Chapter I: A. Coles (43)

They have not, it is true, taken into their own hands the hatchet and the knife, devoted to indiscriminate massacre; but they have let loose the savages, armed with these cruel instruments; have allured them into their service, and carried them to battle by their sides, eager to glut their savage thirst with the blood of the vanquished, and to finish the work of torture and death on maimed and defenceless captives: and, what was never before seen, British commanders have extorted victory over the unconquerable valor of our troops, by presenting to the sympathy of their chief awaiting massacre from their savage associates.

And now we find them, in further contempt of the modes of honorable warfare, supplying the place of a conquering force, by attempts to disorganize our political society, to dismember our confederated Republic. Happily, like others, these will recoil on the authors; but they mark the degenerate counsels from which they emanate; and if they did not belong to a series of unexampled inconsistencies, might excite the greater wonder, as proceeding from a Government which founded the very war in which it has been so long engaged, on a charge against the disorganizing and insurrectional policy of its adversary.

To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it was followed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a disposition to arrest its progress. The sword was scarcely out of the scabbard, before the enemy was apprised of the reasonable terms on which it would be resheathed. Still more precise advances were repeated, and have been received in a spirit forbidding every reliance not placed on the military resources of the nation.

These resources are amply sufficient to bring the war to an honorable issue. Our nation is, in number, more than half that of the British isles. It is composed of a brave, a free, a virtuous, and an intelligent people. Our country abounds in the necessaries, the arts, and the comforts of life. A general prosperity is visible in the public countenance. The means employed by the British Cabinet to undermine it, have recoiled on themselves; have given to our national faculties a more rapid development; and draining or diverting the precious metals from British circulation and British vaults, have poured them into those of the United States. It is a propitious consideration, that an unavoidable war should have found this seasonable facility for the contributions required to support it. When the public voice called for war, all knew and still know, that without them it could not be carried on through the period which it might last; and the patriotism, the good sense, and the manly spirit of our fellow-citizens, are pledges for the cheerfulness with which they will bear each his share of the common burden. To render the war short, and its success sure, animated, and systematic exertions alone are necessary; and the success of our arms now may long preserve our country from the necessity of another resort to them. Already have the gallant exploits of our naval heroes proved to the world our inherent capacity to maintain our rights on one element. If the reputation of our arms has been thrown under clouds on the other, presaging flashes of heroic enterprise assure us that nothing is wanting to correspondent triumphs there also, but the discipline and habits which are in daily progress.

TWELFTH CONGRESS.--SECOND SESSION.

PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES

IN

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

MONDAY, November 2, 1812.

This being the day appointed by law for the meeting of Congress, the following members of the House of Representatives appeared, and took their seats, to wit:

_From New Hampshire_--Samuel Dinsmoor, Obed Hall, and John A.
Harper.

_From Massachusetts_--Abijah Bigelow, Elijah Brigham, Richard
Cutts, Wm. Ely, Isaiah L. Green, Ebenezer Seaver, William M.
Richardson, Charles Turner, jr., Laban Wheaton, Leonard White,
Wm. Widgery.

_From Rhode Island_--Richard Jackson, jr.

_From Connecticut_--Epaphroditus Champion, John Davenport, jr.,
Lyman Law, and Jonathan O. Mosely.

_From Vermont_--Martin Chittenden, Wm. Strong.

_From New York_--Daniel Avery, Harmanus Bleecker, James Emott,
Asa Fitch, Sam. L. Mitchill, Benjamin Pond, Thomas Sammons,
Pierre Van Cortlandt, jr.

_From New Jersey_--Adam Boyd, Lewis Condict, Jacob Hufty, and
Thomas Newbold.

_From Pennsylvania_--Wm. Anderson, David Bard, Robert Brown,
William Crawford, William Findlay, Abner Lacock, Aaron Lyle,
Jonathan Roberts, Wm. Rodman, Adam Seybert, John Smilie, Geo.
Smith, and Robert Whitehill.

_From Maryland_--Stevenson Archer, Charles Goldsborough, Joseph
Kent, Philip B. Key, Peter Little, Alexander McKim, Samuel
Ringgold, Philip Stuart, and Robert Wright.

_From Virginia_--John Baker, Burwell Bassett, Matthew Clay,
John Dawson, Thomas Gholson, Peterson Goodwyn, Aylett Hawes,
Joseph Lewis, jr., William McCoy, Hugh Nelson, Thomas Newton,
James Pleasants, jr., and John Roane.

_From North Carolina_--Willis Alston, jr., William Blackledge,
Meshack Franklin, Nathaniel Macon, Archibald McBryde, and
Joseph Pearson.

_From South Carolina_--William Butler, John C. Calhoun, Elias
Earle, William Lowndes, Thos. Moore, and Richard Wynn.

_From Georgia_--William W. Bibb, Geo. M. Troup.

_From Kentucky_--Henry Clay, _Speaker_, Joseph Desha, and
Stephen Ormsby.

_From Tennessee_--Felix Grundy, John Rhea, and John Sevier.

_From Ohio_--Jeremiah Morrow.

_From Indiana Territory_--Jona. Jennings, _Delegate_.

A quorum, consisting of a majority of the whole House, being present, it was ordered that the Clerk do acquaint the Senate therewith.

On motion of Mr. DAWSON, a committee was appointed on the part of the House, jointly with such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to wait on the President of the United States, and inform him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make to them.

Mr. DAWSON and Mr. BLEECKER were appointed the committee on the part of the House.

TUESDAY, November 3.

Several other members, to wit: From Massachusetts, FRANCIS CARR; from Connecticut, TIMOTHY PITKIN, jr.; from Vermont, SAMUEL SHAW; from New York, ARUNAH METCALF, SILAS STOW, and URI TRACY; from Pennsylvania, JOHN M. HYNEMAN; from Virginia, JOHN SMITH, and THOMAS WILSON; from North Carolina, RICHARD STANFORD; from S. Carolina, LANGDON CHEVES, and DAVID R. WILLIAMS; and, from Kentucky, RICHARD M. JOHNSON, appeared, and took their seats.

A message from the Senate informed the House that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and ready to proceed to business. They have appointed a committee on their part, jointly with the committee on the part of this House, to inform the President of the United States that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communications he may be pleased to make to them.

Mr. DAWSON, from the joint committee appointed to wait on the President of the United States, reported that the committee had performed the service assigned to them, and that the President answered that he would make a communication to the two Houses of Congress to-morrow at 12 o'clock.

And then the House adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, November 4.

Several other members, to wit: From Vermont, JAMES FISK; from North Carolina, WM. R. KING and ISRAEL PICKENS; from Georgia, BOLLING HALL; and from Kentucky, ANTHONY NEW, appeared, and took their seats.

A Message was received from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. [For which, see Senate proceedings of this date, _ante_, page 567.]

The Message having been read was referred, with the documents accompanying it, to the Committee of the whole House on the state of the Union.

THURSDAY, November 5.

_Constitution and the Guerriere._

Mr. DAWSON rose and said:--Mr. Speaker, I take this early moment to present to you a resolution which I feel pleasure and pride in believing will meet the general approbation, not only of this House, but of the nation.

The President of the United States, in his Message, which was read on yesterday, has, in terms eloquent and appropriate, made mention of an engagement which has taken place between an American frigate and one of His Britannic Majesty's, which has rendered to the officers and crew of our frigate that justice which they so justly merited; an engagement in which American tars have proven to the world, that when commanded by officers of skill, valor, and fidelity, they are capable of contending with, and of vanquishing, those of any nation on the earth, upon any element--even on that element where British skill has so justly acquired so much celebrity, and that the American flag, when authorized by the constituted authorities of our country, will command respect on the high road of nations. Far, very far be it from me to boast--it ill becomes an individual or a nation, and is never the concomitant of true courage; but on the present occasion it seems to me proper that we should express our sentiments--our feelings, and thereby the feelings of the nation. I shall, therefore, without further comment, offer you the following resolution, observing that the facts stated have been ascertained at the proper department, and the proofs are on my table:

_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That the
President of the United States be, and he is hereby, requested
to present, in the name of Congress, to Captain Isaac Hull,
a gold medal, with suitable emblems and devices; and that
the sum of ---- thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby,
appropriated, to be distributed as prize money to the officers
and crew of the United States' frigate the Constitution, of
forty-four guns, according to the provisions of the act for
the better government of the Navy of the United States; in
testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of the
gallantry, good conduct, and services of Captain Hull, the
officers, and crew, of the said frigate Constitution, in
attacking, vanquishing, and capturing the British frigate
the Guerriere, mounting fifty-four carriage guns, thereby
exhibiting an example highly honorable to the American
character, and instructive to our rising Navy.

Some conversation passed on the proper mode of disposing of this subject, in the course of which

Mr. SEYBERT suggested the propriety of also giving some distinctive or medals to the crew of the Constitution, who he thought were too generally overlooked in such cases.

Mr. WRIGHT approved the spirit of the resolution, but hoped the other officers would receive swords, and the men suitable rewards; and confidently hoped a gold medal would be voted to the nearest relative of Lieutenant William Bush of the marines, a young gentleman from his district, who fell gallantly fighting in that action, covered with wounds and glory; he, therefore, for that purpose, moved that the resolution be referred to a select committee.

The resolution was eventually ordered to lie on the table till a committee should be appointed to whom it should be referred.

FRIDAY, November 6.

Several other members, to wit: from New Jersey, GEORGE C. MAXWELL; from Massachusetts, EZEKIEL BACON; from Connecticut, LEWIS B. STURGES; and from Pennsylvania, JAMES MILNOR, appeared, and took their seats.

GEORGE POINDEXTER, the Delegate from the Mississippi Territory, also appeared, and took his seat.

MONDAY, November 9.

Several other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, SAMUEL TAGGART; from Connecticut, BENJAMIN TALLMADGE; from New York, EBENEZER SAGE, and THOMAS R. GOLD; from Pennsylvania, ROGER DAVIS; from Delaware, HENRY M. RIDGELY; and from Virginia, JOHN TALIAFERRO, appeared, and took their seats.

_Encouragement to Privateers._

Mr. MITCHILL presented a petition of sundry owners and agents of privateers in the city of New York, praying for a reduction of the duties on prizes and prize goods; that prize property, on condemnation, may be delivered to them to be disposed of and distributed; that the time necessary to procure condemnations may be shortened; that the fees of the officers of prize courts may be limited to a certain sum, and that prize owners and their agents be authorized to order prizes arrived in one port to any other port, at their discretion, at any time before the actual libelling of such prizes.

_Exemption of Soldiers from Arrest for Debt._

Mr. BACON stated that, under the present law, exempting from arrest of privates in the Army of the United States in certain cases of debt, frauds had been, and more extensively might be, committed; inasmuch as a soldier who was tired of the service, by giving his bond for a feigned debt for an amount greater than twenty dollars, could procure himself to be arrested and kept out of service, &c. Mr. B. further illustrated the evasions to which the present law is liable, and concluded by moving the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the Committee on Military Affairs be
instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law
for exempting altogether from liability to arrest, or being
taken in execution for debt, of any non-commissioned officer,
musician, or private, belonging to the Army of the United
States, or to any volunteer corps, when called into service
pursuant to to law.

The resolution was agreed to.

TUESDAY, November 10.

Another member, to wit, from Virginia, JAMES BRECKENRIDGE, appeared, and took his seat.

_Mounted Troops._

Mr. RICHARD M. JOHNSON observed that he had draughted a resolution for the consideration of the House, the object of which was to authorize an expedition of mounted volunteers against the several Indian tribes hostile to the United States. He said the people of the United States had the power and the will to break up and to extirpate those hostile savages, to desolate their country, or compel them to surrender at discretion, as the Miamies had done lately when they beheld the strong arm of the Government uplifted and ready to fall upon them heavily. And it was the imperious duty of Congress so to organize this power, and so to direct this will, as to make it effectual and most destructive to the enemy in the line of its operation. Mr. J. said a winter campaign of mounted men well selected, well organized, and well conducted for sixty days, would close an Indian war, which was restrained on their part by no ties of religion, by no rules of morality, by no suggestions of mercy, by no principles of humanity. Sir, said he, you well know that we cannot so guard any part of our extended line of frontier as to prevent entirely the incursions of savages, so long as they have a place of safety or hiding place upon our borders; by reason of which a few desperate savages, well armed with their rifles, tomahawks, and scalping knives, and paid for the scalps of our citizens, may travel in the night, watch their place of assassination undiscovered, and fall upon our infant settlements thus exposed and massacre them without distinction of age or sex, and not leave even an infant to lisp the sad tale of sorrow to the passing stranger. Such has been the fact in many places on our frontier since the battle of Tippecanoe; and such was the melancholy fact near the Ohio river, in Indiana, when upwards of twenty persons were horribly murdered in cold blood, without the opportunity of resistance; the most of these unfortunate victims were women and children, whose heads were roasted by the fire, and in this cruel mode tortured to death, and under circumstances which would blacken and dye with deeper disgrace the most infamous and abandoned set of beings on earth. Since the defeat of Braddock, Mr. J. observed, the conflict with the Indians had always been an unequal one, and the United States had never carried on such a campaign against them as would bring them to their reason. He observed, that a winter campaign of mounted men would place us on an equality in our contest with the Indians; and he pledged himself for the efficacy of such an expedition, if sanctioned and authorized by Congress, and left to the Executive of Kentucky, so far as the forces were taken from that State. On such a campaign they must meet us in battle, or surrender at discretion; they could not avoid our search nor evade our pursuit--the season would furnish certain means of discovery; their strongholds would be broken up; their squaws and children would fall into our hands, and remain sure pledges against savage ferocity and barbarity. Nothing do they so much fear as to have their squaws taken prisoners. Their winter quarters would be discovered and their stock of winter provisions would be destroyed; and once since the Revolution the friend of his country would enjoy the satisfaction of seeing our savage enemies humbled in the dust and solely at our mercy, notwithstanding all the arts of British intrigue to the contrary. On the contrary, we want no additional evidence, no train of reasoning, nor a particular detail of facts, to convince us that any other kind of force, and at any other period, will only give us a partial remedy. Upon any other principle we give the savage foe every advantage. When threatened and pursued by a force sufficient to chastise them, no warriors can be found--they scatter through the woods like the wild beasts of the forest. Send a small party, and they are immediately surrounded and cut off by superior numbers. In fact, sir, they will not meet at their own doors and firesides equal numbers in honorable combat--they must always have some great and decided advantage. In the several attacks made upon Fort Wayne, Fort Harrison, and Bellevue--at which places our officers and soldiers acted with a firmness and gallantry deserving the highest praises of their country--the Indians retreated at the approach of assistance, and could not be found. We witnessed the same scene when our army penetrated their country from Fort Wayne, who burnt their towns and destroyed their crops. In short, sir, late in the spring, in the summer, and in the fall, every thicket, every swamp--nay, every brush-heap surrounded with weeds furnishes a hiding place; and it is in vain to search after Indians at such a time, if they are not disposed to be seen. Mr. J. said, with this imperfect picture before us, which, however, contained undeniable facts, Congress could not reconcile it to its duty not to take such steps as would speedily terminate the war with the savages. Such steps had been taken as to produce much temporary distress among the Pottawatamies and other tribes, and the destruction of their villages and crops would employ many of their warriors in procuring subsistence for their squaws and children, which consequently gave a correspondent relief to our frontier settlements; that a winter campaign well conducted was indispensable to complete the work which was begun with so much zeal, but which could not produce all the benefit that might be expected from a regular authorized expedition; for it would be recollected that the mounted men had gone out suddenly upon the spur of the occasion, without compensation, with a view to relieve the frontiers from the disasters of Hull's humiliating surrender; and in such voluntary associations many men would consider themselves under less obligations than if employed by the Government, although the party with whom he had the honor to act served beyond the time for which they enrolled themselves, and never quitted the service until honorably discharged. Mr. J. observed, if the savages are unmindful of the many acts of benevolence, of justice and friendship exercised towards them by the United States; if British influence, or British gold, or any other consideration, could induce them to continue the savage practice of imbruing their hands alike in the blood of the warrior in the field, and the infant in its mother's arms; if they will be bound by no obligation however sacred; by no treaty, however solemnly made; by no dictate of nature, no matter how self-evident; the United States are absolved from all acts of further forbearance; and we are called upon by every feeling of duty and honor to disarm them of their fury and put them beyond the power of injury. Mr. J. said he had not intended to trouble the House with so many preliminary remarks, but he had seen in his place the Chairman of the committee to whom the resolution was to be referred, and he was anxious that the design and object of the motion should be known, that the committee might act with despatch if it met with their views:

_Resolved_, That the select committee to whom was referred so
much of the President's Message as relates to military affairs,
be instructed to inquire into the expediency of authorizing
an expedition of mounted volunteers against the Indian tribes
hostile to the United States.

The resolution was agreed to _nem. con._, without debate.

THURSDAY, November 12.

Another member, to wit, from Kentucky, SAMUEL MCKEE, appeared and took his seat.

FRIDAY, November 13.

Several other members, to wit: from New York, THOMAS B. COOKE; from New Jersey, JAMES MORGAN; from Virginia, JOHN RANDOLPH; and from North Carolina, LEMUEL SAWYER, appeared, and took their seats.

MONDAY, November 16.

Several other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, WILLIAM REED; from Rhode Island, ELISHA R. POTTER; from Virginia, DANIEL SHEFFEY; from North Carolina, JAMES COCHRAN; from South Carolina, RICHARD WYNN, appeared, and took their seats.

TUESDAY, November 17.

_Encouragement to Privateers._

Mr. BASSETT, from the committee appointed on that part of the President's Message which relates to the Naval Establishment, reported, in part, a bill in addition to the act concerning letters of marque, prizes, and prize goods; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole to-morrow.

The bill is as follows:

A Bill in addition to the act concerning letters of
marque, prizes, and prize goods.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled_, That all
prize property, upon sentence of condemnation, shall, at the
request of the owners of the private armed vessel by which
the capture shall have been made, or of their agents, be, by
the marshal of the district in whose custody the same may be,
delivered over to the said owners or their agents, to be by
them sold or disposed of at their discretion, and the proceeds
thereof distributed by them agreeably to the provisions of
law: _Provided_, That all fees, costs, and charges, arising
on the process of condemnation, be first paid, and that the
duties accruing on such prize goods, as also two per cent. on
the estimated value of such prize property, after deducting
all duties, costs, and charges, (which value, as it respects
the cargo, shall be ascertained in the same manner as is
provided by law for ascertaining the value of goods subject
to ad valorem duties; and as it respects the vessel, to be
ascertained by appraisers to be appointed in the same manner,)
shall be first paid, or secured to be paid, to the collector of
the district into which such prize property may be brought for
condemnation; which two per cent. shall be in lieu of the two
per cent. on the net amount of the prize money reserved by the
seventh section of the act to which this act is in addition,
and shall be pledged and appropriated to the same fund as is
thereby provided for.

SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That all bonds taken for
the security of the two per cent. fund before provided for
shall be made payable within sixty days from the time of taking
such bonds.

SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the owners of any
private armed vessel or vessels, or their agents, may, at any
time before a libel shall be filed against any captured vessel
or her cargo, remove the same from any port into which it may
be first brought, to any other port in the United States,
subject to the same restrictions, and complying with the same
regulations, with respect to the payment of duties, which are
provided by law in relation to other vessels arriving in port
with cargoes subject to duty: _Provided_, That before such
removal the said captured property shall not have been attached
at the suit of any adverse claimant, or a claim against the
same have been interposed in behalf of the United States.

SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That wherever the proceeds
of any prize property has been, or shall be, deposited with the
clerk of any district court, pursuant to the orders of said
court, upon condemnation, the same shall, at the request of the
owners of the private armed vessel by which the capture shall
have been made, or of their agents, be paid over to them, to be
by them distributed agreeably to the provisions of law.

WEDNESDAY, November 18.

Another member, to wit, JOSIAH QUINCY, from Massachusetts, appeared, and took his seat.

THURSDAY, November 19.

_Privateer Prize Law._

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill in addition to the act concerning prizes and prize goods.

Mr. BASSETT, as chairman of the committee who reported the bill, explained its provisions, and enforced the necessity of its adoption. He took occasion to advert to the numerous captures made by our private armed vessels, and their utility as a system of annoyance to the enemy. In every case in which they had come in conflict, they had acquitted themselves in a manner that redounded to their credit.

After some further conversation on the details of the bill, the following section was, on motion of Mr. BACON, substituted for the fourth section of the bill:

"SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That in cases of sale
of prize property by the marshal of any district, or wherever
the proceeds thereof has been or shall be deposited with the
clerk of any district court, pursuant to the orders of said
court upon condemnation, the same shall, by the said marshal or
clerk respectively, at the request of the owners of the private
armed vessel by which the capture shall have been made, or of
their agents, be paid over to them, to be by them distributed
agreeably to the provisions of law: _Provided_, That all fees,
costs, and charges, arising on condemnation, be first paid, and
all duties accruing on such prize property, as also the two per
cent. fund accruing on such proceeds, be first paid, or secured
to be paid, to the collector of the district into which such
prize may be brought for condemnation, and that the marshal
and clerk shall be allowed for their services respectively, in
selling, receiving, and paying over as aforesaid, a commission
of one per cent. and no more, on the net proceeds of such prize
property, after deducting the duties, the two per cent. and
charges aforesaid: _Provided, also_, That such commission shall
not exceed, upon any property included in one condemnation, the
sum of one thousand dollars."

The bill as thus amended was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

_Retaliation._

The engrossed bill "vesting the power of retaliation in the President of the United States in certain cases," was read a third time.

A debate of more than an hour took place on the question of its passage, which was finally determined _in the negative_, by yeas and nays--51 to 61.

FRIDAY, November 20.

_Pay of the Army._

The House went into Committee of the Whole on the bill concerning the pay of the Army of the United States, which was read.

Mr. WILLIAMS, as chairman of the committee who reported it, rose to explain the provisions of the bill. He said he hoped the consideration of the bill would not involve a discussion of the justice or necessity of the war. War, said he, is now declared; we have thrown ourselves between our country and the enemy; and it becomes us to carry her triumphantly through the war, or be responsible for the disgrace a contrary course would incur. The reason of the introduction of the first provision of the bill, he said, was the palpable fact, that the present pay of the Army, taking into consideration the price of labor throughout the Union, was much below the average rate. The committee, in the investigations of this business, had, with much labor, consulted all sources of information accessible to them, and in no part of the United States did it appear to be conceded by their Representatives, that the fair price of labor was less than nine dollars per month. Even if the price was as low as eight, or say seven dollars, wherefore should the soldier receive less than any other man? This is a subject on which every gentleman could decide by recurring to his own neighborhood, and inquiring, what was there the price of labor. If he could not procure the service of an individual there for less than eight dollars, how can he refuse the soldier that price which I now solicit for him? The ranks are not filled; we know it by too melancholy a proof; and it is our duty to fill them. How shall we best do it? It will not be contended that your population is insufficient; no, sir; the inducement is not adequate. There is no avocation of life, no employment, however hazardous, which fails to be pursued from a want of persons ready to engage in it. No, sir; if you want men to scale the mountains of ice under the Northern pole, or endure the fervid rays of a vertical sun in the hither India, to brave the stormy ocean, or search for mines in the bowels of the earth; only find them adequate compensation, and there are men enough to be found. The compensation for services performed, ought always to be in proportion to the risk incurred. This is a position which cannot be controverted. There is no reason why the ranks of your Army are not filled so forcible, as that you do not give enough to the privates.

Mr. W. then briefly adverted to other provisions of the bill. To the second section he apprehended little objection; it had been found to be necessary, and ample precedent might be found for it. To the third section there might and probably would be some objection. It was founded, he said, on the principle that every man owed to the country which protected him, military service; the same principle, already engrafted in our laws, which obliged the youth of 18 years old to enter into the militia, warranted his retention in the service when he had voluntarily enlisted. The fourth section spoke for itself and needed no explanation.

The second section having been read--

Mr. WHEATON said he conceived this section to involve an infraction of the constitution. Any person who had contracted a debt had certainly given a pledge, not only of his property, but of his body to his creditor. It is the creditor's right to take his body in default of payment, and the creditor was by this section, in the case of those enlisting in the army, completely taken out of his hands. Ample encouragement, Mr. W. said, might be given to enlistments without infringing the constitution. He had no objection to privilege the soldier from arrest after enlistment, but he could not consent to the passage of a law, having an _ex post facto_ operation, which went to exempt him from obligations previously contracted. He therefore moved to strike out the words "before or" from the second section above recited.

Mr. BACON spoke in support of this provision. It was necessary to guard against fraud. He said, in the village in which he lived, such frauds had been committed, by the creation of fictitious debts, under which a person enlisting had procured himself to be arrested. After this arrest, on giving bail, he was set at large. Whilst going at liberty, his commander had attempted to take him; but a writ of _habeas corpus_ having been taken out, it had been determined by the courts that a man was the property of his bail until the suit was determined. And that determination, Mr. B. said, would never take place so long as the United States had an occasion for the man's services; because, by the same collusion which commenced it, the suit may be continued from term to term of court, until the term of enlistment has expired. He had merely stated facts. He had known an instance of an officer being obliged to move his whole corps over the line to avoid these petty depredations on their ranks; and he would venture to say that the officers would much rather face the enemy in the field, than the host of legal depredators in Massachusetts, on those enlisted for the public service. The principle of this provision was not novel, he said, for it existed already.

The motion to strike out the section was then negatived by a large majority.

The third section was then read.

Mr. STOW rose and said, that the respect he felt for the House, seemed to forbid that he should propose to them any thing not fully matured: but, that at the same time the objections to one section of the bill under consideration, appeared to him so many and so important, that he could not refrain from urging them, though as he feared in somewhat of an irregular and desultory way. In excuse he said, he had supposed the present bill agreeable to the one reported in the Senate, and had not observed the difference till that moment. His objections were to the 3d section, and which he should close by moving that it be stricken out. He arranged his objections principally under three heads: 1st. Its tendency to violate the public morals. 2d. Interference with public economy--and 3d, its violation of the spirit of the Constitution of the United States.

He remarked, that proper instruction and discipline of youth lay at the bottom of all that was valuable in this life, and perhaps of the life to come. That it was of great importance in every Government, but above all that it was infinitely so in ours, where the people were real sovereigns, and where the Government would be ill or well administered, according as the youths were bred in temperance, virtue, and obedience. This section of the bill goes to cut up those qualities by the roots. It says to the uneasy boy in his teens, you may enlist and throw off all parental authority; you may enlist and defraud the parent or master, who has maintained you in your helpless state, of his just reward. The strongest ties of affection and gratitude, you may, by enlisting, dissolve in a moment. Nay, more, we say deliberately and solemnly--we will pay this promoted villain $300 for his iniquity! For such is the amount of the bounty and wages for three years. Who, sir, will be most likely to avail himself of this privilege, or rather of this course? Not the sober, faithful minor, who might be trusted in a camp with some degree of safety, but the fickle, turbulent restless youth, the one of all others who wants the salutary restraint of a parent or guardian. This is the person whom you are about to allow to plunge himself into all the dissipations, into all the seductions, and into all the vices of a camp!

But, sir, said he, it is inhuman, as well as immoral. Humanity calls upon you to take care of and educate the miserable offspring of the poor. Who will take them; who will provide for their infancy, if at the moment they are able to make any remuneration for this humane, this tender care, you offer them $300 to turn ingrate? But, sir, not only the public morals, but the public economy require that you should not enlist minors without the consent of their parents, guardians, or masters. What does public economy require, but that every one should serve the Republic in that capacity in which he can be most useful? And, sir, let me add that patriotism requires the same thing. If the blacksmith or the farmer is most useful in his calling, there is as much patriotism in attending to the anvil and the farm, as to the bayonet and the sword. Men of mature age, by accepting the terms you offer, or not, determine where they can be most useful; but does not every principle of economy forbid that you should go into the private family, the workshops, and the manufactory, regardless of the opinion of the father and superintendent, and seduce the young man from learning some useful and honorable employment, and in lieu thereof, at that tender, at that doubtful period of human life, you plunge him into all the immoralities of a camp, and turn him a vagabond on society. No, sir, true economy requires that children should be well educated, well governed, and faithfully bred to some honest calling. The very principle, notwithstanding all the talk of patriotism, is recognized in the price you offer for soldiers, as well by the former law, as by the present bill. You offered by the former law, five dollars per month, by the present bill eight dollars. That is, you say to the world, that by being a soldier, you render to your country services worth five or eight dollars. Now, sir, for five or eight dollars per month is it prudent, is it economical, to dissolve the all-important relation of governor and governed in respect to youth? To break up your infant manufactories, and to deprive poor children at once of a useful employment, and a home? But, sir, perhaps it will be said that necessity, the safety of the Republic, requires this. When the legions of Britain were upon our shores, when we were struggling for our very existence, the necessity was not then thought sufficiently imperious to warrant such a principle. Can it then be said, that with treble the population, and in an offensive war, necessity requires the dangerous innovation? Certainly not. Again, the law, then and now, allows the soldier to be arrested for a debt amounting to two dollars; and will you say, that the debt in which there can be no deception incurred, for the most necessary of all things, food, clothing, and instruction for infancy, shall be disregarded? I trust, sir, that a principle so unreasonable will never prevail. But, lastly, said Mr. S., I do contend that the clause is contrary to the spirit, if not the letter, of the constitution. That constitution provides that private property shall not be taken without reasonable compensation. The property which a parent has in the services of his son, of a guardian in the services of his ward, and a master in the services of his servant, though differing widely in degree, is as real and oftentimes more important than the farmer has in his personal estates, or the planter in his slave. It also impairs the force of contract, which is strictly interdicted to the States, and _a fortiori_ not to be done to the General Government. For these and for many other reasons which might be added, Mr. S. moved to strike out the third section of the bill.

Mr. MILNOR said that if he understood the third section of the bill under consideration, it allows recruiting officers to enlist minors above the age of eighteen years, without regard to their situation as apprentices to tradesmen, or living under the care and guardianship of their parents; and its object was to hold out to young minds a temptation to desert the useful course destined for them by their friends, for the purpose of becoming soldiers. Now, said Mr. M., whatever may be the necessity of war, on some occasions, and however necessary some might think that in which we are now engaged, which was a question he should not now meddle with, he was desirous that its operations should be so conducted, as to do as little injury as possible to our fellow-citizens; and, as the leading principle in the conduct of all politicians should be a regard to the public good, he hoped for a general concurrence in this sentiment; that, for his own part, he wished the war to be felt as little as possible in the families and occupations of the people. We are not, said he, to be organized into a military Government. However necessary some may deem this war, all will desire a short one. Thank God, no Napoleon has yet risen up amongst us to change our free institutions into a military despotism. Encourage, if you please, a military spirit, that we may be ready for the national defence, when necessary; but let it be done in the spirit of the constitution, by means of a well-regulated militia; let your citizens and your farmers surrender their apprentices and children to be trained and instructed in military tactics, at stated times, that, when arrived at the state of manhood, they may be ready for their country's service. But what is here proposed? To go into the workshop of the industrious mechanic, or into a parent's dwelling, and entice away by the lure of money and military glory, the apprentice and the child. No matter what moneys may have been expended in his education, or how great has been parental exertion to advance the future prospects of the child, any recruiting officer, or even a common soldier, profligate in his principles, and inured to vicious habits, is by this bill encouraged to seduce him from his duty.

Mr. TROUP said the objections to this provision were lame in their nature; he only wished they were half as sound as they were novel. It was the result of the experience of men older than themselves in military concerns, that this very description of population, between eighteen and twenty-one, constituted the strength and vigor of every war. What was the fact as respected France? So just was this principle in the contemplation of France, that her whole army is made up of these young men; and yet an attempt is made to deter us from using them by a flimsy pretext, that to employ them would be violating the obligations of a contract and the principles of morality. If our feelings and sympathies be suffered to influence us in favor of the individual who voluntarily enlists, the reasons are much stronger in favor of discharging one-half of those already in your ranks, than the description just spoken of. There is scarcely any man over the age of twenty-one years, between whom and other individuals there is not some strong obligatory moral tie, which we ought not to sever if we could conveniently avoid it. Look at the case of a husband deserting his wife and children, or of a man, above twenty-one, deserting his aged parent, dependent on him for subsistence. Are not these cases equally strong? The doctrine of the gentlemen, whether on the score of morality or expediency, will apply to cases above as well as below the age of twenty-one.

Mr. GOLD premised, that he did not rise to enter into the general policy of the war; nor could he deny it to be the duty of those who have declared the war, to provide an army to carry it on. But he added, it is better for the army to be augmented by very liberal bounties and wages, than that important principles should be violated and an inroad made upon the great relations and interests of society. Are gentlemen aware how extensive is the province of master and apprentice? How wide-spread the relation in the community? A sensation will be produced which gentlemen seem not to have anticipated. The respective States have, with studious care, legislated upon and regulated the various duties and obligations of masters and apprentices. Under those laws, a clear obligation is created upon the apprentice to serve till of age; and in some States, to compensate for absence or desertion during the stipulated apprenticeship; for a faithful performance, the parent or guardian becomes responsible; and for non-performance, liable for damages to the master. Can the authors of this bill imagine that those solemn obligations contained in indentures of apprenticeship, will dissolve and vanish under the charm of the bill? Can the fundamental principles of the constitution, rendering contracts sacred, be thus uprooted and destroyed? Can this bill deprive the master of his action, secured to him by the laws of the State, against the master or guardian for absence or desertion of the apprentice? Here is a most serious bearing upon the laws of the States, regulating this important relation. But gentlemen allege _necessity_; the army must be filled up; officers are imposed on by fraudulent minors, who receive the bounty, and then claim a release upon the plea of non-age. In answer, let gentlemen beware how they yield to this fancied plea of necessity. All history attests the danger of yielding essential principles to State necessities; to temporary pressure and impulses; such precedents become infinitely mischievous in society. No fancied benefit can compensate for the evil of such examples. How easy is it to remove much of the complaints by providing that the minor, who shall impose upon the recruiting officer, shall refund the bounty he received before he shall receive his discharge. Such a provision would be just, and not violate general principles.

Mr. LITTLE.--In removing one evil, Mr. Chairman, let us beware that we do not substitute a greater. The object of the section proposed to be stricken out of the bill on your table, and now under consideration, is to fill up the ranks of your army. From every attention I have been able to bestow on this subject, which, permit me to say, I am anxiously desirous, as much so, I trust, as any gentleman in this committee, to see realized, will, if returned in its present shape, in my humble opinion, be productive of much evil, and perhaps of little good. You receive into the army, by voluntary enlistment, that description of our fellow-citizens, at a time of life to them the most interesting and auspicious as respects their future pursuits and welfare. I have always been given to understand that the camp is but illy calculated in those stations which they only can fill in the army, either to improve their understandings or perfect them in such habits as are calculated to acquire a respectable subsistence, or fit them for the domestic duties of their future lives. In the course of nature, they, it may be truly said, constitute the future strength and glory of every country. The laws of this land render every act of theirs illegitimate. Abstract from the consideration of a soldier, for which they are only rendered fit from their corporeal powers, everything with them is premature; if forced into existence, like the flower or fruit unseasonably raised in a hot-bed, wears the external qualities, but, in fragrance and taste, is unnatural and insipid.

Sir, have we not some reason to doubt the constitutionality of this section. In its operation, it evidently will vitiate contracts, which ought always to be held sacred, solemnly and voluntarily entered into by the parent or guardian with the matter of an apprentice, reciprocally beneficial, founded on the most laudable and praiseworthy principles, on the faithful performance of which materially depends the future welfare of the youth, to which I believe may reasonably be added the comforts and good order of society. Do we not know, Mr. Chairman, that, at that period of their lives and servitude, in which you make them liable, if this section is retained, to be drawn from the service of their masters, that then, and only then, are they enabled and become qualified to make some remuneration for the pains and attention paid to their improvement and instruction by the worthy and industrious mechanic or manufacturer; and will you, by this unpropitious act, endanger the future happiness of the former, and withhold that just reward due to the industry of the latter? You annihilate this contract, which ought to be held, if possible, inviolate by the Government. Every principle of justice and sound policy dictates its rigid fulfilment. Are we not aware, sir, of the immense sums now invested and actively employed in the different manufactories distributed over our extensive country? Do we not know that the manual labor of them is conducted principally by such who now are, or will in time, come within the provision of this section of your bill? Have this Government, and the people of this country, no interest in the prosperity of these manufactories? I have been always taught, and for one do religiously believe, on their materials virtually depends the completion of our independence as a nation. Let me entreat you to reflect before you hazard this dangerous experiment, lest, in the adoption of this hitherto novel principle, and in its operation, you may endanger the safety, or, at least, the prosperity of our Republic, by giving its manufactories a vital stab.

Sundry other amendments were proposed in the committee, after the bill was reported to the House, and negatived. The bill was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

SATURDAY, November 21.

_Pay of the Army._

An engrossed bill "concerning the pay of the non-commissioned officers, musicians, privates, and others of the Army, and for other purposes," was read the third time.

Mr. QUINCY.--Mr. Speaker, I am sensible that I owe an apology for addressing you at so early a period of the session, and so soon after taking my seat, if not to the House at least to my particular constituents. It is well known to them, at least to very many of them, for I have taken no pains to conceal the intention, that I came to this session of Congress with a settled determination to take no part in the deliberation of the House. I had adopted this resolution, not so much from a sense of self-respect, as of public duty. Seven years' experience in the business of this House, has convinced me that from this side of the House all argument is hopeless; that whatever a majority has determined to do, it will do in spite of any moral suggestion, or any illustration made in this quarter. Whether it be from the nature of man, or whether it be from the particular provisions of our constitution, I know not, but the experience of my political life has perfectly convinced me of this fact, that the will of the Cabinet is the law of the land. Under these impressions, I have felt it my duty not to deceive my constituents; and had, therefore, resolved by no act or expression of mine, in any way, to countenance the belief, that any representation I could make on this floor could be useful to them, or that I could serve them any farther than by a silent vote. Even now, sir, it is not my intention to enter into this discussion. I shall present you my thoughts rather by way of protest than of argument. And I shall not trouble myself afterwards with any cavils that may be made; neither by whom, nor in what manner.

I should not have deviated from the resolution of which I have spoken, were it not for what appears to me the atrocity of the principle, and the magnitude of the mischief contained in the provisions of this bill. When I speak of the principle as atrocious, I beg distinctly to be understood as not impeaching the motives of any gentlemen, or representing them as advocating an atrocious principle. I speak only of the manner in which the object presents itself to my moral view.

It is the principle contained in the third section of the bill of which I speak. That section provides, that "every person above the age of eighteen years, who shall be enlisted by any officer, shall be held in the service of the United States during the period of such enlistment; any thing in any act to the contrary notwithstanding." The nature of this provision is apparent, its tendency is not denied. It is to seduce minors of all descriptions, be they wards, apprentices, or children, from the service of their guardians, masters, and parents. On this principle, I rest my objection to the bill. I meddle not with the nature of the war. Nor is it because I am hostile to this war, both in its principle and its conduct, that I at present make any objection to the provisions of the bill. I say nothing against its waste of public money. If eight dollars a month for the private be not enough, take sixteen dollars. If that be not enough take twenty. Economy is not my difficulty. Nor do I think much of that objection of which my honorable friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. MILNOR) seemed to think a great deal; the liberation of debtors from their obligations. So far as relates to the present argument, without any objection from me, you may take what temptations you please, and apply them to the ordinary haunts for enlistment--clear the jails--exhaust the brothel--make a desert of the tippling shop--lay what snares you please for overgrown vice, for lunacy, which is of full age, and idiocy out of its time.

But here stop. Touch not private right--regard the sacred ties of guardian and master--corrupt not our youth--listen to the necessities of our mechanics and manufacturers--have compassion for the tears of parents.

In order to give a clear view of my subject, I shall consider it under three aspects--its absurdity--its inequality--its immorality.