h of December. The
despatch did not arrive till the 21st, by way of Balize; but the
intelligence had been brought to the city by one of Jackson's aids, who
had returned from the British fleet with a flag of truce." As in
canvassing the subsequent proceedings of the General at New-Orleans, his
advocates have pretended that he had no information of the peace to
which he ought to have trusted, that point must not be overlooked in our
inquiries. What was the evidence at this period, that is, on the 21st of
January? A communication directly addressed to him, by and under the
name of the British Admiral, with every sanction that honour and good
faith could give it. This communication, so vouched, was accompanied by
a copy of a bulletin which the Admiral declared he had just received
from Jamaica, too distant to have been fabricated there for the
occasion; and all this was confirmed by the intelligence brought by one
of the General's aids from the fleet. Is there any degree of military
caution that would have doubted the truth of this information, _in the
manner and for the purposes_ for which the doubts, real or pretended,
were used by the General? We will not say that he should, on such
intelligence, have exposed himself to an attack from the enemy; that he
should have disbanded his army, or thrown by his guards and defence, as
if the intelligence had been authentic from his own government; but,
assuredly there was that in the information he received, on which a
strong reliance might reasonably and safely have been placed; at least
enough to have suspended military operations _against his own
fellow-citizens_. He must have imputed fraud, falsehood, and forgery, to
an officer, who, although an enemy, was entitled to a more just and
respectful consideration. No usage of modern warfare would have
justified such practices, and therefore they ought not to have been
presumed. With no disposition to "set down aught in malice" against the
General, we cannot refrain from saying, that, whatever he may have found
it convenient to believe or disbelieve, to justify the extravagance of
ungovernable passions inflamed by evil counsellors, in his moments of
sober thoughts, if any such happened to him, he could not reject the
testimony before him, of the termination of the war. He certainly, at
least, thought it worthy to be announced to the people, although he
"forewarned them from being thrown into security by hopes that might be
delusive."