Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 1).djvu/106

94 On the second day of his speech he discussed the causes of the war. “The war was declared,” he said, “because Great Britain arrogated to herself the pretension of regulating our foreign commerce, under the delusive name of retaliatory Orders in Council; because she persisted in the practice of impressing American seamen; because she had instigated the Indians to commit hostilities against us; and because she refused indemnity for her past injuries upon our commerce. The war, in fact, was announced, on our part, to meet the war which she was waging on her part.” Why not declare war against France, also, for the injuries she inflicted upon American commerce, and the outrageous duplicity of her conduct? “I will concede to gentlemen,” he said, “everything they ask about the injustice of France toward this country. I wish to God that our ability was equal to our disposition to make her feel the sense that we entertain of that injustice.” But one war at a time was enough. Great Britain, he argued, demanded more than the repeal of the French decrees as to America; she demanded their repeal as to Great Britain and her allies, also, before giving up the Orders in Council; and she gave them up only in consequence of an inquiry, reluctantly consented to by the ministry, into the effect of our non-importation law, or by reason of our warlike attitude, or both.

But now came the ticklish question: Were the Orders in Council the decisive cause of the war, and