other existing local authority should be disposed to place it amicably in the hands of the United States, or that an attempt should be made to take possession of it by a foreign power. Should the first contingency happen, it would follow, that the arrangement being amicable, would require no force on the part of the United States to carry into effect. It was only in case of an attempt to take it by a foreign power that force could be necessary, in which event only were you authorized to avail yourself of it.

In either of these contingencies was it the policy of the law, or purpose of the Executive, to wrest the province forcibly from Spain; but only to occupy it with a view to prevent its falling into the hands of any foreign power, and to hold that pledge, under the existing peculiarity of the circumstances of the Spanish Monarchy, for a just result in an amicable negotiation with Spain.

Had the United States been disposed to proceed otherwise, that intention would have been manifested by a change of the law, and suitable measures to carry it into effect. And as it was in their power to take possession whenever they might think that circumstances authorized and required it, it would be more to be regretted, if possession should be effected by any means irregular in themselves, and subjecting the Government of the United States to unmerited censure.

The views of the Executive respecting East Florida, are further illustrated by your instructions as to West Florida. Although the United States have thought that they had a good title to the latter province, they did not take possession until after the Spanish authority had been subverted by a revolutionary proceeding, and the contingency of the country being thrown into foreign hands, had forced itself into view. Nor did they then, nor have they since, dispossessed the Spanish troops of the post which they occupied. If they did not think proper to take possession by force, of a province to which they thought they were justly entitled, it could not be presumed that they should intend to act differently, in respect to one to which they had not such a claim.

I may add, that, although due sensibility has been always felt for the injuries which were received from the Spanish Government in the last war, the present situation of Spain has been a motive for a moderate and pacific policy towards her.

In communicating to you these sentiments of the Executive on the measures you have lately adopted for taking possession of East Florida, I add, with pleasure, that the utmost confidence is reposed in your integrity and zeal to promote the welfare of your country. To that zeal the error into which you have fallen, is imputed. But, in consideration of the part which you have taken, which differs so essentially from that contemplated and authorized by the Government, and contradicts so entirely the principle on which it has uniformly and sincerely acted, you will be sensible of the necessity of discontinuing the service in which you have been employed.

You will, therefore, consider your powers as revoked on the receipt of this letter. The new duties to be performed will be transferred to the Governor of Georgia, to whom instructions will be given on all the circumstances to which it may be proper, at the present juncture, to call his attention. I am, &c.,

GENERAL MATTHEWS, &c.

The Secretary of State to His Excellency D. B. Mitchell, the Governor of Georgia.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, April 10, 1812.

SIR,--The President is desirous of availing the public of your services, in a concern of much delicacy and of high importance to the United States. Circumstances with which you are in some degree acquainted, but which will be fully explained by the enclosed papers, have made it necessary to revoke the powers heretofore committed to General Matthews, and to commit them to you. The President is persuaded that you will not hesitate to undertake a trust so important to the nation, and peculiarly to the State of Georgia. He is the more confident in this belief, from the consideration that these new duties may be discharged without interfering, as he presumes, with those of the station which you now hold.

By the act of the fifteenth of January, one thousand eight hundred and eleven, you will observe that it was not contemplated to take possession of East Florida, or any part thereof, unless it should be surrendered to the United States amicably by the Governor, or other local authority of the province, or against an attempt to take possession of it by a foreign power: and you will also see that General Matthews' instructions, of which a copy is likewise enclosed, correspond fully with the law.

By the documents in possession of the Government, it appears that neither of these contingencies have happened; that, instead of an amicable surrender by the Governor, or other local authority, the troops of the United States have been used to dispossess the Spanish authority by force. I forbear to dwell on the details of this transaction, because it is painful to recite them. By the letter to General Matthews, which is enclosed, open for your perusal, you will fully comprehend the views of the Government respecting the late transaction; and, by the law, the former instructions to the General, and the late letter now forwarded, you will be made acquainted with the course of conduct which it is expected of you to pursue in future, in discharging the duties heretofore enjoined on him.

It is the desire of the President that you should turn your attention and direct your efforts, in the first instance, to the restoration of that state of things in the province which existed before the late transactions. The Executive considers it proper to restore back to the Spanish authorities, Amelia Island, and such other parts, if any, of East Florida, as may have thus been taken from them. With this view, it will be necessary for you to communicate directly with the Governor or principal officer of Spain in that province, and to act in harmony with him in the attainment of it. It is presumed that the arrangement will be easily and amicably made between you. I enclose you an order from the Secretary of War to the commander of the troops of the United States to evacuate the country, when requested so to do by you, and to pay the same respect in future to your order in fulfilling the duties enjoined by the law, that he had been instructed to do to that of General Matthews.

In restoring to the Spanish authorities Amelia Island, and such other parts of East Florida as may have been taken possession of in the name of the United States, there is another object to which your particular attention will be due. In the measures lately adopted by General Matthews to take possession of that territory, it is probable that much reliance has been placed, by the people who acted in it, on the countenance and support of the United States. It will be improper to expose these people to the resentment of the Spanish authorities. It is not to be presumed that those authorities, in regaining possession of the Territory, in this amicable mode, from the United States, will be disposed to indulge any such feeling towards them. You will, however, come to a full understanding with the Spanish Governor on this subject, and not fail to obtain from him the most explicit and satisfactory assurance respecting it. Of this assurance you will duly apprise the parties interested, and of the confidence which you repose in it. It is hoped, that, on this delicate and very interesting point, the Spanish Governor will avail himself of the opportunity it presents to evince the friendly disposition of his Government toward the United States.

There is one other remaining circumstance only to which I wish to call your attention, and that relates to General Matthews himself. His gallant and meritorious services in our Revolution, and patriotic conduct since, have always been held in high estimation by the Government. His errors, in this instance, are imputed altogether to his zeal to promote the welfare of his country; but they are of a nature to impose on the Government the necessity of the measures now taken, in giving effect to which you will doubtless feel a disposition to consult, as far as may be, his personal sensibility. I have the honor to be, &c.,

JAMES MONROE.

P. S.--Should you find it impracticable to execute the duties designated above, in person, the President requests that you will be so good as to employ some very respectable character to represent you in it, to whom you are authorized to allow a similar compensation. It is hoped, however, that you may be able to attend to it in person, for reasons which I need not enter into. The expenses to which you may be exposed will be promptly paid to your draft on this Department.

The Secretary of State to D. B. Mitchell, Esq., Governor of Georgia.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, May 27, 1812.