THE MONROE DOCTRINE 353 



It looks to the melioration of the condition of man. It is 

 congenial with that spirit which prompted the declaration of our 

 independence, which inspired the preamble of our first treaty 

 with France, which dictated our first treaty with Prussia and 

 the instructions under which it was negotiated, which filled the 

 hearts and fired the souls of the immortal founders of our 

 Revolution, 



The long acrimonious debate in the Senate was closed 

 March 14, 1826, by the appointment of Messrs. Anderson 

 and Sargent as Ministers Plenipotentiary. The President 

 had triumphed then in the Upper House, but at a great cost 

 of ill feeling. The Lower House read his message, and in 

 ten days the Committee on Foreign Relations placed before 

 the House the resolution that, " it is expedient to appro- 

 priate the funds necessary to enable the President of the 

 United States to send ministers to the Congress of Panama." 

 The Ways and Means Committee immediately reported a 

 bill making the necessary appropriations to defray the ex- 

 penses connected with the mission. 



The debate in the House was, perhaps, less bitter than it 

 had been in the Senate, but the same opposition to the meas- 

 ure developed that had characterized the discussions of the 

 Upper House. The Southern members arrayed themselves 

 solidly against a project that, in their estimation, led the 

 United States into forming embarrassing alliances with South 

 Americans, a project that might induce the United States 

 to take action with foreign nations upon the slave trade, and 

 that might disgrace their country by undue familiarity with 

 the negro republic of Haiti. Already the Southern mem- 

 bers sought to taboo any discussion touching upon slavery. 

 Daniel Webster came to the President's rescue by warmly 

 defending the message of March 15. He insisted that it 

 was not the duty of the House, nor their constitutional right 

 to decide " what shall be discussed by particular ministers, 

 already appointed, when they shall meet the ministers of 

 other powers," that matter, he maintained, belonged to 

 executive discretion and responsibility. It was for the 

 House only to vote the necessary appropriation. He declared 



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