Chapter I: A. Coles (26)

THURSDAY, November 14.

Another member, to wit, JOHN CLOPTON, from Virginia, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.

FRIDAY, November 15.

_Indian Affairs._

Mr. RHEA proposed the following resolution for adoption:

"_Resolved_, That the Committee on Indian Affairs be instructed
to inquire into the expediency of extending the laws of the
United States over those parts of the States and Territories
of the United States, to which the Indian title is not
extinguished, in such manner as that all white persons residing
within any of the said parts of the United States may and shall
be liable to the operation of those laws."

Mr. R. added, that if the petitions which had this morning been presented by the gentleman from North Carolina had been read, the necessity of taking some measure similar to the one which he proposed, would have been evident to every member of the House, as the Indian countries are become an asylum for persons guilty of every enormity.

Mr. PICKENS stated, that if any doubt existed as to the propriety of passing this resolution, he would call for the reading of the petitions which he had presented.

Mr. WRIGHT had some doubts whether the laws of the United States did not at present extend to cases of this kind, and wished the resolution to lie on the table until the subject could be looked into.

Mr. BIBB said, a case had lately occurred in the State of Georgia, which showed the necessity of some farther provision on this subject. A murder of a most atrocious kind had been committed within the Indian country; the parties were taken near the spot, and brought before the federal authority in Georgia; and upon a question of jurisdiction, the judges decided that the court had no authority in the case. In a similar instance, the offenders were brought before the State authorities, which determined in the same way, and the offenders, of course, were in both cases discharged.

Mr. GRUNDY was of opinion that the United States courts had, at present, complete jurisdiction of all criminal cases which might arise within the Indian boundary, the case cited by the gentleman from Georgia notwithstanding; but he supposed the object of this resolution was to supply the defects of the law at present in civil cases.

Mr. POINDEXTER had no doubt but the courts of the United States had jurisdiction of criminal offences, committed within the Indian boundary. Congress, at their first session, made provision for the punishment of offenders charged with murder, piracy, &c., committed on the high seas or without the territory of the United States. But the difficulty suggested by the gentleman from Tennessee existed. Persons who have committed petty offences and debtors go over to the Indian territory, where the law cannot reach them. He doubted whether the resolution was calculated to reach this object, and therefore wished it to lie on the table that it might be amended.

Mr. RHEA hoped he might be permitted to judge for himself whether the resolution which he had offered was calculated to accomplish the object which he had in view. His colleague had intimated that the laws, at present, extend to criminal offences, though the gentleman from Georgia had stated a case in which the judges had determined otherwise. This shows, at least, that the law wants revision, not only with respect to criminal, but civil matters. He had drawn the resolution in the most general terms.

Mr. BIBB could not conceive how the judges of the Federal Court, in the case he had cited, could have decided as they did with the law which had been referred to before them. Perhaps it might have arisen from a clause of the constitution, which directs that jurors shall be drawn from the district where the offence is committed.

The resolution was laid on the table.

_Domestic Manufactures._

Mr. RHEA called up for consideration the resolution which he laid upon the table yesterday, proposing an additional duty on coarse hemp and flax.

The resolution was considered, and, on motion, the words "and cotton," were added to it, by consent of the mover.

Mr. GRUNDY observed, that several detached resolutions for the encouragement of domestic manufactures had been offered to the House. He wished the adoption of a proposition which should include all the manufactures of the country. He hoped the present motion might lie on the table for a few days, until such a proposition could be prepared. It is, said he, an object of great magnitude, when we consider the vast sums of money which have lately been vested in establishments of this kind; and the present is a favorable moment for adopting some measures to give our manufactures countenance and support.

Mr. RHEA could not agree to the proposed postponement. He should never obtain his object, if he were to agree to one postponement after another. His colleague could, at any time, submit his proposition, without hindering the progress of the one he had introduced.

After some conversation as to the propriety of discussing this proposition in the House,

The SPEAKER decided, that though there is a rule of the House which says that all propositions for laying a tax shall be discussed in Committee of the Whole; this resolution, in his opinion, did not come within that rule, as it was merely an instruction to a committee to inquire into the expediency of laying an additional tax.

The motion, for laying the proposition on the table, was carried, 51 to 47.

_American Seamen._

Mr. MILNOR rose, and observed there was no topic more important than the protection of American seamen, and yet he believed it would be acknowledged by all who have given consideration to the subject, that our laws on this subject are materially defective. The object of these laws ought to be twofold; in the first place, for the protection of _bona fide_ American citizens, and secondly, for the prevention of the abuse of those protections by citizens of other countries not entitled to them. It will be recollected, that the act for relief of American seamen makes it the duty of the collectors to furnish certificates of citizenship in the manner therein directed; but, owing to an error of Congress, no manner is prescribed; and, of course, the collectors have been left to accept of such proof as they deemed sufficient, or to act under the directions of the Secretary of the Treasury, which, in most instances, is an unsafe way of proceeding. The penal laws of the United States provide no punishment for the crime of perjury in these cases. A recent instance, Mr. M. said, had occurred in the district which he represented. An Italian, not twenty days in the country, appeared before a notary public, claiming the rights of an American seaman. He made the necessary oaths, and produced a sponsor who swore that he was born in Baltimore. The tongue of the man detected the falsehood. The collector, with that attention to his duty for which he is so remarkable, had both seaman and sponsor apprehended. The attorney for the district looked into the case, and found the crime of perjury to be, the falsely taking an oath according to the laws of the United States; but, as the law was defective, as above stated, the offence was not perjury. The Attorney-General confirmed this opinion. The offenders, therefore, escaped punishment. He believed other amendments might be usefully made to the law on this subject. He concluded by offering the following resolution for adoption, which was agreed to:

"_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed to inquire and
report whether any, and what amendments are necessary to
the laws of the United States relating to the protection of
American seamen; and that the committee have leave to report by
bill or otherwise."

Mr. MILNOR, Mr. LITTLE, Mr. REED, Mr. BASSETT, and Mr. PITKIN, were appointed the committee.

MONDAY, November 18

_Expenditure of Public Money._

Mr. RANDOLPH asked for the consideration of the resolution which he laid on the table some days ago, directing the appointment of a committee to inquire into the expenditure of public money; which, being agreed to, Mr. R. trusted there would be no difference of opinion as to the propriety of agreeing to this resolution. But, before the vote was taken, he would state to the House, by way of explanation, the result of a former inquiry. At the first session of the 11th Congress, a report of a committee was made, in part, on this subject. [This report Mr. R. read. It states that, owing to the shortness of the session, complete information on the subject could not be obtained.] As the session lasted but six weeks, the committee had no reason to complain that the information required was not obtained. An expectation was entertained that it would be given at the next session. But the committee have reason to complain that the information which was given was altogether different from that which was asked. This was represented to the departments, and a more satisfactory report was promised at the ensuing session. Mr. R. said, the course pursued at the first session, under the present President, had been the same which was adopted at the close of Mr. Adams's Administration. At the following session of Congress, the person who was appointed chairman of the committee of the first session, was unable to attend; but it was a gratification to him to find, that the subject was taken up by an honorable colleague of his, to whom the State of Virginia had been more than once indebted for the luminous reports on her fiscal concerns; but nothing was effected. To show how different the information received was, from that asked for, Mr. R. proposed to read a short letter. The object of the committee was, to know in what way the Pursers of the Navy received their money, and what was the amount of their emoluments. The answer they received, stated "that the advances made to Pursers are by warrants drawn on the Treasury, sometimes by Navy agents," &c. We inquired, said he, what were their emoluments, other than those allowed by law? Answer: "they arise from a certain percentage upon _slops_ detailed to the seamen." It may not be amiss, said Mr. R., to inform country gentlemen that, by _slops_, are meant ready-made clothing, &c. It was scarcely possible to have given a more evasive answer. We asked, What were the emoluments? They answer, "a certain percentage fixed by the department;" but what that per cent. was, the committee was left to find out by instinct. It had been understood that large sums of money were advanced to these Pursers, who laid it out in slops, which they retailed to the seamen at an advance, in some instances, of twenty per cent.! This was a fact, Mr. R. said, which ought to be looked into. It was essential to the reputation of the Government, essential to its honor, indispensable to the fair fame of those who administer the finances of the United States, that abuses, such as these, should be probed to the quick, to show to the world that, if we cannot govern the great beasts, the mammoths of the forest, we can, at least, poison the _rats_. And whose money, asked Mr. R., is this? It is the people's money; it comes from the pockets of the people of the United States. When he spoke of this abuse of public money, he wished no gentleman to understand him as speaking of the abuse under this, that, or the other President of the United States. He considered them all as of one description of people; and it was not less necessary to guard against abuses in a country where the President is elected by the people, than in a country where he is put over them. He would dare to question the infallibility of all, and look upon all with jealousy and distrust. He wished not, however, to be charged with that mistaken opposition to the Government, which determines to exhibit abuses for the sake of doing so; or with shutting his eyes to the abuses of _Thomas_, while they are open to the abuses of _John_. Mr. R. said he had no interest distinct from the interest of his country. With respect to princes and potentates, the only favor he had to ask of them was, that they would keep their hands out of his pocket and off his person, and, to use a homely phrase, "if they would let him alone, he would let them alone."

Under these circumstances, Mr. R. asked the House if it were not necessary for a committee to be appointed to probe into this business? He wished to state, before he sat down, that he had learnt, soon after the present Secretary of the Navy came into office, the percentage of the Pursers was reduced from twenty to four or five per cent.

The resolution was unanimously agreed to, and a committee of seven appointed, as follows: Messrs. RANDOLPH, GOLD, MCKIM, ROBERTS, JOHNSON, LAW, and WIDGERY.

TUESDAY, November 19.

_Territory of Louisiana._

On motion of Mr. RHEA, the House went into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill for the government of the Territory of Louisiana. The bill being read by paragraphs, Mr. FISK moved to strike out the words in the fifth section of the bill, which makes it necessary for persons to be in possession of a freehold to have a right to vote. This motion was opposed by Mr. RANDOLPH, on principle, in a speech of considerable length, in which he advocated the freehold qualification for voters. The motion was opposed also by Mr. RHEA, as unnecessary for the attainment of the mover's object; as he stated the qualification for voters was twofold--one was the possession of a freehold, the other a residence of a year previous to the time of election.

Mr. POINDEXTER made a motion, which superseded that of the gentleman from Vermont, to strike out all that part of the section which defined the qualification of voters, and insert, "every free white male citizen residing in the said Territory, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and paid a tax."

This amendment was debated till the usual hour of adjournment, when the committee rose without taking the question, and obtained leave to sit again.

This debate, though protracted to considerable length, embraced a very narrow question, viz: whether it is better to require voters to hold freehold property, or to suffer every man to possess the privilege of voting who has arrived to the age of twenty-one years. As already stated, Mr. RANDOLPH took the first ground, and introduced the practice of Virginia to show that it was attended with the best effects. Mr. FISK, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. SMILIE, and Mr. POINDEXTER, took the opposite side of the question. They argued that life and liberty are superior to property--that these are dearer to the poor man than all the property of the rich. Mr. WRIGHT said, that the State of Maryland had tried the property qualification for voting, had found it attended with bad effects, and had now abandoned it. It was formerly required that a voter should be possessed of property to the value of thirty pounds; so that if a man possessed a horse of that value, he was entitled to a vote; but if the horse happened to die before the election, he lost his privilege, which was placing the right in the _horse_ instead of the _man_. As to freehold qualifications, they were evaded too by deeds made for the occasion, which were afterwards cancelled.

Mr. RANDOLPH, in combating the principle of universal suffrage, said that it was impossible for the gentleman himself, (alluding to Mr. SMILIE,) or any piping-hot member from a Jacobin club--for any disciple of _Tom Paine_ or of the _Devil_--to carry this principle of equality to its full extent; for even they must exclude from its operation minors and females. He also took occasion to pronounce a strong philippic against foreigners having any part in the Government. Mr. SMILIE, in his reply, paid a tribute of respect to the memory of Paine, on account of his valuable political writings, which had been considered as highly serviceable in the Revolution, and which would always be esteemed wherever the _rights of man_ are understood, and reminded him of the foreigners who had assisted in fighting our Revolutionary battles. Mr. RANDOLPH justified his allusion to Paine; said he was sorry the gentleman had not recollected his "Age of Reason," as well as his "Rights of Man;" and as to any services which he rendered by his writings, he thought little of them. The heroes engaged in that great cause did not need the assistance of an English _staymaker_. In reply, Mr. SMILIE said, he never interfered with a man's religious opinion; that was a private concern, which lay between God and a man's own conscience; and as to the profession of Paine, that, he apprehended, would never lessen the value of his writings.

WEDNESDAY, November 20.

Another member, to wit, ARCHIBALD MCBRYDE, from North Carolina, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.

THURSDAY, November 21.

Another member, to wit, ELISHA R. POTTER, from Rhode Island, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.

_Additional Duties._

On motion of Mr. RHEA, the House took up for consideration the resolution which he had submitted some days ago, proposing to instruct the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures to inquire into the expediency of laying an additional duty on coarse manufactures of hemp, flax, and cotton.

This resolution produced a long desultory debate, which occupied the House the whole of the day, without coming to any decision upon it.

Mr. STANFORD, on the ground that the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures had already this subject under consideration, moved an indefinite postponement of the resolution.

This motion was negatived, 58 to 48.

Mr. KING proposed an amendment. He expressed himself friendly to the resolution of the gentleman from Tennessee, and to the encouragement of domestic manufactures generally. His amendment was in the following words:

"And also into the expediency of laying a duty on the
importation of salt, with authority to report by bill or
otherwise."

Mr. K. observed, that this was an article of general consumption, and its manufacture ought to be encouraged; as it was known what difficulties this country had experienced, and might again experience, when placed in a situation in which a sufficiency of salt could not be obtained. He hoped, therefore, his amendment would be agreed to.

Mr. SMILIE was afraid the House was getting into a practice that would produce great trouble and confusion, by departing from the usual and settled mode of proceeding. It had always been deemed irregular, when a subject was committed, to bring it forward in the House before the committee made its report. Look at our situation, said he. A gentleman proposes a tax on manufactures of cotton, another on salt. Every gentleman has his favorite manufacture which he wishes encouraged, so that an armful of resolutions will be thrown into the hands of this committee. Mr. S. said he was friendly to the manufactures of our country, and was willing to give them every aid; but he did not wish, in doing this, to break through established rules. If gentlemen would suspend their remarks on the subject until the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures make their report, they will then have a fair opportunity of delivering their sentiments fully, and of supporting such particular manufactures as they may deem of most importance to the country. He hoped that neither the amendment nor the resolution would be agreed to.

Mr. ALSTON considered the gentleman from Pennsylvania mistaken as to the rule and practice of the House. If the doctrine which he maintains were correct, gentlemen might be defeated in effecting the objects which they have in view. It was only to refer a subject to a committee; and if a majority of that committee were unfriendly, and either failed to report, or reported inimically, the friends of the measure might be defeated, though there were a majority in the House in its favor. It was a common practice, Mr. A. said, to refer a subject generally to a committee, and afterwards instruct them, by resolution, as to particular branches of the subject.

Mr. NEWTON (the Chairman of the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures) said, the subject of manufactures was considered as being generally before them, and he knew it to be the intention of the committee to take up the matter comprehensively; and if any gentleman shall think proper to give them information respecting any particular manufacture, either orally or in writing, they will be glad to receive it. Mr. N. thought the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. ALSTON) was mistaken, when he said that a committee had the power of defeating the purposes of members; because, whenever a report was made, it was in the power of a majority of the House to amend it, and make it just what they please.

Mr. QUINCY was in favor of the amendment offered by the gentleman from North Carolina, (Mr. KING,) and thanked him for bringing it forward. Some of his constituents, men who lived on the sandbanks of the country, were deeply interested in the manufacture of salt, and had been nearly ruined by the repeal of the duty on that article. He was friendly to a duty on salt, as it was more equal and less felt in the payment than any other, and he had always thought it strange that the duty had been repealed.

Mr. MACON thought the proposition to tax this necessary of life, at a time when it is probable we may find a difficulty in procuring it in sufficient quantity, was very ill-timed. The repeal of this duty had been called strange. He thought it would have been more strange had Congress continued the duty when the Treasury was not in need of the money arising from it. If there was any thing strange in the business, it was that there should have been any opposition to the repeal. Mr. M. agreed with the remark made by a gentleman from Massachusetts some days ago, that taxes, to be just, ought to be equal. Would a tax on salt, he asked, be equal? It certainly would not. People on the seacoast would not feel it. Their cattle would refuse it, if given to them. The interior of the country, the people from East to West, would have to bear the weight of this tax. But the gentleman from Massachusetts says the repealing of this duty ruined his constituents, who live on the sandbanks of the country. He would not consent, however, to tax the people of his part of the country, living on sandhills, to support that gentleman's sandbank constituents.

But this duty, it is said, is to be laid to encourage manufactures. Why this great cry about domestic manufactures? He thought they had already sufficient encouragement from the present situation of things. The President had recommended the subject to the consideration of the House, and he had no doubt the committee, to whom it had been referred, would do what is proper on the subject. Mr. M. wished to know for what purpose this additional duty is wanted. If, said he, it be wanted for going to war, let us know it. For his part, he had heard so much about war formerly, that he hardly thought we should get at it now.

Mr. M. said on a former occasion, when the country was in a situation something like the present, a gentleman from Virginia was so alarmed lest salt sufficient could not be had, that he proposed a bounty on its importation. What, said Mr. M., will be the effect of a proposition for taxing salt in the country? He had no doubt that, in the Southern States, it would immediately raise the price of the article at Petersburg and Fayetteville. On this account, he hoped, if the House did not mean to lay a tax on salt, that the proposition would be immediately discarded. For himself, he would sooner consent to a land or poll tax than a tax on salt.

Mr. SMILIE moved a postponement of the resolution until the first Monday in February next.

This motion was debated at some length. Some who wished to vote for it, wished the proposition for a tax on salt to be disconnected with the original proposition.

FRIDAY, November 22.

Another member, to wit, EDWIN GRAY, from Virginia, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.

_Apportionment of Representatives._

On motion of Mr. DAWSON, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill for apportioning the Representatives among the several States, according to the third enumeration.

The bill having been read, the question on filling the blanks occurred. The first was in relation to the number of inhabitants for each Representative; when

Mr. DAWSON observed, that he was instructed by the committee who directed him to report this bill, to propose filling the blank with the words _forty thousand_; but he should himself vote against filling the blank with this number, because it would deprive the State of Rhode Island of one-half of her present Representatives; it would deprive Connecticut and Maryland each of one member, and Virginia of two. He should, therefore, be in favor of filling the blank with 37,000, as this number would not deprive any State of a Representative, and it would only increase the present number of Representatives from 142 to 180.

Mr. DAWSON then moved, that the said blank be filled with the words "thirty-seven thousand;" and the question thereon being taken, was resolved in the affirmative--yeas 102, nays 18.

Mr. DAWSON moved to fill the other blanks in the bill, as follows: New Hampshire, five members; Massachusetts, eighteen; Vermont, five; Rhode Island, two; Connecticut, seven; New York, twenty-five; New Jersey, six; Pennsylvania, twenty-one; Delaware, one; Maryland, nine; Virginia, twenty-two; North Carolina, thirteen; South Carolina, nine; Georgia, five; Kentucky, ten; Ohio, six; and Tennessee, six.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and the House adjourned.

MONDAY, December 2.

JOHN TALIAFERRO, who has been declared entitled to a seat in this House, as one of the members for Virginia, in the place of John P. Hungerford, who has been declared not entitled to a seat in this House, appeared, was qualified, and took his seat.

FRIDAY, December 6.

Mr. EMOTT presented a petition of Harrison and Lewis, of the city of New York, merchants, praying permission to import from the British West India Islands, goods to the amount of debts owing to them by certain inhabitants in said islands.--Referred to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures.

Mr. SMILIE presented a memorial of the President and Managers of the Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania, praying the aid and patronage of the General Government in accomplishing the extensive and useful works in which they are engaged; which was read, and referred to a select committee.

Messrs. SMILIE, RIDGELY, RINGGOLD, BAKER, and BLEECKER, were appointed the committee.

A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate _insist_ on their amendments, disagreed to by this House, to the bill "for the apportionment of Representatives among the several States according to the third enumeration;" agree to the proposed conference, and have appointed managers on their part at the same.

_Foreign Relations._

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, to which Committee of the Whole was committed the report of the Committee on Foreign Relations, made some days ago.

The report having been read--

Mr. PORTER said that the House were probably expecting from the Committee of Foreign Relations some explanations of their views in reporting the resolutions now under consideration, in addition to the general exposition of them contained in the report itself. The committee themselves felt that such explanations were due, inasmuch as they had only reported in part, and had intimated their intention to follow up these resolutions, should they be adopted, by the recommendation of ulterior measures.

The committee, Mr. P. said, after examining the various documents accompanying the President's Message, were satisfied, as he presumed every member of the House was, that all hopes of accommodating our differences with Great Britain by negotiation must be abandoned. When they looked at the correspondence between the two Governments; when they observed the miserable shifts and evasions (for they were entitled to no better appellation) to which Great Britain resorted to excuse the violations of our maritime rights, it was impossible not to perceive that her conduct towards us was not regulated even by her own sense of justice, but solely by a regard to the probable extent of our forbearance. The last six years had been marked by a series of progressive encroachments on our rights; and the principles by which she publicly upheld her aggressions, were as mutable as her conduct. We had seen her one year advancing doctrines, which the year before she had reprobated. He had seen her one day capturing our vessels under pretexts, which on the preceding day she would have been ashamed or afraid to avow. Indeed, said Mr. P., she seems to have been constantly and carefully feeling our pulse, to ascertain what potions we would bear; and if we go on submitting to one indignity after another, it will not be long before we shall see British subjects, not only taking our property in our harbors, but trampling on our persons in the streets of our cities.

Having become convinced that all hopes from further negotiation were idle, the committee, Mr. P. said, were led to the consideration of another question, which was--whether the maritime rights which Great Britain is violating were such as we ought to support at the hazard and expense of a war? And he believed he was correct in stating that the committee was unanimously of the opinion that they were. The committee thought that the Orders in Council, so far as they go to interrupt our direct trade, that is, the carrying of the productions of this country to a market in the ports of friendly nations, and returning with the proceeds of them--ought to be resisted by war. How far we ought to go in support of what is commonly called the carrying trade, although the question was agitated in the committee, no definitive opinion was expressed. It was not deemed necessary, at this time, to express such an opinion, inasmuch as the injury we sustain by the inhibition of this trade is merged in the greater one to our direct trade.

The Orders in Council, Mr. P. said, of which there seemed now to be no prospect of a speedy repeal--certainly none during the continuance of the present war--authorized the capture of our vessels bound to and from ports where British commerce is not favorably received; and as that nation is at war with most of the civilized world, the effect was (as he understood from those who had much better information on the subject than he could pretend to) to cut up, at once, about three-fourths of our best and most profitable commerce. It was impossible that the mercantile or agricultural interests of the United States, which on the question of a right to the direct trade could never be separated, could submit to such impositions. It was his opinion, that going upon the ground of a mere pecuniary calculation, a calculation of profits and loss, it would be for our interest to go to war to remove the Orders in Council, rather than submit to them, even during the term of their probable continuance.

But there was another point of view in which the subject presented itself to the committee, and that was as regarded the character of the country. We were a young nation, and he hoped we cherished a little pride and spirit, as well as a great deal of justice and moderation. Our situation was not unlike that of a young man just entering into life, and who, if he tamely submitted to one cool, deliberate, intentional indignity, might safely calculate to be kicked and cuffed for the whole of the remainder of his life; or, if he should afterwards undertake to retrieve his character, must do it at ten times the expense which it would have cost him at first to support it. We should clearly understand and define those rights which as a nation we ought to support, and we should support them at every hazard. If there be any such thing as rights between nations, surely the people of the United States, occupying the half of a continent, have a right to navigate the seas, without being molested by the inhabitants of the little island of Great Britain.

It was under these views of the subject that the committee did not hesitate to give it as their opinion, that we ought to go to war in opposition to the Orders in Council. But as to the extent of the war and the time when it should be commenced, there would of course be some diversity of sentiment in the House, as there was, at first, in the committee.

That we can contend with Great Britain openly and even handed on the element where she injures us, it would be folly to pretend. Were it even in our power to build a navy which should be able to cope with her, no man who has any regard for the happiness of the people of this country would venture to advise such a measure. All the fame and glory which the British navy has acquired at sea, have been dearly paid for in the sufferings and misery of that ill-fated people at home--sufferings occasioned in a great measure by the expense of that stupendous establishment. But without such a navy the United States could make a serious impression upon Great Britain, even at sea. We could have, within six months after a declaration of war, hundreds of privateers in every part of the ocean. We could harass, if not destroy, the vast and profitable commerce which she is constantly carrying on to every part of this continent. We could destroy her fisheries to the north; we could depredate upon her commerce to the West India Islands, which is passing by our doors; we could annoy her trade along the coast of South America; we could even carry the war to her own shores in Europe.

Mr. P. said he had risen merely for the purpose of explaining to the House the opinion and views of the committee in relation to the resolutions now to be discussed, and he should be satisfied if he had been so fortunate as to succeed.

The question was then taken on the first resolution for filling the ranks of the present army, &c., and carried.

SATURDAY, December 7.

_Territorial Government in Upper Louisiana._

Mr. PLEASANTS presented a remonstrance and petition of sundry inhabitants of St. Louis, in the Territory of Louisiana, stating the many injuries and inconveniences which would result from a change in their form of government, and praying that no alteration may be made in their said form of government.--Referred to the Committee of the Whole on the bill providing for the government of the said Territory.

MONDAY, December 9.

_Foreign Relations._

The House resumed the consideration of the report of the Committee of Foreign Relations.

The question being on the agreement to the second resolution, authorizing the raising an additional regular force--

Mr. GRUNDY, as a member of the committee stated his impression that this was the vital part of the report; and although he had no desire to prolong debate, invited those who were opposed to the report now to come forward and state their objections to it.

Mr. RANDOLPH said he was an old-fashioned politician. In the days of terror, we shrunk at standing armies; and what is the object now--defence? Who? Freemen who would not defend themselves. He would ask, if seven millions of Americans were to be protected in their lives and liberties by ten thousand vagabonds who were fit food for gunpowder? It would be necessary to know the ulterior views of the committee on this point. It would be proper, before a vote was taken on this resolution, to know for what purpose these additional troops were wanted. The House ought not to commit itself on a question of such magnitude without detailed information. He was as much opposed to raising standing armies now, as he had been in the reign of terror. He had seen too much of the corruptions attendant on those establishments, in the course of the investigation in which he was engaged, not to disclaim all share in the creation of them. The people of the United States could defend themselves, if necessary, and had no idea of resting their defence on mercenaries, picked up from brothels and tippling houses--pickpockets who have escaped from Newgate, &c., and sought refuge in this asylum of oppressed humanity. He contended that this resolution contained an unconstitutional proposition, and that the standing army now in the service of the United States was maintained in the very teeth of that part of the constitution which declares that no money for the support of a standing army should be appropriated for more than two years. He again called for information as to the object of the army now proposed to be raised; declaring, that, if the President should say they were necessary for the protection of New Orleans, to be employed against the Indians, or to repel incursions from Canada, (although this seemed not to be much thought of,) he should not refuse to grant them. He declared the report to be a negative position, which could not be combated except to disadvantage. He wished to know the constitutional resources of the committee, and expressed a hope that the remarks he had made would draw out the talents of that body.

Mr. GRUNDY.--I did not expect that the gentleman from Virginia would have made any inquiries into the motives or objects of that committee of which he himself was a member. He, sir, attended faithfully to his duty, and witnessed every step the committee took. He also saw the report before it was made to this House, and must have heard the exposition of our ulterior measures, as explained by our Chairman. Why, then, sir, shall he now affect not to understand us? Our object, by those who will listen, shall not be misunderstood. And, Mr. Speaker, as I have no political secrets, I feel no hesitation in declaring to you, to this House, and to the nation, the view I have taken of the subject. But before I do this, it is due to the committee that an explanation of their conduct should take place.

So soon as the Committee on our Foreign Relations was appointed, we were forcibly impressed with the serious and highly responsible station you had assigned us; to that committee, consisting of nine members only, were not only the eyes of this House but of the nation turned; and from us, in this, the most troubled season our world has ever known, was it expected that a course of measures would be recommended, calculated to protect the interests of seven millions of people. Under this impression, Mr. Speaker, we deemed it a duty to take time for deliberation; we thought it better to encounter the charge of having acted in a tardy and dilatory way, than to take a rash step, by which this nation might be plunged into difficulties, from which it could not be easily extricated. We therefore took the necessary time to weigh the arguments both for and against the measures we have recommended; and, as far as we were able, we surveyed the consequences which were to follow from the course we proposed. We foresaw, Mr. Speaker, that our countrymen were to fall in the meditated conflict, and that American blood was to stream afresh. Nor were we unmindful of the expenditure of public treasure. And, sir, what cost me more reflection than every thing else, was the new test to which we are to put this Government. We are about to ascertain by actual experiment how far our Republican institutions are calculated to stand the shock of war, and whether, after foreign danger disappeared, we can again assume our peaceful attitude, without endangering the liberties of the people.

Against these considerations, weighty in themselves, your committee felt themselves constrained to decide, influenced by existing circumstances of a character too imperious to be resisted: these I will enumerate before I sit down. My business at present is to address a particular portion of the members of this House--I mean, sir, the Republican members--and although what I am about to say might be deemed impolitic on ordinary subjects of legislation, yet, at this time and on this occasion, it would be criminal to conceal a single thought which might influence their determination. We should now, Mr. Speaker, forget little party animosities, we should mingle minds freely, and, as far as we are able, commune with the understandings of each other; and, the decision once made, let us become one people, and present an undivided front to the enemies of our country.

Republicans should never forget that some years ago a set of men of different politics held the reins of this Government, and drove the car of State; they were charged with being friendly to standing armies in times of peace, and favorable to expensive establishments; not for the purpose of opposing foreign enemies, but to encourage Executive patronage, and to bring these forces to operate upon the people themselves. These measures alarmed the Republicans; they remonstrated, they clamored, they appealed to the people, and by a national sentence, the men then in power were taken down from their high places, and Republican men were put in their seats.

If your minds are resolved on war, you are consistent, you are right, you are still Republicans; but if you are not resolved, pause and reflect, for should this resolution pass, and you then become faint-hearted, remember that you have abandoned your old principles, and trod in the paths of your predecessors.

According to my view of this subject, Mr. Speaker, we now stand on the bank; one movement more, the Rubicon is passed, we are in Italy, and we must march to Rome.

As a member of the committee, I feel no hesitation in saying, that if there be a member here, not determined to go with us to the extent of our measures, I prefer now to take my leave of him, rather than be deserted when the clouds darken, and the storm thickens upon us.

This admonition I owed to candor--I have paid it, not because I doubted; my purpose is settled, my mind reposes upon it. I may be in an error. If I am, I hope my country will forgive me. From my God I shall never need it, because he knows the purity of my motives.

What, Mr. Speaker, are we now called on to decide? It is whether we will resist by force the attempt made by that Government, to subject our maritime rights to the arbitrary and capricious rule of her will; for my part I am not prepared to say that this country shall submit to have her commerce interdicted or regulated by any foreign nation. Sir, I prefer war to submission.

Over and above these unjust pretensions of the British Government, for many years past they have been in the practice of impressing our seamen from merchant vessels; this unjust and lawless invasion of personal liberty, calls loudly for the interposition of this Government. To those better acquainted with the facts in relation to it, I leave it to fill up the picture. My mind is irresistibly drawn to the West.

Although others may not strongly feel the bearing which the late transactions in that quarter have on this subject, upon my mind they have great influence. It cannot be believed by any man who will reflect that the savage tribes, uninfluenced by other powers, would think of making war on the United States. They understand too well their own weakness, and our strength. They have already felt the weight of our arms; they know they hold the very soil on which they live as tenants at sufferance. How, then, sir, are we to account for their late conduct? In one way only; some powerful nation must have intrigued with them and turned their peaceful disposition towards us into hostilities. Great Britain alone has intercourse with those northern tribes; I therefore infer, that if British gold has not been employed, their baubles and trinkets, and the promise of support, and a place of refuge if necessary, have had their effect.

If I am right in this conjecture, war is not to commence by sea or land, it is already begun; and some of the richest blood of our country has already been shed. Yes, Mr. Speaker, in one individual has fallen, the honest man, the orator and the soldier.[14] That he loved his country none can doubt--he died to preserve its honor and its fame--I mean the late commander of the cavalry; you, sir, who have often I measured your strength with his in forensic debate, can attest that he in a good degree was the pride of the western country, and Kentucky claimed him as a favorite son. For his loss, with those who fell by his side, the whole western country is ready to march; they only wait for our permission; and, sir, war once declared, I pledge myself for my people--they will avenge the death of their brethren.

TUESDAY, December 10.

Another member, to wit, JAMES COCHRAN, from North Carolina, appeared and took his seat.

_Spanish American Colonies._

Mr. MITCHILL, from the committee appointed on that part of the President's Message which relates to the Spanish American Colonies, made a report, in part, thereon; which was read and referred to a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union. The report is as follows:

The committee to whom was referred so much of the President's
Message as relates to the Spanish American colonies, have, in
obedience to the order of the House, deliberately considered
the subject before them, and directed a report, in part, to be
submitted to the consideration of the House, in the form of a
public declaration, as follows:

Whereas several of the American Spanish provinces have
represented to the United States that it has been found
expedient for them to associate and form Federal Governments
upon the elective and representative plan, and to declare
themselves free and independent--Therefore be it

_Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That they
behold with friendly interest, the establishment of independent
sovereignties by the Spanish provinces in America, consequent
upon the actual state of the monarchy to which they belonged;
that as neighbors and inhabitants of the same hemisphere the
United States feel great solicitude for their welfare; and
that when those provinces shall have attained the condition
of nations, by the just exercise of their rights, the Senate
and House of Representatives will unite with the Executive, in
establishing with them as sovereign and independent States,
such amicable relations and commercial intercourse as may
require their Legislative authority.

_Foreign Relations._

The order of the day being called for, the SPEAKER observed, that the gentleman from Virginia on the right of the Chair was entitled to the floor.

Mr. RANDOLPH rose. He expressed his sense of the motive which had induced the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. GRUNDY) to move the adjournment, yesterday, and of the politeness of the House in granting it; at the same time declaring that in point of fact he had little cause to be thankful for the favor, well intended as he knew it to have been--since he felt himself even less capable of proceeding with his argument, than he had been on the preceding day.

It was a question, as it had been presented to the House, of peace or war. In that light it had been argued; in no other light could he consider it, after the declaration made by members of the Committee of Foreign Relations. Without intending any disrespect to the Chair, he must be permitted to say that if the decision yesterday was correct, "That it was not in order to advance any arguments against the resolution, drawn from topics before other committees of the House," the whole debate, nay, the report itself on which they were acting, was disorderly; since the increase of the military force was a subject at that time in agitation by the select committee raised on that branch of the President's Message. But it was impossible that the discussion of a question broad as the wide ocean of our foreign concerns--involving every consideration of interest, of right, of happiness and of safety at home--touching in every point, all that was dear to freemen, "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor!"--could be tied down by the narrow rules of technical routine. The Committee of Foreign Relations had indeed decided that the subject of arming the militia (which he had pressed upon them as indispensable to the public security) did not come within the scope of their authority. On what ground, he had been and still was unable to see, they had felt themselves authorized (when that subject was before another committee) to recommend the raising of standing armies, with a view (as had been declared) of immediate war--a war not of defence, but of conquest, of aggrandizement, of ambition; a war foreign to the interests of this country, to the interests of humanity itself.

He knew not how gentlemen, calling themselves republicans, could advocate such a war. What was their doctrine in 1798-'9, when the command of the army--that highest of all possible trusts in any Government, be the form what it may--was reposed in the bosom of the Father of his Country, the sanctuary of a nation's love, the only hope that never came in vain! When other worthies of the Revolution--Hamilton, Pinckney, and the younger Washington--men of tried patriotism, of approved conduct and valor, of untarnished honor, held subordinate command under him! Republicans were then unwilling to trust a standing army, even to his hands who had given proof that he was above all human temptation. Where now is the Revolutionary hero to whom you are about to confide this sacred trust? To whom will you confide the charge of leading the flower of our youth to the Heights of Abraham? Will you find him in the person of an acquitted felon? What! then you were unwilling to vote an army where such men as had been named held high command! when WASHINGTON himself was at the head--did you then show such reluctance, feel such scruples; and are you now nothing loth, fearless of every consequence? Will you say that your provocations were less then than now? When your direct commerce was interdicted--your Ambassadors hooted with derision from the French Court--tribute demanded--actual war waged upon you!

Those who opposed the army then were indeed denounced as the partisans of France; as the same men--some of them at least--are now held up as the advocates of England; those firm and undeviating Republicans who then dared, and now dare, to cling to the ark of the constitution, to defend it even at the expense of their fame, rather than surrender themselves to the wild projects of mad ambition! There was a fatality attending plenitude of power. Soon or late some mania seizes upon its possessors--they fall from the dizzy height through the giddiness of their own heads. Like a vast estate, heaped up by the labor and industry of one man, which seldom survives the third generation--power, gained by patient assiduity, by a faithful and regular discharge of its attendant duties, soon gets above its own origin. Intoxicated with their own greatness the Federal party fell. Will not the same causes produce the same effects now as then? Sir, you may raise this army, you may build up this vast structure of patronage, this mighty apparatus of favoritism; but--"lay not the flattering unction to your souls"--you will never live to enjoy the succession. You sign your political death warrant.

Mr. R. here adverted to the provocation to hostilities from shutting up the Mississippi by Spain in 1803--but more fully to the conduct of the House in 1805-'6, under the strongest of all imaginable provocatives to war; the actual invasion of our country. He read various passages from the President's public Message of December 3, 1805.