Chapter M: CAMPBELL then rose and spoke as follows (44)

Mr. QUINCY said the House might have observed, that in the Message of the President of the United States to Congress, delivered on the 27th of October, there was an express reference to a certain Proclamation interdicting our ports and harbors to British armed vessels. It was in Great Britain, he understood, a universal Parliamentary rule, that proclamations of this kind should be laid before Parliament; and in this country it had heretofore been the usual practice. In the case of the Proclamation of Neutrality, issued by President Washington, in 1793, in his first communication to Congress, he laid it before them, and it was entered on the Journals. Circumstances of however great notoriety were not official information on which they could act; but, were it so, he had not been able to find it in any papers he could procure. He had expected it would have been connected with the report of the committee on aggressions; but, as it was not yet before the House, he moved the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the President of the United States be
requested to cause to be laid before this House a copy of his
Proclamation interdicting our harbors and waters to British
armed vessels, &c., referred to in his Message of the 27th of
October last.

Mr. CROWNINSHIELD could not see any necessity for calling for this paper. He well recollected that the President had issued proclamations on other subjects which had never been laid before the House. That issued in the case of an aggression committed by Captain Whitby, commanding an armed ship of Great Britain, had not been transmitted to the House; so, in the case of the famous conspiracy of Mr. Burr, a proclamation was issued at the time, and not laid before the House, nor had the House thought necessary to call for these papers. They were before the public, and every member of the House must have perused them. Mr. C. wished his colleague to show some necessity for the present call; for he could see none. The practice which had taken place in other countries was not to govern them; he might as well have drawn a precedent from the practice of France, Germany, or any other country, as from Great Britain. Besides, he doubted whether it was the practice there. It was well known that, under that Government, the King and Council legislated in a variety of instances. The citizens of this country had suffered severely by these measures. They legislated for neutrals in this way, and property to an immense amount had been taken from our merchants under these orders, and Mr. C. did not know that their acts in such cases had been laid before the Parliament, or even called for. He should, however, have no objection to the call in this instance, but that he saw no necessity for it. The gentleman might perhaps not have seen the Proclamation; but it was well known that it had been published in almost all the papers in the Union. It first appeared in a paper of this city, and he presumed was copied from that paper into the others. He had no doubt but the Proclamation would be communicated, or any other paper that might be called for.

Mr. ALSTON said it was certainly very immaterial whether the resolution was adopted or not; but it was certainly causing considerable trouble for nothing, to submit such a resolution to the House. The gentleman might have laid his hands on it in any paper published in the Union. Did that gentleman receive an official copy of the proclamation for convening Congress at this time? If he did, Mr. A. said he had an advantage over him; for he saw the Proclamation in the newspapers, and came on in consequence; and if there had been any proclamation issued, Mr. Q. could have found it in the newspapers. He had an objection to this resolution, because it was going out of the way; he had never before known an instance of a call upon the President for any proclamation which he had not thought proper to lay before them.

Mr. QUINCY said he had cited the example of Great Britain, because that was the country from whose Parliamentary practice so many precedents had been drawn. The Proclamation of President Washington, however, was published in all the papers on the continent, and yet the President had laid it before Congress on the first day of the succeeding session. He would refer to the mode in which it was presented, in order to convince the House it had been heretofore done. The case was thus: The President of the United States, after some prefatory observations, tells them that the Proclamation laid before the House had been issued. Immediately after this, the Journal says, a Message was received from the President of the United States, enclosing a copy of the Proclamation. The case in the present instance was of much more importance: he had no conception, before he saw the report of the committee, but that it would be laid before them; he had not conceived it possible that it would not be laid before them in some way. It had been said, that he should give reasons for calling for it. He thought that in an important case like this the House should know what was done. He had no objection to the Proclamation; but it contained certain national principles to which they ought to refer.

He was at a loss to account for the opposition which this motion received from some quarters of the House; it was impossible it could be made on any other grounds than a determination to vote down at all events any question that might be moved, or any inquiry that might be requested on the part of gentlemen of one description in the House. It seemed to him to be following up the advice which had lately been given to them through the channel of a paper printed in this city, which was understood generally to speak a demi-official language. I have before me, (said he,) the words in which this House were a short time since addressed in that paper, by a person making observations on a motion which Mr. Q. had made, and which was negatived. Mr. Q. then read the following paragraph from the National Intelligencer, of November 9:

“Let them weigh well the advice of an enemy before they adopt
it. Let them act as they have done in the present instance. Let
them entertain no apprehensions on the sense of popularity,
even though their adversaries should sound the tocsin of alarm,
and declare themselves in patriotic strains the exclusive
friends of the people. Let them remember that while their
opponents have nothing to do but talk, _they have to act_.”

And was this the language in which this House was to be addressed through the medium of a newspaper printed at their doors? Was a mere printer to obtrude upon them his advice as to what course they were to pursue in relation to the interest of the nation, and to denounce a portion of the House as unworthy of notice or confidence? He hoped not. But he could account for the opposition which was now given to this motion from no other reasons; for if a Proclamation of this kind had been issued, they ought to have it before them.

Mr. Q. said he possessed no interests different from any other member of this House; and assuming the right to which he was entitled, he would ask for information when he had occasion for it.

Mr. CROWNINSHIELD felt much surprised at what had been said by the gentleman last up. Had Mr. C. said any thing about it, had he made any allusion to what had appeared in a newspaper in this city? The publication was made before he had been able to arrive at this city. [Mr. QUINCY here remarked, he did not refer to him.] Mr. C. did not know to whom he could refer, except to him or his friend from North Carolina. He had no intention to make any remark to hurt the gentleman’s feelings with respect to what had appeared in a newspaper of this city; but what relation could that have to the subject under consideration? If the paper alluded to had infringed any privilege appertaining to him as a member of that House, of which Mr. C. said he knew nothing, he had his remedy. If of a personal nature, the gentleman had other means of satisfaction. He was perfectly at a loss as to the object the gentleman could have in bringing the matter up now. Mr. C. had alluded to the same paper: it was the only paper of any consequence in the city, and the President was obliged to take that course to circulate official acts throughout the Union. It had always been the custom of the President to publish his Proclamations, but in no instance had he laid them before the House. The two extraordinary sessions of Congress had been held by Proclamation published in the newspapers, and the Proclamations for convening them had not been laid before the House. It having been done by another President had no bearing on the present case: no law existed authorizing President Washington to issue such a Proclamation as that referred to; but the Proclamation now referred to, as well that in the case of Mr. Burr, were issued under an act of Congress. Mr. C. had no particular objection to the call; but he could not see the necessity for it. With respect to precedents in other countries, he wished them to have no influence on the proceedings in this.

Mr. BURWELL did not rise to oppose the resolution; he was willing that the Proclamation should be sent to them by the President; but the gentleman had expressed his surprise that he did not find that Proclamation contained in the report of the committee. The only reason was, that they had supposed it was sufficiently official in the newspapers, and had referred to them when occasion required, as they would have done to any other authority. He held it a correct proceeding, that it was the right of any member of that House to call for any information relative to any subject; he should always favor such an application; he therefore did not rise to oppose the gentleman’s motion, but to apologize for the committee’s not having reported it.

Mr. DANA said that the observations of the gentleman from Virginia had been made with his general candor he had no doubt, but the committee considered such reference as they had made correct; but as no public prints were strictly official, and as they were called upon to deliberate on the Proclamation itself, he thought it necessary they should have it before them. Were they not called together on this subject particularly, he might not see the same necessity for having it; but as it was to be the basis in some measure of their proceedings, they ought to have an official copy of it. Mr. D. also thought it was more correct, whenever Congress were called together by Proclamation, that they should be specially notified. The gentleman from Massachusetts was in an error so far as related to the form of giving notice of extraordinary sittings; he had understood the gentleman to say, that Congress were called together by a Proclamation published in a newspaper, which was official notice. This was not the correct course. It was true they were now all gathered together; but their journals would not show how. When an extraordinary session had been called formerly, a letter had been addressed to each member from the Secretary of State, enclosing the Proclamation for the purpose; and this was capable of being done in every instance, by transmitting these letters to the Executive of each State, who might notify them individually. This had been the course, and he thought it more correct than the other.

The question on the resolution being taken, was carried, 70 to 32; and Messrs. QUINCY and BURWELL named a committee to wait on the President for the purpose.

THURSDAY, November 19.

_British Armed Vessels._

The following Message was received from the President of the United States:

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

According to the request expressed in your resolution of the
eighteenth instant, I now transmit a copy of my proclamation
interdicting our harbors and waters to British armed vessels,
and forbidding intercourse with them, referred to in my message
of the twenty-seventh of October last.

TH. JEFFERSON.

NOVEMBER 19, 1807.

* * * * *

_By the President of the United States of America_:

A PROCLAMATION.

During the wars which, for some time, have unhappily prevailed
among the powers of Europe, the United States of America, firm
in their principles of peace, have endeavored, by justice, by
a regular discharge of all their national and social duties,
and by every friendly office their situation has admitted, to
maintain with all the belligerents their accustomed relations
of friendship, hospitality, and commercial intercourse. Taking
no part in the questions which animate these powers against
each other, nor permitting themselves to entertain a wish
but for the restoration of general peace, they have observed
with good faith the neutrality they assumed; and they believe
that no instance of a departure from its duties can be justly
imputed to them by any nation. A free use of their harbors and
waters, the means of refitting and of refreshment, of succor
to their sick and suffering, have, at all times, and on equal
principles, been extended to all, and this, too, amidst a
constant recurrence of acts of insubordination to the laws, of
violence to the persons, and of trespasses on the property of
our citizens, committed by officers of one of the belligerent
parties received among us. In truth, these abuses of the laws
of hospitality have, with few exceptions, become habitual to
the commanders of the British armed vessels hovering on our
coasts, and frequenting our harbors. They have been the subject
of repeated representations to their Government. Assurances
have been given that proper orders should restrain them within
the limits of the rights and of the respect due to a friendly
nation; but these orders and assurances have been without
effect; no instance of punishment for past wrongs has taken
place. At length a deed, transcending all we have hitherto seen
or suffered, brings the public sensibility to a serious crisis,
and our forbearance to a necessary pause. A frigate of the
United States, trusting to a state of peace, and leaving her
harbor on a distant service, has been surprised and attacked
by a British vessel of a superior force, one of a squadron
then lying in our waters and covering the transaction, and
has been disabled from service, with the loss of a number of
men killed and wounded. This enormity was not only without
provocation or justifiable cause, but was committed with the
avowed purpose of taking by force, from a ship of war of the
United States, a part of her crew; and that no circumstance
might be wanting to mark its character, it had been previously
ascertained that the seamen demanded were native citizens of
the United States. Having effected her purpose she returned to
anchor with her squadron within our jurisdiction. Hospitality
under such circumstances ceases to be a duty; and a continuance
of it, with such uncontrolled abuses, would tend only, by
multiplying injuries and irritations, to bring on a rupture
between the two nations. This extreme resort is equally opposed
to the interests of both, as it is to assurances of the most
friendly dispositions on the part of the British Government,
in the midst of which this outrage has been committed. In this
light the subject cannot but present itself to that Government,
and strengthen the motives to an honorable reparation of the
wrong which has been done, and to that effectual control of its
naval commanders, which alone can justify the Government of the
United States in the exercise of those hospitalities it is now
constrained to discontinue.

In consideration of these circumstances and of the right of
every nation to regulate its own police, to provide for its
peace and for the safety of its citizens, and consequently
to refuse the admission of armed vessels into its harbors or
waters, either in such numbers or of such descriptions, as
are inconsistent with these, or with the maintenance of the
authority of the laws, I have thought proper, in pursuance
of the authorities specially given by law, to issue this my
Proclamation, hereby requiring all armed vessels bearing
commissions under the Government of Great Britain, now within
the harbors or waters of the United States, immediately and
without any delay to depart from the same, and interdicting
the entrance of all the said harbors and waters to the said
armed vessels, and to all others bearing commissions under the
authority of the British Government.

And if the said vessels, or any of them, shall fail to depart
as aforesaid, or if they or any others, so interdicted, shall
hereafter enter the harbors or waters aforesaid, I do in that
case forbid all intercourse with them, or any of them, their
officers or crews, and do prohibit all supplies and aid from
being furnished to them or any of them.

And I do declare, and make known, that if any person from or
within the jurisdictional limits of the United States, shall
afford any aid to any such vessel, contrary to the prohibition
contained in this Proclamation, either in repairing any such
vessel, or in furnishing her, her officers or crew, with
supplies of any kind, or in any manner whatsoever, or if any
pilot shall assist in navigating any of the said armed vessels,
unless it be for the purpose of carrying them, in the first
instance, beyond the limits and jurisdiction of the United
States, or unless it be in the case of a vessel forced by
distress, or charged with public despatches as hereinafter
provided for, such person or persons shall, on conviction,
suffer all the pains and penalties by the laws provided for
such offences.

And I do hereby enjoin and require all persons bearing office,
civil or military, within or under the authority of the United
States, and all others, citizens or inhabitants thereof, or
being within the same, with vigilance and promptitude to exert
their respective authorities, and to be aiding and assisting to
the carrying this Proclamation, and every part thereof, into
full effect.

Provided, nevertheless, that if any such vessel shall be forced
into the harbors or waters of the United States, by distress,
by the dangers of the sea, or by the pursuit of an enemy, or
shall enter them charged with despatches or business from their
Government, or shall be a public packet for the conveyance of
letters and despatches, the commanding officer immediately
reporting his vessel to the collector of the district, stating
the object or cause of entering the said harbors or waters, and
conforming himself to the regulations in that case prescribed
under the authority of the laws, shall be allowed the benefit
of such regulations respecting repairs, supplies, stay,
intercourse, and departure, as shall be permitted under the
same authority.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United
States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same.

Given at the City of Washington the second day of July, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seven, and
of the sovereignty and independence of the United States the
thirty-first.

TH. JEFFERSON.

By the President:

JAMES MADISON,
_Secretary of State._

The Message was read, and, together with the Proclamation, ordered to lie on the table.

SATURDAY, November 21.

_Sir James Jay._

Mr. JONES moved that the House should, according to the order of the day, go into Committee of the Whole on the report in favor of the petition of Sir James Jay. Agreed to, 18 to 29. The report being read with the letter from the Secretary of State accompanying it,

Mr. TAYLOR opposed and Mr. JONES supported it.

The question being taken on concurrence with the report, the votes were, in favor of it 45, against it 46; there appearing some doubt whether this decision was correct, a second count was about to be had, when a debate took place, in which Messrs. UPHAM, COOK, DANA, QUINCY, LOAN, and BLACKLEDGE, supported, and Messrs. J. CLAY, GARDENIER, D. R. WILLIAMS, HOLLAND, TAYLOR, and BURWELL opposed the report.

In support of the report it was urged that the secret mode of correspondence, for which the petitioner prays a compensation, was very useful in the Revolutionary War, and no doubt might be again; that the testimony in favor of the invention was very satisfactory; that there was on file in the office of the Secretary of State, a letter written by General Washington in this invisible ink; that Mr. Jay had never received compensation; that although it had been used by various persons, none had ever yet known the composition of it but himself; that the report was only to authorize the President to purchase this secret if he thought fit, leaving him the judge of its utility.

Those who opposed the report, argued that it was absurd to vote away money for a thing they did not and could not understand; that there never yet was a secret ink made but a composition could be invented that would bring it out, and that possibly Sir James himself might know such a composition; that the House had no security before them that it was not or would not be disclosed to other Governments as well as this; that if secret correspondence was wanted, it had from late occurrences appeared that Entick’s Dictionary and a key word would afford, by writing in cipher, sufficient secrecy.

In the course of this debate much wit was displayed in speaking on different modes of keeping secrets, and the futility of all; with allusions to the secret proceedings of Congress, particularly those which took place on the 19th instant, which were said to have been known before the House took them up. Some amusement also arose amongst the members from the difficulty of hearing each other, and the consequent mistakes that took place.

The question on concurrence being taken was carried, 50 to 48.

The committee rose and reported to the House their agreement to the resolution contained therein; which was read, as follows:

_Resolved_, That it shall be lawful for the President of the
United States to obtain, by purchase, at a reasonable price,
the exclusive right, on behalf of the public, of the system
invented by Sir James Jay, as submitted by him to the Executive
Department of Government: provided, in the opinion of the
President, it will be of public utility and importance to
possess the same.

The House proceeded to consider the said resolution; and, on the question that the House do concur with the Committee of the whole House in their agreement to the same, Messrs. J. CLAY and SOUTHARD opposed, and Messrs. SLOAN, QUINCY, NEWTON, BLACKLEDGE, and CROWNINSHIELD, supported it. The question was then taken, and decided in the affirmative--yeas 74, nays 53.

TUESDAY, November 24.

_British Aggressions._

Mr. BLOUNT, from the committee appointed on so much of the Message of the President of the United States as relates to aggressions committed within our ports and waters by foreign armed vessels; to violations of our jurisdiction; and to measures necessary for the protection of our ports and harbors; presented to the House a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, stating that, in a letter addressed by him, on the twelfth instant, to the chairman of the said committee, some erroneous information had been given, and an omission made, which he had since discovered, and thought it his duty now to correct. The said letter was read, and ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. BLOUNT, from the committee to whom was referred so much of the Message of the President of the United States as relates to aggressions, &c., reported further, in part,

“That the numerous aggressions and violations of our
jurisdiction recently committed within our ports and waters
by British ships of war, whether they are to be regarded as
the effects of positive orders from the British Government, or
as proceeding from that unrestrained insolence and rapacity
in British naval commanders which previously produced the
murder of our fellow-citizen, Pierce, and the perpetration of
many other well-remembered outrages and irritating acts, are
convincing proofs of the necessity of placing our ports and
harbors, as speedily as possible, in a situation to protect
from insult and injury the persons and property of our citizens
living in our seaport towns, or sailing in our own waters,
and to preserve therein the respect due to the constituted
authorities of the nation.

“That the committee, having maturely considered the subject,
are of opinion that the protection desired can be best and most
expediously afforded by means of land batteries and gunboats,
as they have been induced to believe that by a judicious
combination and use of these two powers, effectual protection
can be given, even to our most important seaport towns, against
ships of any size unaccompanied by an army.

“That our most important ports and harbors, and those requiring
the earliest attention and the most expensive fortifications,
are, New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, S. C., Wilmington, N.
C., Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New London,
Newport, R. I., Boston, Salem, Newburyport, Portsmouth, N. H.,
and Portland.

“And that the ports, harbors, and places of minor importance
requiring protection, and which may be protected by less
expensive works, are, St. Mary’s, Ga., Beaufort, and
Georgetown, S. C., Ocracoke, Albemarle Sound, James River,
York, and Rappahannock Rivers, Potomac, Patuxent, Annapolis,
and Eastern Shore, Md., Delaware Bay and River, Egg Harbor, N.
J., Amboy, Long Island, Connecticut shore, Tiverton, R. I., New
Bedford, Marblehead, and Cape Ann, York, Kennebunk, and Saco,
Kennebeck, Sheepscut, Damarescotta, Broad Bay, and St. Georges,
Penobscot, Frenchman’s Bay, and Passamaquoddy Bay.

“Wherefore, your committee holding themselves bound, by the
tenor of the resolution referred to them, to report hereafter
their opinion of the expediency of interdicting the waters
of the United States to foreign armed vessels, according as
circumstances, now unknown, may, when known, seem to require,
submit the following resolutions, viz:

“_Resolved_, That it is expedient to authorize the President of
the United States to cause such fortifications to be erected
as, in addition to those heretofore built, will, with the
assistance of gunboats, afford effectual protection to our
ports and harbors, and preserve therein the respect due to the
constituted authorities of the nation; and that there be, and
hereby is, appropriated for that purpose, out of any moneys
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of ----
dollars.

“_Resolved_, That it is expedient to authorize the President
of the United States to cause to be built an additional number
of gunboats not exceeding ----, and to arm, equip, man, fit,
and employ the same for the protection of our ports and
harbors; and that there be, and hereby is, appropriated for
that purpose, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, the sum of ----.”

The report was referred to a Committee of the Whole on Thursday.

TUESDAY, December 1.

Mr. QUINCY offered the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the Secretary of the Department of War be
directed to lay before this House an account of the state of
the fortifications of the respective ports and harbors of the
United States, with a statement of the moneys appropriated for
fortifications remaining unexpended; and an estimate of the
sums necessary for completing such fortifications as may be
deemed requisite for their defence.

Which being under consideration,

Mr. Q. said the House would perceive the object of this resolution was to obtain information; there was a document on their table which gave some information on the subject, but was not explicit. This resolution was exactly similar to one passed last session, by which the House obtained some important and interesting information; this being the case, he hoped no objection would be made to it.

The resolution was agreed to without a division.

_Soldiers of the Revolution, &c._

Mr. RANDOLPH rose and said, that as long as the subject of national defence was in possession of a respectable committee of the House, and as long as their report was pending before it, he had deemed it, if not improper, at least unavailing in him, to offer any thing upon that subject. But, that committee having reported, he saw, from the course which the debate had taken yesterday, a necessity so pressing that he could no longer dispense with it, for offering some propositions on this most important subject. These propositions grew out of the almost universal impression which seemed to exist that there was but one peculiar mode of defence to which the nation could turn itself in this perilous juncture of their affairs. When so great an appropriation was demanded for this favorite expedient, he feared, that if other plans of defence, which had at least as high claims to the public attention, were not now brought forward, they might hereafter find an empty Treasury, and be compelled to resort to the system of loans, recommended by the head of that department, as the only means, however precarious, of providing for them.

It had always been his opinion, that whether in war or in peace, there was one system of national defence which ought sedulously to be cherished, and concerning which there could not exist a contrariety of opinion between any two men in that House, or out of it; and he had hoped that the attention of the committee (for there were more than one) would have been directed towards it. Were they not told, and was it not self-evident, that if matters came to the last extremity we should not only have an extensive frontier exposed to the inroads of the enemy’s continental possessions, but that a vast line of country, from Detroit to Natchitoches, would have the native savages let loose upon their dispersed and almost defenceless population? Did there exist then no necessity for defence but of a few places on the coast, the depots of privileged wealth, when the whole line of back settlements were left at the mercy of the enemy and their savage adherents, without a force, even upon paper, to protect them? If it should be said that there existed no obligation on the Union gratuitously to bestow arms upon the individual States which had failed to furnish themselves, the same reason would apply yet more forcibly to the fortification of States which had neglected to provide that species of self-defence. In the one case the arms issued were still the general property, at all times disposable for the good of the whole; in the other, the fortifications were so much real estate, vested in the country where erected; fixtures to the freehold. It appeared to him that, whether they considered themselves in a state of profound peace, or on the eve of war, or (as he feared would prove to be the case) in actual war, it behooved them to arm the natural defence of their country; to rely, as had been said by a gentleman from New York, not upon delusive theory but established practice; upon that which, heretofore, had carried them triumphant through danger, and upon which, when they could no longer depend, there was an end of our existence as a nation.

There was another subject to which he hoped the committee would also have turned their attention, one on which, as on the first, no two men could differ; not like gunboats, perishable in its nature, and susceptible of dispute as to its utility, which remained to be tested by experience; a train of formidable artillery, that might not only oppose the enemy in a particular harbor, but calculated to change its position, to bear upon his armed vessels wheresoever they might lie, to compel him to quit our waters, and even, if he should effect a landing, confront him under any possible change of circumstances. He was the more inclined to hope that his opinion would prevail upon this subject, when he heard a gentleman whose influence was almost decisive in that House--he trusted that it was deserved--declare that terra firma was our natural element, that it was madness to dream of coping with the enemy on his own vantage ground: and yet all the provision which they had thought of making, was to fight him with his own weapons. He reminded the House with what striking effect his friend from Maryland, (Mr. R. NELSON,) whose military experience entitled him to a peculiar weight in this matter, had on a former occasion cautioned them, that erect what fortifications they might, the enemy were not obliged to lie before them; that ships of war were a movable force on the water, and to be resisted with effect must be opposed by a movable force on the land.

These were the two leading measures which were impressed on his mind as proper to be adopted. Muskets in the hands of our citizens, and cannon in our arsenals, were so much national wealth, even exclusive of the idea of present national danger. The uses to which they were to be applied under any possible emergency, were not susceptible of dispute. No man could arraign this as a visionary plan of defence, as had been done with respect to gunboats and fortifications. Upon them however he should say nothing at present, except that he thought his the preferable mode of defence, and one entitled to be provided for, before the Treasury should be drained for less worthy purposes.

But there was another and more important measure, which ought to precede any step which the House might take for defence. It was a measure of justice; which would not only entitle them to success, but was eminently calculated to insure it; a measure which would unite all hearts, and nerve every hand in the cause of their country. It would do away the stigma of suffering those who had fought and bled in their service, to starve in the streets. With what face could the Government call upon the youth of the nation to turn out in the public defence, when their eyes were every where assailed by the spectacle of their countrymen and kindred, veterans of the Revolution, who had raised the proud fabric of our independence, begging from door to door a morsel of bread? It was impossible to contemplate the condition of these gallant men, who, after giving to their country every thing, were consigned by it to beggary and want, without sensations of indignation and shame, as well as of commiseration. But it is a subject, said Mr. R., on which I will say no more; I cannot supply feelings to those who are destitute of them; and I should as soon undertake to raise the very dead as to excite those whom the subject itself is unable to move. He concluded by offering three resolutions, calculated to meet the objects he had in view, professing himself, at the same time willing to submit to any amendment which did not alter their substance.

Before he handed these resolutions to the Chair, Mr. R. said he would obviate an objection which might be made at the first; that they had already a law to provide for these persons. To the disgrace of the statute book, they had a pension law. What was the provision? That a man who had incurred disability by known wounds during the Revolutionary war, after being tied down to the most minute proofs, which in most cases, from the death or removal of his old companions in arms, he was unable to give, although the fact might be of general notoriety, was, if he could surmount all the difficulties thrown in his way, entitled to a miserable annuity, to take date, not from the time when the disability occurred, but; from the time when his claim should be established. So that the man whose keen sensibility had restrained him from applying to the public for relief, who had struggled on, in the hope of better days, till the last gasp, was put off with a pension, which so far from discharging the petty debts which he might have contracted previous to his application, would hardly keep soul and body together; when, if his pension were to take date from the time of the service being rendered, as in common justice it ought to do, he might be placed in comparatively easy circumstances.

Mr. R. then submitted to the House the following resolutions:

_Resolved_, That provision ought to be made, by law, for an
adequate and comfortable support of such officers and soldiers
of the late Revolutionary army as are still existing in a
state of indigence, disgraceful to the country which owes its
liberties to their valor.

_Resolved_, That provision ought to be made, by law, for arming
and equipping the whole body of the militia of the United
States.

_Resolved_, That provision ought to be made, by law, for
procuring a formidable train of field artillery for the service
of the United States.

The resolutions were referred to a Committee of the whole House to-morrow.

WEDNESDAY, December 2.

Another member, to wit, from Delaware, NICHOLAS VAN DYKE, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

_Soldiers of the Revolution._

The House went into Committee of the Whole on the resolutions offered by Mr. RANDOLPH yesterday; and the first resolution being under consideration, as follows:

_Resolved_, That provision ought to be made, by law, for an
adequate and comfortable support of such officers and soldiers
of the Revolutionary army as are still existing in a state of
indigence, disgraceful to the country which owes its liberties
to their valor.

Mr. RANDOLPH said he trusted that on this resolution there would exist in the House, as there did in the nation, but one sentiment. The provision which had been made for the officers and soldiers of the Revolution was notoriously scanty and mean. Who, he asked, enjoyed the carrying trade for which, two years ago, we were near being plunged into a war? Emigrants since the peace of 1783. Men who ran no risk--who put nothing to hazard--whilst those who met the enemy in the field, with the gibbet staring them in the face at the same time, were left to pine in want and obscurity. Had the persons who achieved this right to trade with every quarter of the globe less claim to the benefits acquired by their blood than the man of yesterday? But they had no capital for such enterprises. They had sown that others might reap. The very lands which they had won with their swords had become the prey of rapacious adventurers. Should the fruits of the Revolution inure to the sole benefit of those who never put their persons to hazard, or even spent one dollar for the acquisition of our independence? He reminded the House of the pathetic appeal which had been made on a former occasion by one of its oldest members, (Mr. VAN CORTLANDT,) whom he hoped would long enjoy his seat there: “We shall not prove very chargeable to you--there are but few of us left, and they are daily dropping off--you will not be burdened with us long--most of us have broken our constitutions in the public service.” Mr. R. hoped that provision would be made for these gallant veterans--living monuments of the ingratitude of their country; that every man who had a claim on the public for services rendered during the Revolution, would be made comfortable for life, unless his own misconduct should forbid it.

Mr. QUINCY said he did not rise to make objections to the general object of the resolution; but there was one part which he did not think it decorous for the committee to adopt; he meant the epithet _disgraceful_. He was not prepared to fix a disgrace upon the nation by his vote; if it were true that it was disgraced, he should wish more evidence of the fact than had been exhibited on that floor. Were he even to admit that it was a disgrace, he was not willing to turn the eyes of the world upon the shame of his country. In another point of view he objected to this declaration, as it would, by a strained or forced construction, limit the provision contemplated to be made. He should not offer an amendment to the resolution, because he trusted the gentleman himself would amend it. It would, however, meet his wishes either to strike out the last declaratory sentence, or to strike out the words “disgraceful to the,” and insert “in a.”

Mr. RANDOLPH said that he did not feel for his resolution that sort of parental affection which authors were supposed to bear towards their works. The language was perfectly immaterial to him, so as it embraced his object. He thought it needless in a matter of this kind to attend to those verbal niceties with which the gentleman from Massachusetts had amused himself and the committee. So far from disgracing the country, he thought the acknowledgment in question the first step towards wiping off the stigma--a sort of atonement; and if the nation was disgraced, it was their duty as faithful servants to tell her so, and not to flatter her with the success of her arms, and persuade her that she was the very mirror and pink of chivalry, when they knew to the contrary.

It was matter of notoriety, and as such it was proper for the House to act upon, that there existed a great number of citizens in this nation in a state of indigence, who, if their country had done its duty, might, and probably would, have been in far different circumstances. This failure on the part of Government had thrown the evidences of their claims into the hands of men, many, if not most of them, emigrants since the Revolution. He asked whether our public lands, our free commerce--every blessing of our country--should be participated by those who had sacrificed nothing to our independence, and the men who achieved it be suffered to live and die in wretchedness? This was the question which he had propounded to the House, and those who could not comprehend it in its present shape, would not be assisted by any explanations which it was in his power to give. He knew comparisons were odious, but he must be permitted to make one. He would compare the services of Captains Lewis and Clarke, in exploring the continent of the Pacific Ocean, and their remuneration, with the hardships and dangers of the soldiers of the Revolution and their reward. He had no disposition to undervalue the services of those gentlemen and their companions; far from it. He thought them deserving of what they had obtained, and he had voted accordingly. But he should be guilty of gross injustice were he to aver that their labors had been as important to the United States as the services of those who had fought their battles, before they were United States. Yet, what a wide difference in their remuneration! On the one side, ample compensation; on the other, the statute of limitation, or perhaps a scanty pension. Mr. R. wished this subject to be taken up on the broadest ground--that where services could be shown, they should be recompensed--that the State should take the sufferer under her protection, and secure him from want.

Mr. THOMAS asked the gentleman who moved this resolution, whether he intended to confine his provisions to the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war, and not to extend relief to other sufferers? It was well known that there were many others in the service who suffered equally with those in the army--some of whom had lost their limbs, and others who performed meritorious services--and were of as much benefit as soldiers. Were they excluded by the resolution? It was but lately that an officer, who commanded one of our armed ships in the Revolutionary war, was in a state of almost starvation; and there were many more equal sufferers and equally meritorious with those who served in the army.

Mr. RANDOLPH could only say, that his object was to provide for every man who had fought, whether in the militia, the regular army, or the navy.

Mr. QUINCY said he really had not meant to amuse the House or the gentleman from Virginia by the observations which he had made. In certain cases words were things, and certainly this was one of those cases. Would the committee declare their own disgrace by passing the resolution as it now stood? No; they would declare their country to be disgraced. He could not consent to this. He therefore moved, as he wished to make as little alteration in the resolution as possible, to strike out the words “disgraceful to the,” and insert “in a.”

Mr. RANDOLPH did not perceive the necessity of the amendment, neither was he very tenacious of the language of his resolution. The object of it alone was dear to him. Yet, there were occasions in which it behooved men, and nations too, to confess their sins. He thought the present one of them. Would the State of Georgia, for instance, have done herself more honor, if, instead of passing sentence of indelible disgrace on the Legislature which passed the famous law of the 5th of January, 1795, commonly called the Yazoo act, and expunging it from her records, she had faintly censured its authors and their abettors by a dainty circumlocution? He feared he would not be pardoned for introducing the Yazoo act in this case, since he had seen a most respectable Representative from the State of Georgia, (Mr. TROUP,) attacked on all sides for daring to lisp the word Yazoo. They were told it was a worn out thing. That the House and the people were tired of it. That, like the cry of wolf in the fable, it had been repeated until no one would heed it. Mr. R. said that those who calculated in this way reckoned without their host. The people of the Union could never become familiarized and hardened to acts of corruption, by whomsoever they might be practised or patronized. Whether the words were stricken out or not, was perfectly immaterial to him. Perhaps, in rendering the censure more delicate, it was only rendered more severe. He thought the situation of these gentlemen--for gentlemen they were, by the most honorable of all titles, the sword--disgraceful to the country. Whenever the country was disgraced, he was for confessing it, that the people might be roused to wipe it away. For this reason he had said that the navy of the United States was a disgraced navy, and he should continue to say so until its character was retrieved.

Mr. QUINCY said he was as willing as any gentleman to confess his own sins, but did not like to cast censure on other people, much less on his country. They would declare, by passing the resolution as it now stood, that their country was disgraced. He hoped they would not do it. He had no objection to the House confessing its own misdeeds. Let us, said he, work out our own reformation, but not pass a censure on our country. He declared his objection to the resolution to extend no further than to those words.

The amendment moved by Mr. QUINCY was then agreed to without a division; and the question recurring on the original resolution,

A motion was then made for the committee to rise, and carried--75 voting in favor of it.

TUESDAY, December 8.

_Fortifications and Gunboats._

On motion of Mr. BURWELL, the House went into a Committee of the Whole on the bill from the Senate for building gunboats, and the bill for fortifying our ports, as reported by the Committee of Aggressions.

The bill from the Senate being still under consideration,

Mr. MILNOR said, when he was on the floor yesterday, and interrupted by the message from the President, it was his intention to have moved an amendment. The bill provided for building one hundred and eighty-eight gunboats; he moved to strike out the words “and eighty-eight,” so as to reduce the number to one hundred. He thought a hundred gunboats in addition to those they already had, would be fully sufficient, if they also adopted other modes of defence. He had yesterday stated that he did not believe the building additional fortifications, and an additional number of gunboats, would effect the object which appeared to be contemplated by the committee. He confessed he did not place as much reliance in gunboats as some gentlemen did. While he thought they might be useful in aid of land batteries or frigates, it was also his opinion, that if gentlemen examined the statement respecting different aggressions by a certain power, they would find that not one single act of aggression could have been prevented or punished by any batteries on land or gunboats in aid of them. They were not committed in the face of our batteries, or in that part of our ports and harbors where the gunboats could have acted with effect; they were committed within the mouths of our rivers, or just outside them. He thought the construction of a few frigates would be expedient, in addition to those now in our possession. They might act with gunboats; and might drive any foreign nation either to the necessity of bringing a large force on our coasts, and keeping it all together, by which the number of their aggressions would be lessened, or expose their fleets to a force which would be able to avenge the insults offered to us.

Mr. BURWELL said he should vote against the amendment proposed, and in favor of the number reported by the Committee of Aggressions, as contained in the bill from the Senate now under discussion. It appeared to Mr. B. that the gentleman from Pennsylvania had taken a very incorrect view of the subject. That gentleman has objected to this law because it did not make provision for ships of war to serve as a defence to our commerce, and because he supposed the committee had taken up this mode of defence to the exclusion of any other. Mr. B. said it must be obvious to every gentleman that it was almost impossible to have crowded into one bill all the measures of defence which might become necessary; thus it contained no provision for arming the militia, for raising a standing army, building or repairing frigates, &c. The only question now was, on building a number of gunboats, for defence against the attack of a foreign nation. He thought a sufficient number should at once be authorized: for if the number were insufficient to answer the intended purpose, the money expended in their purchase would be so much thrown away; so much expended from which the public would derive no benefit. The opinions of those men best acquainted with the force which might be necessary, which had been communicated to the Committee of Aggressions, has stated this as the competent number.

With respect to the expense of building gunboats, it would be found that the cost of building a frigate would be much greater than a number of gunboats equal to the number of guns carried by a frigate. The Secretary of the Navy had estimated the annual expense of gunboats at $11,000. Mr. B. admitted that the sum appeared enormous, and it remained for the consideration of the House whether they would expend so large a sum for that purpose. The estimate of the Secretary of the Navy went upon the ground that during the whole of the year, forty men would be required to man each of these boats. Mr. B. thought that regulations might be adopted, that would render eight or ten men sufficient to be regularly employed on board these boats; a sufficient force fully to man and use them upon occasion might be organized from the different ports or seaport towns; and it would be found, by recurring to the President’s Message, that the same idea had been entertained by the Executive. And he believed, that although the Secretary of the Navy had estimated $11,000 as the sum necessary for the annual expense, he had done it on the supposition that forty men would be employed during the whole year in each gunboat. At times when Europe and the United States were at peace, it would not be necessary that more than a small portion of those boats should be afloat; they might be kept in ordinary, relying on the seamen of the port for any sudden emergency.