Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 3 (of 16) (part 7 of 8)

Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 3 (of 16) (part 7 of 8)

“I have never written or published a line on this subject, nor ever expressed any other sentiments than those which you may have heard from me in public companies at Washington and elsewhere.”

And immediately preceding it, he thus writes:

“If there exists any design to separate the Western from the Eastern States, I am totally ignorant of it; I never harbored or expressed such intention to any one, nor did any person ever intimate such design to me.”

Now, sir, take these sentences together, and let any candid mind say, circumstanced as Mr. Smith was, in relation to Burr, whether it was not perfectly natural for him to draw the conclusions he did? Whether these sentences do communicate to Mr. Smith any illicit object on the part of Burr? Whether they do not contain a denial of any intention or effort on his part to effect a separation of the Union? To my mind they do. I am not, therefore, surprised that Mr. Smith drew the inference from them which he did; and I should have been much surprised, indeed, if, from them alone, he had drawn any inference of improper views on the part of Burr. I said there were passages in this letter, which furnished the strongest presumption that Mr. Burr had not communicated his illicit objects to Mr. Smith. Let me now call the attention of the Senate to some of them. After speaking of his intention to settle the Washita lands, Burr writes thus:

“I have some other views which are personal merely, and which I shall have no objection to state to you personally, but which I do not deem it necessary to publish; if these objects could in any way affect the United States, it would be beneficially,” &c.

If Burr had already communicated his views to Mr. Smith, why should he say in this letter, “I shall have no objection to state to you personally;” certainly if he had already stated them, this profession would not only have been unnecessary, but foolish. Burr again writes:

“This is the first letter of explanation which I have ever written to any man, and will probably be the last. It was, perhaps, due to the frankness of your character and to the friendship you once bore me. I shall regret to see that a friendship I so greatly valued must be sacrificed on the altars of calumny. Be assured that no changes on your part can ever alter my desire of being useful to you; and I pray you to accept my warmest wishes for your happiness.”

Here follows the postscript:

“It may be an unnecessary caution, but I never write for publication.”

From the whole tenor of this letter the real connection between Mr. Smith and Burr may be easily discerned; but it is particularly demonstrated by these last sentences. In them the real state of Burr’s mind may be clearly seen. They discover a man conscious of having abused the unguarded confidence and misplaced friendship of another, which he was about to lose by the public exposure of his views. They display despondency and regret at the circumstance, and attempt to make a miserable atonement by a renewal of professions. They demonstrate, too, that there was no participation in the conspiracy. In further corroboration of these conclusions, it ought not to escape notice that, on Burr’s next visit to Cincinnati, he took lodgings at a tavern, and avoided Mr. Smith’s hospitality, which would, doubtless, have been still open to him; he having been more successful in regaining Mr. Smith’s confidence by the artful letter written by him, than he had expected. This I believe to be the plain, obvious, and natural import of this letter. To suppose that it was the effect of a preconcerted arrangement between Burr and Mr. Smith, and intended to disguise the real connection between them, would be a strained, improbable, unnatural supposition, and, therefore, in my judgment, ought not to be relied upon in any case, but especially not upon a question of guilt or innocence. The postscript of the letter itself furnishes another strong presumption against this conclusion. The next circumstance, in point of time, from which inferences injurious to Mr. Smith are drawn, happened on the 2d or 3d of December, at Frankfort, in Kentucky. At this time and place, Burr was attending on the court upon his second trial. Mr. Smith was drawn thither by business, when a short interview took place, between himself and Burr, very immaterial in its objects or consequences. The ground of crimination deduced from this circumstance, is, that Mr. Smith did not voluntarily attend the court as a witness against Burr, and testify to the disclosures which Burr had made to him upon his last visit to Cincinnati. Mr. Smith stated, at the time, his willingness to attend, but believed he knew nothing relevant to the ground of charge against Burr.

The gentleman from Massachusetts differs from Mr. Smith in opinion on this point, and conceives that if Mr. Smith had attended that court, and disclosed what he has since disclosed, in relation to Burr’s last communications to him, it would have been sufficient for Burr’s conviction. I differ entirely from the gentleman on this point. All that we know relative to Burr’s disclosure of his views, at that time, is furnished by Mr. Smith himself. What was disclosed, it would probably be best to take from Mr. Smith’s own words:

“The candor discovered in the above-recited letter, (of October 26, 1806,) inspired my confidence, and when he made his second visit to Cincinnati, in November last, he disclosed his plan fully to my view, as I thought, which added strength to my confidence. He being about to take leave of me, observed: ‘Mr. Smith, my object in a few months will be disclosed; you will not find it dishonorable or inimical to this Government. I feel superior to the mean artifices which are ascribed to me; calumniators I do not notice, for as fast as you put one down, another will rise up. This much I will venture to tell you, if there should be war between the United States and Spain, I shall head a corps of volunteers, and be the first to march into the Mexican provinces; if peace should be preserved, which I do not expect, I shall settle my Washita lands, and make society as pleasant about me as possible. In this Government I have been persecuted, shamefully persecuted, and, I am sorry to say, that in it all private confidence between man and man, seems to be nearly destroyed.’ He showed me a deed for a large tract of land on Red River, and said, ‘if I would consent to let my sons go thither, he would provide well for them,’ to which I gave consent, though I never communicated it to my eldest son until last Saturday, the day on which he returned from Marietta, and not till he expressed a disinclination to co-operate with Colonel Burr’s object, till he knew whether it was hostile to the Government of the United States or not. Colonel Burr told me, further, ‘that very many of his friends, in different parts of the United States, would remove and settle with him, and that he would be the best neighbor this country ever had,’ and repeated ‘that his object was not hostile to the people of the United States, or dishonorable to himself;’ and, further, ‘that, in a few months, many of his enemies would be proud to call him their friend.’”

What is here disclosed? Two objects only. The first to settle his Washita lands; the second, in the event of war with Spain, to head a company of volunteers, and be the first to march into Mexico. What was the charge against Burr? A misdemeanor, by beginning and setting on foot a military expedition or enterprise against a nation with which the United States were at peace, &c. Would this evidence have had any tendency towards supporting this charge? Certainly not. Spain had nothing to do with the settlement of the Washita lands, and with respect to the contemplated military expedition into Mexico, it was to be undertaken only in the event of war, and of course could be no violation of a law which forbids such enterprises, only against nations with which the United States are at peace. The evidence, therefore, could not support the charge; and whether such enterprise in time of war would have been lawful or not, would have depended upon the circumstance of the partisan’s acting with or without a commission from the United States, but the gentleman from Massachusetts remarks that this pretended condition, upon which the expedition against Mexico was to be undertaken, was too thin a disguise to impose upon the most credulous or ignorant. I will here admit that I always thought it a very thin disguise; but did every body think so, and particularly before Burr’s other views were disclosed? It is known that many men of the first talents were deceived by this disguise long after this period. It was urged by many as a substantial ground of defence in favor of Burr, during the whole course of his trial at Richmond, and many adhered to it, even after the trial was over. Why is it expected that Mr. Smith particularly ought not to have been the dupe of this disguise at that particular period? It cannot be because he is known to have reposed a blind confidence in Burr. It is probable that Burr’s knowledge of that circumstance induced him to suggest the disguise. It is certainly the circumstance which lulled Mr. Smith’s suspicions, and made him the dupe of the artifice. It may be said, and truly said, he ought to have been more guarded; it would certainly have been better for Mr. S. to have been a better judge of human nature, and his present condition is sufficient evidence of the misfortune of the want of that knowledge, but it is no evidence of a crime, or of a criminal intent. The only conclusion I draw from this circumstance is, that Mr. Smith furnishes a striking example of a plain-dealing, unsuspicious man, involved in irretrievable difficulties from the professions and flatteries of an artful and designing one.

The next observation made upon this part of the evidence disclosed by Mr. S. is, that he consented to let his sons go with Burr, from which a knowledge of Burr’s illicit views is inferred. It certainly would be an incorrect application of the rules of evidence to infer an object different from the one disclosed by the evidence, particularly when the one expressed is much more natural and probable than the one inferred. Mr. Smith himself furnishes both the fact and the object. He says he was induced to consent to his sons going with Burr, from Burr’s promises to advance their fortunes by giving them large portions of his Washita lands. Was not this a very natural object? What could be more natural or probable than for a father to be influenced by a motive of advancing his son’s fortunes? But it is said this conduct discovered too much confidence in Burr, and too much simplicity in Mr. Smith, there must be therefore some other concealed motive for it. It is admitted that none is proved, and I believe none exists. It is perfectly consistent with all the rest of the evidence. It does demonstrate too much confidence and too much simplicity; but it demonstrates nothing else. It demonstrates no crime. It does not demonstrate any participation in the conspiracy of Aaron Burr. We have now passed through these scenes of inferences and suspicions, and arrived at the 14th of December, 1806. The gentleman from Massachusetts, with his usual candor, here states, that from this time Mr. Smith’s conduct became exemplary, from this date every effort on his part was made to defeat the conspiracy; he contributed his full quota of exertion for that purpose, and succeeded. How can this laudable conduct be reconciled with the inferences of guilt made against him? Why, sir, another inference more preposterous than any other, is brought up to support all the former inferences, in my judgment, sufficiently preposterous and improbable in themselves. It is said that this laudable exertion to suppress the conspiracy by Mr. Smith was intended as a cover to his former misconduct. But certainly, sir, before this inference is drawn, the former misconduct ought to be proved. It ought not to be made evidence of the misconduct itself. It certainly cannot be a correct rule of evidence to infer a wrong motive from a right action. But, sir, this inference is made against every rule of probability. It is not probable that if the conspiracy should be suppressed by Mr. Smith’s exertions in common with others, that such suppression would cover his own misconduct. It would have been the most effectual mode of detecting and exposing it. What hope could Mr. Smith have indulged, that if he had been engaged in the conspiracy, and had turned traitor to the rest by exerting himself in its suppression, that he would have been exempted from exposure? Would not such conduct have tended to excite the resentment of the other conspirators against him, and to call forth from them every exertion to expose him? This conduct was placing them at defiance, and in my judgment, is one of the strongest circumstances of his innocence. It was not at all calculated to cover his participation, and it appears to me absurd to conclude that it was resorted to for that purpose. But, sir, look at Mr. Smith’s disclosure to the Secretary of War at this period. At this time could he not have anticipated any prosecution against himself. It was the day after the receipt of the President’s proclamation. At that time he communicates to the Secretary of War all the communications made by Burr to him at any previous time, confirmed in every respect by the evidence of General Gano. I believe he did it with candor, and then he makes the following natural and correct observations, after having stated that Burr had deceived him with his apparent candor, that he had before believed Burr’s views to be honorable; he remarks: “From the proclamation of the President, I am induced to believe that he is possessed of much more information than has come under my notice, and therefore the utmost attention will be paid to it, as the people here are universally (almost) well disposed to the Government, &c.”

Upon the supposition that Mr. Smith is innocent, this conduct is natural and its object obvious. Upon the supposition of his guilt, it is unaccountable, and would have been without a rational object. I cannot, therefore, infer guilt against all the probabilities of innocence. I have now gone through all the evidence which has been deemed by the gentleman from Massachusetts the most material against Mr. Smith. I have omitted many circumstances both in the papers formerly before the Senate, and those now presented by Mr. Smith’s counsel, tending further to demonstrate his innocence; to these I merely request the attention and recollection of the Senate. It has not been my object to dilate on them, but merely to state the reasons on my mind why the conviction of Mr. Smith’s guilt was not produced on it, which has been on the gentleman’s from Massachusetts. This has been done by the best consideration of those parts of the evidence which he so ably and eloquently selected and presented to our view; of course the worst part of the picture has been constantly before us. Upon a candid review of all the circumstances, to what do they amount? To suspicions, and suspicions only--suspicions unnatural and improbable. Has a single act of participation in Burr’s conspiracy been proved? Not to my discernment. Has any been suggested to have been proved? I have heard of none. If any criminal act has been committed, why do not gentlemen tell us what it is--in what it consists? Why do they not put their finger upon it? I call upon gentlemen, I challenge them to do it. That at least must be done, before I can convict the accused of guilt.

Mr. ANDERSON said, when he moved the postponement of this business, the day before yesterday, it was from a desire to collate the testimony; which, having done, he was prepared to vote when he first took his seat this morning, and had not intended to have taken any part in the discussion of the subject. But, seeing that almost all the strong points of circumstantial testimony had been either overlooked or not duly appreciated by the gentlemen (Mr. HILLHOUSE and Mr. GILES) who had spoken against the adoption of the resolution, and who had, withal, entered with great warmth into the discussion, he felt himself bound, as a member of the committee to whom the case of Mr. Smith had been referred, to examine some of the prominent parts of the evidence, and to present it impartially to the view of the Senate. Mr. A. said, in the course of his examination of the evidence, he should not, as the gentleman who preceded him had done, entirely discard the testimony of Elias Glover, but should make that testimony, in its proper place, a part of the groundwork of his observations, and support it by Mr. Smith’s own affidavit, and his admission of parts of it in his answer to the committee. Mr. A. said, in order to have a correct view of the case, it would be necessary to recite sundry parts of the testimony--as, by combining and comparing it alone, could the subject be clearly understood--and he would begin with the evidence of Peter Taylor, (as being the first in order,) who states that in the month of October, 1806, he was sent by Mrs. Blannerhasset, to Lexington, after Mr. Blannerhasset, with a letter, to prevent Colonel Burr from coming back with him to the island. That he was ordered to call at Mr. John Smith’s. That he called at Mr. Smith’s store and asked for him. When he came out, Taylor inquired for Colonel Burr and Blannerhasset. Mr. Smith said he knew nothing of either of them. That he, Taylor, must be mistaken as to the place where he was to inquire. Taylor said he was right. That he was directed to inquire for John Smith, storekeeper, Cincinnati; and asked Mr. Smith if he did not recollect a young man that had come for Colonel Burr’s top-coat, (greatcoat,) and informed Mr. Smith he had lived with Mr. Blannerhasset three years. He says that, when Mr. Smith heard him talk so, he took him up stairs, and asked him the news. Wanted to know what was passing; what was said about General Wilkinson; and if he, Taylor, would carry a letter from him to Blannerhasset, which he agreed to. Mr. Smith then informed Taylor that he would find Burr and Blannerhasset at the house of a Mr. Jourdan, at Lexington, where he found Mr. Burr, who, among other inquiries, asked what letters he had? Taylor replied he had two; one from Mrs. Blannerhasset, and one from John Smith, of Cincinnati. The letter from John Smith, Mr. Burr allowed, was for him, (it was directed to Blannerhasset,) but on Mr. Burr’s opening it, he found it contained a letter for him. Having recited some parts of the testimony of Peter Taylor, I shall proceed to make some observations thereon. And here let me premise, that the general character of Peter Taylor has, heretofore, stood the test of the strictest scrutiny at Richmond; and, on a recent inquiry into his veracity and general character, the counsel of Mr. Smith has found both so well sustained, that they have not, in the course of their arguments, attempted to invalidate it, but have contented themselves with pointing out some small mistakes, that have not, in the least degree, lessened the validity of his testimony. With this fair character, then, does Peter Taylor stand before you, and his testimony must receive that portion of credit which is due to established integrity. But notwithstanding the credit of this witness, thus established, Mr. Smith, in his answer to the committee, denies almost every thing that has been sworn to by Peter Taylor. We must then believe, either that Peter Taylor, with all his fairness of character, and totally disinterested, has sworn false respecting the conversation with Mr. Smith, or that Mr. Smith in his answer to the committee, must have denied what he knew to be true. Which are we to believe? I shall make no comment. Every member of the Senate can form as correct an opinion for himself upon this subject, as I could possibly express. Let us now examine what the testimony of Peter Taylor amounts to against Mr. Smith. Taken by itself, although it may excite strong suspicion, perhaps no great criminality could attach to it; but, combine it with many other circumstances, and it wears a different aspect. I pass over the extraordinary conversation between Mr. Smith and Peter Taylor, and come to the question asked by Mr. Smith. What was said about General Wilkinson? Why is the name of General Wilkinson introduced by Mr. Smith? The Senate will recollect that, in the deciphered letter, written by Colonel Burr to General Wilkinson, which was read yesterday by the honorable chairman of the committee, (Mr. ADAMS,) Colonel Burr tells General Wilkinson that the contractor will supply provisions, to be sent to such points as Wilkinson shall direct. Mr. Smith is the contractor for supplying the army; and a strong inference would here arise that he was the person meant by the term contractor; hence his question--What is said about General Wilkinson? And this question, asked under the peculiar circumstances which here present themselves, implies a knowledge of Colonel Burr’s plans, which are developed by the communication General Wilkinson made to the President, of the contents of the deciphered letter. Add to these considerations, Mr. Smith’s first denying to Taylor that he knew any thing about Burr or Blannerhasset, and shortly after, when he found Taylor was a domestic of Blannerhasset’s, he directed Taylor to the house in Lexington, where he would find Colonel Burr; and they certainly excite a strong impression that Mr. Smith had a knowledge of Colonel Burr’s plans and movements. It will be recollected that Mr. Smith asked Taylor to carry a letter from him to Blannerhasset; but, from the testimony of Taylor, it appears that the letter was for Colonel Burr. The contents of this letter, and the answer thereto, are presented to us, and from them arguments have been drawn to prove that Mr. Smith is entirely innocent. But the very able elucidation which had been given of those letters by the honorable chairman of the committee, (Mr. ADAMS,) has not, I expect, left a very strong impression of the innocence of Mr. Smith, either with respect to the tenor of the correspondence, or the object of it. A very different construction has, however, been attempted to be given to the contents of this letter, and the answer thereto, by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. GILES.) Which will best comport with the whole train of Mr. Smith’s conduct in relation to Colonel Burr’s plans, the Senate will determine.

I shall now proceed to examine the testimony of Elias Glover, and I think I can show that Mr. Smith’s own affidavit does most fully support some of the most material parts of it; and it is worthy of remark, that Mr. Smith, in his answer to the committee, admits more of the facts sworn to by Elias Glover, notwithstanding the very bad character Mr. Smith gives him, than he admits of the facts stated in Peter Taylor’s deposition, whose character, with all the pains that have been taken to invalidate it, yet remains untarnished. For this extraordinary procedure it may be necessary to account. With respect to Peter Taylor, it will be recollected, Mr. Smith had never admitted the material parts of the conversation as stated by Taylor to have taken place. That Taylor’s weight of testimony of course depended on his own character, and Mr. Smith in his affidavit presented to the Senate, says, that he can prove the falsehood of the statement of this witness. Thus was this man’s testimony to be positively disproved, which however has failed. But Glover’s could not be completely prostrated in the same way, because Mr. Smith had on his oath admitted sundry of the facts stated by Glover, and that at a time when Mr. Smith hardly calculated upon being arraigned before the Senate under the present charge. It therefore became necessary that Glover’s general character should be so completely destroyed by positive swearing, as to disprove, if possible, even the very facts which are fully corroborated by Mr. Smith’s own admission on oath. But, Mr. President, when I look around, and observe that many of this body, either on the bench or at the bar, have been much accustomed to compare positive swearing with strong circumstantial testimony, I have not a doubt, but that each of those different kinds of evidence will be duly and deliberately estimated. I will now proceed to state some of the material parts of Elias Glover’s testimony, and will afterwards compare those parts with Mr. Smith’s own affidavit. In Glover’s deposition, he states that on the 23d November he, in company with a friend, (this friend appears to be William McFarland,) went to Mr. Smith’s, and had a conversation with him, in which Mr. S. stated that Mr. Burr had disclosed to him his object, which he had never fully done before--which was, in the first place, should a war take place between the United States and Spain, to head a corps of volunteers, and march into the Mexican provinces; a great number of enterprising young men were engaged for that purpose--that his preparations on the western waters were extensive--that the plan had been long maturing, and expressed a full confidence in Colonel Burr’s success. Mr. Smith said that his sons were going to Orleans in a few days, and that he had consented that Colonel Burr should there take them into his charge; he having assured him that he, Burr, would provide well for them--he also said that Burr wanted the gunboats he was then building. Mr. S. said he had not been well treated about the boats he had before built. Mr. S. in his deposition sent to the President, some time after the proclamation issued, states that when Burr made his second visit to Cincinnati, in November, 1806, he disclosed his plan fully to him as he thought. Being about to take his leave, he said, Mr. Smith, my object in a few months will be known; you will not find it dishonorable or inimical to this Government. Thus much I will venture to tell you, if there should be a war between the United States and Spain, I shall head a corps of volunteers, and be the first to march into the Mexican provinces. In this statement of Mr. Smith, he fully confirms the deposition of Glover; and he also admits that he agreed to let his sons go with Colonel Burr. This is another very important point, which goes to support the testimony of Glover. For how could Glover have known this fact, but from Mr. Smith himself--for Mr. S. seems to have been so cautious about communicating it, that from his own affidavit, made the 6th January, 1807, he swears that he never communicated it to his eldest son until the Saturday preceding the 6th January. There is one point of some importance, which Mr. S. though virtually, does not absolutely deny, but evidently intends to deny it in his answer to the committee. It is that part of Glover’s testimony respecting the gunboats, which is supported by the letter of the Accountant of the Navy in answer to one from the chairman of the committee. The accountant says, that Mr. Smith had previous to November, 1806, built two gunboats for the United States, and that from some change in the plan, there arose a difficulty in fixing a proper valuation. Glover says Mr. Smith told him he had not been well treated about them at Washington. I would ask how could Glover ever have known that there had been the smallest difficulty about Mr. Smith’s gunboats which he built for Government, if Mr. S. himself had not communicated it. There is no great criminality in this communication, but it certainly tends to prove substantially the conversation between Mr. Glover and Mr. Smith. Thus, I conceive, have several important and material parts of the testimony of Elias Glover been supported, and so far as circumstantial testimony can tend to establish facts, is the deposition of Glover entitled to credit.

It has been attempted to be shown, that Glover was a bitter enemy of Mr. Smith, and affidavits to that effect have been produced, from which it is inferred that no kind of communication whatever could, or had, taken place between them. In the deposition of General Gano, it is stated that, in the summer of 1806, Mr. Glover did, in an electioneering conversation, make use of harsh epithets respecting Mr. Smith. But from the deposition of Mr. Carr, at whose house Mr. Glover boarded, it appears that Mr. S. did visit Mr. G. at his lodgings, and that he saw them engaged in private conversation in the fall of 1806.

Mr. Dugan, who is stated to be a merchant at Cincinnati, deposeth that he boarded in the same house with Mr. Glover, in the fall of 1806; that he has seen Mr. Smith going to Glover’s lodgings, at the dusk of the evening, and that Mrs. Carr, the landlady, frequently expressed herself in the following terms: “I wonder what brings Mr. Smith so often to this house after dark, and causes him to stay so long in Mr. Glover’s room?” or words to that effect. Now, if we believe these witnesses, and we have no reason to doubt their veracity, there certainly must have been a very good and intimate understanding between Mr. Smith and Mr. Glover in the fall of 1806, and this will account for Mr. Smith’s free communication to Mr. Glover; and the deposition of William McFarland proves the conversation between Mr. S. and Mr. G. to be substantially correct; and as Mr. Smith has fully proved that Glover and McFarland were both concerned in Burr’s plans, it will remain with the Senate to say whether it has not also been proved that Mr. Smith was likewise concerned. I shall take a very short view of Mr. Smith’s journey to Frankfort, at the time he saw Col. Burr there, shortly after the conversation which has been stated to have taken place at Mr. Smith’s own house, with Glover and McFarland. Some business led Mr. S. to Lexington, where he was informed by a Mr. Jourdan, that if it was known he (Smith) was there, he would be summoned as a witness against Colonel Burr, who it was said was at that time arraigned at Frankfort. Mr. S. said that he was willing, and that he knew nothing of the business. A similar conversation passed between Mr. S. and a Mr. Kelly, by which it appears that Mr. Smith did go to Frankfort on his own business; that for want of General Adair, Mr. Burr’s trial before the grand jury was delayed; but Mr. Smith said he could not be detained at Frankfort from his business, particularly as he knew nothing that would either criminate or exculpate Colonel Burr. Thus we see Mr. Smith denying any knowledge whatever of Col. Burr’s plans, although he had acknowledged that Colonel Burr had disclosed his views to him; and the charge then against Colonel Burr was, an intention to invade the Spanish provinces. Mr. Smith’s testimony, had it been given, would certainly have thrown much light on the subject, and might have put a complete stop to all the future consequences which created so much agitation throughout every part of the continent.

In about ten days after this affair happened, on the evening of the sixteenth December, Mr. Smith told Mr. Token, as appears by his deposition, that he never believed Colonel Burr to be engaged in hostility against the United States, until he saw the President’s proclamation. Until then he believed, as we had been in expectation of a war with Spain, that if Colonel Burr was engaged in any enterprise, it was under the protection, and with the advice of our Government. About the same time, Mr. Smith makes a similar communication to Mr. Gano, who inquired of him if he was acquainted with Burr’s designs and mysterious movements in the Western country. Mr. Smith said he had endeavored to find out, but could not, further than they were honorable, and would be approved by the United States; that he was going to settle his Washita lands, and would, if a war should take place between Spain and the United States, be ready to embark in it, and that many who were now his enemies, would then be glad to call him their friend. Major Riddle states that he had the command of the militia that were called out to stop Burr’s boats; that he was stationed near Mr. Smith’s house, and had instructions from his superior officer to try to find out whether Mr. S. knew any thing of Burr’s affairs, and what he knew; and that, in one of the conversations had with him, Mr. S. said he knew more of Burr’s concerns than any man in the State of Ohio, but one. Those various declarations thus made by Mr. S. at several different times, and under different circumstances, appear to be entirely inconsistent with one another. We see by the testimony of Jourdan and Kelly, that Mr. Smith declared that he knew nothing about Mr. Burr’s business, and nothing that could criminate or exculpate him. We have seen what Glover stated of what Mr. Smith communicated to him; we have seen that statement confirmed by Mr. Smith’s own affidavit, sent to the President; and we now see what Mr. S. has declared to Mr. Token and Mr. Gano; to the former he says, that if Burr was engaged in any enterprise, it was under the protection, and with the advice, of our Government; this was the very language Mr. Burr himself held out to induce the unwary and unsuspecting to join him. To Mr. Gano, Mr. Smith says, he had endeavored to find out Burr’s plans, but could not, further than that they were honorable, and would be approved by the United States; and to Major Riddle he says, he knew more of Burr’s plans than any man in the State of Ohio, but one. These three last conversations took place about ten days after Mr. Smith had declared to Jourdan and Kelly, that he knew nothing of Burr’s business, or any thing that could criminate or exculpate him. How are these various declarations of Mr. S. to be reconciled? At one time he says he knows nothing of Burr’s affairs; ten days after, he says he knew more of his concerns than any man in the State of Ohio, but one; and goes so far as to say, that if Burr was engaged in any enterprise, it was under the protection, and with the advice, of our Government; and all this after Mr. Burr had told him that he had been persecuted in this Government, shamefully persecuted, and that, in it, all private confidence between man and man seemed to be nearly destroyed. Could, or did, Mr. Smith believe that the Government countenanced any of the plans of Mr. Burr? It appears to me impossible. What, then, could induce him to make such a declaration, and at different times? Did Mr. S. believe that the Government would give its sanction to an illegal act? For, as a member of the National Legislature, he must have known that it was not authorized by law, and that the President would not dare, in violation of the constitution, (even if had ever so great an inclination,) to countenance an enterprise that would inevitably involve our country in war. And did Mr. S. believe that the Administration had such unbounded confidence in Mr. Burr as to intrust him with so important an expedition at that critical period? Yet these things we must believe, if we believe Mr. Smith sincere in his declaration; and if we do believe him sincere in saying that if Mr. Burr was engaged in any enterprise, it was under the protection, and with the advice, of our Government, we must believe that he was conversant with Mr. Burr’s plans, which must have been very plausibly impressed upon him indeed, to have induced him to have formed so extraordinary an opinion.

Mr. POPE.--It is with reluctance that I rise at so late an hour to express the reasons which will influence my vote. The very able and luminous view which my honorable friend from Virginia has taken of this subject will supersede the necessity of many additional remarks from me.

The counsel of Mr. Smith have opposed the resolution on two grounds: First, that the Senate have no jurisdiction in the case; second, that the evidence does not warrant its adoption. Although I have dissented, and still dissent from the opinion of other gentlemen in their application of some of the principles laid down in the report of the committee, I concur with them on the general ground of jurisdiction. Their arguments on this point were very plausible and ingenious. They have contended that the Senate has no power to inquire into any offence of which one of its members may be accused, that is cognizable in a civil court of criminal jurisdiction. Every man is equally amenable to the general laws of the land, and liable to be prosecuted and punished in the civil courts; but when a man is clothed with a legislative character, he is placed in a new relation; and, besides being amenable to the judicial tribunals of his country, he becomes, to a certain extent, responsible for his conduct to that body to which he belongs; and that body has a power to inquire into it, without the aid of a civil court. Whenever a member of this House shall be charged with a crime punishable by the general laws of the country, it may be a question worthy of consideration, whether to refer it to the civil court, or to have it examined before this body. On this question, the reasoning of the counsel, when addressed to the sound discretion of the Senate, would merit attention. If, however, the Senate should deem it necessary or expedient to make the inquiry, I entertain no doubt of its power to do so.

I will add nothing more on the subject of jurisdiction, but proceed to consider whether the resolution is supported by the evidence before us. The gentlemen for and against the resolution who have preceded me, seem to consider Glover discredited, and in their arguments, have laid his affidavit entirely out of the case. I shall not inquire into the credibility of this witness, after the solemn protest I have so often made against the use of ex parte testimony, either to criminate the accused, or to impeach the characters or credibility of the witnesses; the Senate must be satisfied that I should be very unwilling to bottom my vote on such testimony. My mind revolts at the idea of pronouncing a man guilty of an infamous crime upon a private ex parte affidavit, especially of a private conversation, so liable to be misunderstood, and so impossible to be disproved. The precedent would be a monstrous one, and the first, I believe, known in this country. I cannot give my vote to sanction it. We are called upon to declare to this nation, that Mr. Smith has been guilty of participating in the conspiracy of Aaron Burr against the peace, liberties, and union, of the people of these States. To authorize us to pronounce the sentence, one of two things ought to appear; either that he has committed some treasonable act, or that Burr’s treasonable project was disclosed to him; and that he connived at, or improperly concealed it; for, I presume, it will be conceded that it should appear that Mr. Smith has been guilty of some act of a treasonable nature. Glover was the important witness against Mr. Smith before the grand jury at Richmond, and his testimony has been deemed very material during the present investigation. If his affidavit is abandoned, I would thank some gentleman to specify the evidence which proves Mr. Smith guilty of committing or concealing any thing treasonable. We are told, however, that, although no particular part of the evidence, or no single link in the chain proves his guilt, yet the whole circumstances combined make it sufficiently manifest. I must confess that many circumstances, which do not appear to have any necessary connection with each other, have been put together with great ingenuity, and from them strong inferences drawn unfavorable to Mr. Smith. After exhibiting this chain in its most plausible and imposing attitude, I believe gentlemen will be at a loss to inform us what is the result, or what particular part, if any, it proves Mr. Smith has performed in this conspiracy of Burr. My friend from Virginia has well explained the circumstances stated by Peter Taylor. Peter Taylor may be mistaken in some of the circumstances, but, admitting the whole to be true, there is nothing incompatible with innocence. It is evident that Mrs. Blannerhasset’s sending Peter Taylor, the letter from Smith to Burr, and Burr’s answer, were not the result of any previous concert, but grew out of the circumstances of the moment. The conversation mentioned by Colonel Taylor has been much relied on. I have, from personal acquaintance, as well as from character, too much confidence in the honor and veracity of Colonel Taylor, to suspect, for a moment, that he would intentionally misrepresent; but if the testimony of Doctor Sellman is to be regarded, we might be induced to suppose it possible that Colonel Taylor either did not apprehend Mr. Smith’s meaning correctly, or that he did not hear the whole of his observations. I am not, however, convinced that Colonel Taylor has been mistaken. I disapprove, very much, the dissemination of such sentiments; it tends to weaken the bond of union, but it cannot, surely, be deemed an infamous or criminal act, which will constitute a ground of expulsion. It is worthy of remark, that almost the whole of the testimony against Mr. Smith relates to conversations; a species of testimony which should be received with great caution. I beg leave to remind gentlemen of some circumstances which have occurred in this city during the present session. Conversations, which have been repeated on the same or the day after they took place, have been understood, and represented differently, by different gentlemen who were present. The gentlemen who have advocated the expulsion of Mr. Smith, have relied principally on Mr. Smith’s own statements. If Mr. Smith’s explanation of his own conduct is to be resorted to, the whole should be taken together. It would be very unfair to garble it. However improper or dangerous it may be considered, to permit a man to prepare the means of a military expedition against a foreign government, without the authority of his own, Mr. Smith’s explanation in his answer, his conduct and declarations, after the President’s proclamation arrived at Cincinnati, his letter to the Secretary of War, of the 14th of December, 1806, afford a strong presumption that he had no criminal intentions. In his letter to the Secretary of War, he stated that, about two weeks before he had called on Burr, then at Cincinnati, and requested to know his object; Burr answered that, in the event of war with Spain, which he deemed inevitable, he would head a corps of volunteers, and march into Mexico; but if peace should be preserved, which he did not expect, he would make a settlement of lands. This was the only disclosure, if it may be called one, which it appears was ever made to him, and this he communicated to the Government two weeks after he received it; but observes, in his letter, that Burr had expressed himself with apparent frankness and candor, that he could not believe that he was engaged in any criminal project. Inasmuch, however, as the President had issued his proclamation, he presumed he must have more information than himself, and considered it his duty to enforce it.

All parties about Cincinnati seem to agree that Mr. Smith was one of the most active and efficient men in arresting the progress of the expedition. He procured the public arms on his own responsibility, and put them in the hands of the militia. It has been said that he pursued this course to blind the people, and not from patriotic motives; this is uncharitable indeed. If Mr. Smith had disregarded the warning of the President and discountenanced an attempt to stop the expedition, such conduct would have been relied on as very strong evidence of his connection with Burr; so, that, whether he was active or passive, his conduct, after suspicion had alighted upon him, would have been equal evidence of his guilt. Whatever may have been Mr. Smith’s confidence in Burr previous to the arrival of the proclamation, it is evident that he abandoned him the moment he was denounced by the Government. If it be true, as has been alleged, that Mr. Glover was a partisan of Burr’s, it is strange, if Mr. Smith was also concerned, that Mr. Smith and Mr. Glover should have conducted themselves so differently after the arrival of the proclamation; and it appears to me very extraordinary that Mr. Glover, if he had been initiated into the secrets of Mr. Burr’s projects, should, in his communications to the Government, have implicated no person except Mr. Smith, who had been so active in defeating them. Can it be seriously contended that Mr. Smith’s hospitality to Burr and his confidence in him is evidence of his criminal participation? Surely not. If such circumstances are deemed sufficient to prove a man a traitor to his country, hundreds of innocent persons might be implicated. When Mr. Burr was in the Western country in the fall of 1806, I thought, and still think, that the charges made against him in the public prints, and in court by the attorney of the United States, if not sufficient to convict him of crime, ought at least to have put us on our guard, and I considered any attempt under these circumstances to give eclat, or to turn public opinion in his favor, imprudent and improper; but, sir, I should not feel myself authorized to pronounce every man a traitor, who treated Mr. Burr with respect, before the President’s proclamation reached that country. The gentleman from Tennessee has contended that we ought not to require the same evidence that would be requisite to convict a man of treason before a petit jury. No position, received in the light in which this appears to have been considered by many during the present investigation, is more fallacious or dangerous; that we are not bound by the forms or technicalities of the law, I admit; but I contend, with confidence, that the Senate of the United States, when called upon to declare the existence of a fact, are as much bound by justice and conscience to require proof of it, as any other tribunal. A court and jury would not perhaps require the proof to be as clear and conclusive in a case where the sum of twenty pounds only was in dispute, as in a case of life and death; and it may be said, with at least some plausibility, that we ought not to be as scrupulous on the present occasion, where reputation only is involved, as if life was at stake. The difference consists, not in the tribunals which decide, but the importance of the questions to be decided. In every case where a fact is in question, the triers or judges ought to require convincing evidence of it before they assert it. It has been said that if odium or suspicion has attached to a man’s character, he ought to be expelled. This ground, if tenable, cannot be relied on in the present state of this question. If this was a proper ground of expulsion, we should have expelled Mr. Smith when he first presented himself here in November last, on account of the odium which had attached to his character by the finding of the indictments at Richmond; but this ground was abandoned. It was decided by this Senate that Mr. Smith was entitled, on the principles of justice, to an opportunity of controverting the charges against him before he should be banished from this House. We have proceeded to inquire into the fact. The question now to be decided is not whether he is a suspicious character, but whether he is proved by the evidence before us to be guilty of crime. I cannot act upon suspicion, or mere conjecture. I will not bottom my vote upon any thing which does not present itself in the shape of substantial evidence. Were I a citizen of the State of Ohio, mere suspicion or distrust of his integrity, or the circulation of opinions which I disapproved, might be a sufficient reason to me to withdraw my confidence from Mr. Smith, to refuse him my suffrage; very different is my situation. It does not depend on my choice or opinion, who shall represent the State of Ohio in this Senate. I do not feel myself authorized to deprive Mr. Smith of his seat here, until he is proved to have been guilty of some infamous or disgraceful conduct.

Mr. CRAWFORD had determined to take no part in this discussion. The exposition which the subject had received from the gentleman from Massachusetts, was so clear, so comprehensive, and at the same time so candid, as to supersede the necessity of any remarks from him. He felt, however, constrained to make a few remarks in reply to the gentleman from Virginia. The Senate has been told by that gentleman, that its dignity has been assailed by the depositions taken on the part of Mr. Glover, in support of his credibility, that they have been procured on the presumption that this body is to be governed by political prejudices. If this objection is well founded, it applies with equal force to the conduct and testimony of Mr. Smith. From the first to the last word of Mr. Smith’s answer, he endeavors to impress upon this body the zeal with which he has been devoted to the present Administration. In the deposition of every witness examined by Mr. S. as to his own conduct, the witness is questioned upon that point--his zeal for the Administration is the principal point which he labors to establish. If then the dignity of the Senate is assailed by Glover, it is equally so by Mr. Smith.

Another, very convenient method of destroying the force of the depositions inculpating Mr. S. has been adopted by the gentleman from Virginia, and also from Kentucky. We are first told, that they have been taken without proper notice to Mr. Smith; but as many of Mr. Smith’s depositions were taken in the same manner, and liable to the same objection, it was necessary to find some other objection to them, and especially to Mr. Riddle’s deposition. What, sir, is this formidable objection to his deposition? One, sir, which if well founded must be effectual. We are gravely told, sir, if Mr. Riddle is an honest man, and not connected with A. Burr, that Mr. S. would never have disclosed his views to him; and that if he was one of Burr’s associates he cannot be an honest man, and therefore is not entitled to credit. This sir, is a two-edged sword, which is destructive to the credit and reputation of Mr. Riddle indeed; and the same candid mode of reasoning would be equally destructive to the reputation and credit of any other man. If the witness is an honest man, you are not to believe him, because Mr. Smith would not be so foolish as to disclose his views to him; and if he is a dishonest or suspicious character, to whom Mr. Smith might safely disclose his iniquitous plans, then you must believe him, because of his suspicious character. This reasoning may be ingenious, but it certainly has nothing in it of sincerity and candor.

The gentleman from Connecticut cannot believe that A. Burr ever disclosed his projects to Mr. Smith, because all the persons to whom he disclosed them, were inimical to the Administration. It is true that in the Atlantic States, at least east of the Alleghany mountains, that artful traitor addressed himself to persons who were in a state of enmity with the Government, and to no other. He applied to General Eaton, who believed he had just cause of complaint against the Administration; who believed he had suffered absolute injustice at their hands. For the same reason he applies to Commodore Truxton. But, sir, trace him from Philadelphia to Pittsburg--view his conduct on the western side of the same mountains. What is his conduct there? What is his conduct and conversation with the Morgans? His conduct and the motives of his conduct are changed. Here he endeavors to convince every man that it is the interest of the Western country to separate from the Atlantic States. Here he addresses himself to the most respectable and influential characters, who stood high in the estimation of the public, who had no cause of complaint against the Administration. The Morgans were not anti-ministerialists--they were respectable, they were influential; it was therefore important to obtain their countenance and support. Blannerhasset was a man of wealth and talents, and of easy credulity. He is applied to and secured. The next we hear of Aaron Burr is at the house of Mr. Smith. This gentleman stood high not only in his own State, was not only a Senator of the United States, but also a contractor for furnishing the army of the United States. It was an object of the highest importance to the success of Aaron Burr’s plans to obtain his aid and co-operation. But we have been told that it is improper in the investigation of this subject, to introduce the acts and sayings of Aaron Burr. If this is correct, there is an end of the question. After deciding this point, it was wholly unnecessary for the gentleman from Virginia to have performed the herculean labor which he afterwards attempted. How, sir, is it possible to convict John Smith of a participation in the views or plans of Aaron Burr, if the sayings and acts of Aaron Burr are to be excluded from the investigation? It is impossible, sir. If this attempt to keep out of view the words and actions of Aaron Burr had been made by an advocate in a criminal court, it would justly be entitled a coup de main. Aaron Burr had the strongest possible inducements to seduce Mr. Smith and to obtain his countenance and assistance. He was contractor for your army. He could procure supplies for his men, and the then situation of your army was such, that the supplies procured and sent by the contractor might with equal facility be converted to the use of Aaron Burr or applied to the support of the legitimate army. The procurement of supplies in sufficient quantity for Burr and his men by any other person, would have excited suspicion, and created alarm. He arrived at Mr. Smith’s on the 4th September and remained an inmate of his house until the 9th or 10th, and yet Mr. Smith says he never mentioned to him any of his designs or plans, not even of the settlement of Washita lands. This he asserts in his letter of the 14th December to the Secretary of War. On the 6th January afterwards, he says and swears that Burr did during his first visit mention the settlement of those lands. Yet the gentleman from Virginia not only discovers no contradiction between the oath and letter, but thinks he discovers strong evidence of their consistency and agreement. To me, sir, there appears a direct and palpable contradiction. On the 23d of October Peter Taylor arrives at the house of Mr. Smith and inquires of him, at his own door, whether he knew anything of Burr and Blannerhasset. “He allowed he knew nothing of them; that I must be mistaken; this is not the place; I said no, this was the right place,” “Mr. Smith, storekeeper, Cincinnati.” “Sir, I have lived with Blannerhasset for three years.” Mr. Smith then took him up stairs, or he followed him up. He then made inquiries which tend strongly to prove that he was one of Burr’s confidants, and gives Peter Taylor the very information he had asked, and the very information of which he had just before declared his ignorance. The testimony of this man is admitted by every one to be worthy of the highest credit. I shall therefore leave to the gentleman from Virginia the rugged task of proving the innocence of Mr. Smith without impeaching Peter Taylor’s veracity.

That Mr. Smith should write a letter to Burr and direct it to Blannerhasset has been satisfactorily explained. But it is not easy to explain, nor has it been explained, by what means Burr could devise that the letter directed to Blannerhasset was a letter written to him, or contained a letter for him. The construction which this transaction, and the letters written by Mr. Smith and Burr to each other, have received from the gentleman from Massachusetts, is the only candid and rational construction of which they are susceptible.

The Senate have been cautioned not to lay much stress upon the testimony of Colonel James Taylor, not because he is unworthy of credit, but because he deposes to a conversation which has long since past, and because Dr. Sellman was present and heard no such expressions. Sir, I believe the deposition of Colonel James Taylor contains not only a perspicuous declaration of what he believed, but also a correct statement of facts; a correct statement of what he heard. His deposition, it is true, was made long after the conversation happened; but shortly after that event he reduced it to writing, and communicated it to the Secretary of State, and to that writing he referred when under examination before the Senate. He also swears he conversed with General Findley, and that his understanding of that conversation was the same. Compare the circumstances under which Colonel Taylor testifies, with those which attend Dr. Sellman’s deposition. If he was present at all, it does not appear that any circumstance whatever occurred to impress that conversation upon his mind--it does not appear that he ever thought of it afterwards, until he was called upon to depose, which was more than fifteen months subsequent to the conversation; but it does appear that Dr. Sellman has acted the part of a partisan of Mr. Smith’s. In truth, sir, there is not a single circumstance tending to confirm his statement of that conversation, in opposition to that of Colonel James Taylor.

I agree with the gentleman from Massachusetts, that it would be improper to declare a member of this body unworthy of his seat for the expression of mere speculative opinions; but the expression of these opinions, connected with other circumstances which preceded, and followed after it, amounts to very strong proof. We are called upon by the gentleman from Virginia, and also from Kentucky, to lay our fingers upon that particular part of the testimony which produces conviction in our minds, of the guilt of Mr. Smith. To this call, sir, I will observe that in all cases of circumstantial evidence, convictions are the result of a combination of circumstances; they are not produced by any one link in the chain of testimony, but by the whole chain taken together. If, sir, a conviction could not take place in a court of justice unless the jury could put their fingers upon the particular part of the testimony which established the guilt of the accused, it might happen that in nine cases out of ten the culprit would be acquitted.

My friend from Kentucky says, if John Smith has participated in Burr’s treasonable and unlawful projects, it must have been by performing some act or in concealing it--that he is not charged with having performed any act, and that therefore the charge must be founded on his concealment of what he knew. I will not say that Mr. Smith has been charged with enlisting troops for Aaron Burr; but, sir, I will say, that he has been guilty of an act very much like it--an enlistment of the strongest character--an engagement or an enlistment of his two sons to go with Aaron Burr--to march under his banner--subject to his control, under his absolute government, dependent upon him for their future prospects and station in life. And here, sir, I refer to the deposition of Mr. Smith himself. He swears, that Aaron Burr did at his second visit to Cincinnati, disclose his views of invading Mexico; and yet, sir, he engaged his sons in the enterprise.

But, sir, there is one point in the testimony, which of itself produces something like conviction on my mind, that Mr. S. was guilty of participating in Burr’s plans. And here, sir, I will refer to the deposition made by Mr. Smith, and that of A. D. Smith already referred to by the gentleman from Tennessee, for a different purpose. Mr. S. swears that he never communicated to his son the engagement with Burr until the day he returned from Marietta, and not till he had expressed a disinclination to co-operate with Colonel Burr’s object. This deposition was made on the 6th January, 1807, and by a deposition of A. D Smith of the same date, it appears he returned from Marietta on the 3d day of that month. It also appears in evidence, that for some time previous to this day, Mr. Smith had been in Kentucky, and that during that time A. D. Smith had become the bearer of a letter to Blannerhasset from Burr, and for that purpose had gone to Marietta and Belle Pre; and that the 3d of January was the day he met his father on his return. But A. D. Smith on the 13th August, at Richmond, swears, that he never received any overtures from Burr on that subject; yet he considered himself as engaged under him, for he says--“From the papers which daily teemed with the treason of Colonel Burr’s designs; the frequent solicitations, and injunctions of my father, to relinquish the idea of descending the Mississippi as an accomplice of Colonel Burr’s; and General Eaton’s deposition, alone induced me to abandon him and his projects.” Here, sir, the son declares he did not engage himself with Aaron Burr, yet he was engaged; he knew that he was engaged, and reluctantly broke that engagement. The father swears he engaged him; but that he never disclosed that engagement to him until he expressed his disinclination to go. From whom did A. D. Smith receive the knowledge of this engagement? The answer is too plain; from his father, and not communicated to him on his return from Marietta, but before he set out for that place; before the father set out for Kentucky; and a knowledge of this engagement is the only probable reason of his becoming the bearer of that letter. But, sir, there is another contradiction which ought to be noticed here. A. D. S. and his father met on his return from Marietta, and the frequent solicitations and injunctions of the father induced the son to abandon B.; yet the father swears he never disclosed the engagement he had made until the son had expressed a disinclination to go with B. This expression of Mr. S.’s is a contradiction in itself; but when compared with the declarations of the son, the contradiction is gross and palpable. How could he solicit and enjoin his son to violate an engagement which he knew nothing of? Sir, it is impossible to reconcile these contradictions. Upon this occasion my mind has received no bias whatever from the conversations and whispers alluded to by the gentleman from Kentucky. I have lived in a section of the country that has not felt the general impression made by the movements and enterprises of Aaron Burr. I have attended to nothing but the testimony. I have had no acquaintance with Mr. Smith; I entertain no prejudice against him. I should feel as much gratified as any member of this body, to be able, consistently with my duty, to vote for his retaining his seat. Sir, the feelings of this House have been addressed--an appeal has been made to the humanity of the Senate. We have a duty to discharge which is paramount to humanity; instead of resigning ourselves to our feelings, we ought to exercise our judgment, and do that which the public good imperiously requires. From a full examination of the evidence, I am constrained to say, that the conduct of Mr. Smith has been such as to render it highly improper for him to retain his seat in the highest council of the nation.

The question was now taken to agree to the resolution, and determined in the negative, two-thirds of the Senators present not concurring therein--yeas 19, nays 10, as follows:

YEAS.--Messrs. Adams, Anderson, Condit, Crawford, Franklin, Gaillard, Gilman, Gregg, Kitchel, Maclay, Mathewson, Milledge, Moore, Robinson, Smith of Maryland, Smith of Tennessee, Sumter, Tiffin and Turner.

NAYS.--Messrs. Giles, Goodrich, Hillhouse, Howland, Pickering, Pope, Reed, Smith of New York, Thruston, and White.[54]

MONDAY, April 11.

Resolved, That the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, be authorized to adjourn their respective Houses on Monday the twenty-fifth day of April instant.

Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly.

TUESDAY, April 12.

Removal of Federal Judges upon Address from Congress.

Mr. ADAMS stated that he, together with his colleague, were instructed by the Legislature of the State of Massachusetts, to use their best endeavors to procure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as will empower the President of the United States to remove from office any of the judges of the courts of the United States, upon an address to him made for that purpose, by a majority of the House of Representatives, and two-thirds of the Senate, in Congress assembled.

On motion, by Mr. ADAMS,

Ordered, That the instructions be referred to the committee appointed the 25th of January last, on the subject of amendments to the constitution, to consider and report thereon.

Amendment of the Constitution--President by lot from among the Senators.

Mr. HILLHOUSE.--The situation of the United States at the time of the meeting of the Convention for forming the constitution, I well remember, and it will be recollected by every member of this Senate, to have been such as to excite the anxious solicitude of every considerate man in our country. External pressure being removed, the recommendations of Congress had ceased to have effect on the States. We were a nation without credit and without resources; or rather without the means of drawing them forth. Local policy began to operate in a manner that tended to excite jealousy and discontent among the States; and there was reason to fear that we were exposed, and at no remote period, to all the calamities of civil war. Under these circumstances, the present constitution was promulgated, and was eagerly seized on by the great body of the people, as the palladium of our liberties, and the bond of our Union. I was of the number of those who approved it, though some parts of it appeared to me mere theories in the science of Government, which I hoped in the experiment would prove salutary; but my expectations were not sanguine.

Before I proceed with my explanatory remarks, I must take the liberty of stating, that in using the terms monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy, I do not use them as the cant words of party; I use them in their fair, genuine sense. The terms Federalist and Republican, I do not use by way of commendation or reproach; but merely by way of description, as the first names of individuals, to distinguish them from others of the same family name.

Federalists and Republicans never divided upon the elementary principles of government. There are very few Americans who are not in principle attached to a free republican government; though they may differ on minor points, and about the best mode of organizing it. Persons attached to monarchy or aristocracy are few indeed; they are but as the dust in the balance. No one in his sober senses can believe it practicable, or politic if practicable, to introduce either. If ever introduced, which God forbid, it must be done at the point of the bayonet.

It is well known that the denominations of the parties, called Federalists and Republicans, were applied, the former to those who supported, the latter to those who opposed the two first Administrations formed under the Federal Constitution. Those who opposed those Administrations, wishing to obtain the governing power, and disliking the name of Anti-Federalists, given to the first opposers of the constitution, assumed the more popular name of Republicans. It cannot be expected that a politician, when he has made himself up for a political ball or masquerade, will exhibit his true character. Many of the most florid speeches are made more with an eye to the people, than to the body to which they are addressed. To find the true character of man, you must look to his homespun, everyday dress; if you do this, will you not find a full proportion of good Republicans, as they are called, who exhibit no more of that virtue called humility than their neighbors, and who manifest no greater regard for equal rights? The supposed differences are more imaginary than real. Names may, and sometimes do, deceive ignorant, uninformed individuals; but these names now scarcely do that.

Some of the important features of our constitution were borrowed from a model which did not very well suit our condition: I mean the Constitution and Government of England, a mixed monarchy, in which monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, are so combined as to form a check on each other. One important and indispensable requisite of such a Government is, that the two first branches should be hereditary, and that the Monarch should be the fountain of honor and source of power. In the United States, the people are the source of all power.

Placing in the hands of the Chief Magistrate, who depends on a popular election, prerogatives and powers in many respects equal, in some, exceeding in practice those exercised by the King of Great Britain, is one of the errors of the constitution. This error can be corrected only in one of two ways; either the office must be stripped of those high prerogatives and powers, and the term of holding the office shortened, or some other mode devised, than a popular election, for appointing a President: otherwise, our country must perpetually groan under the scourge of party rage and violence, and be continually exposed to that worst of all calamities, civil war.

I am aware I have engaged in a difficult undertaking. I have to oppose deep-rooted prejudices and long-established opinions, which will be abandoned with reluctance. I have to contradict favorite theories, long ago adopted, and still strenuously maintained. It is therefore to be expected that arguments which go to destroy the former, or contradict the latter, will be admitted with caution, and listened to with a reluctant ear. Some of the amendments, when first presented to my mind, made but a slight impression, and I was disposed to pass them by as impracticable or ineffectual; but experience and mature reflection have satisfied me both of their correctness and importance.

I am aware that the amendments will not be approved by many individuals in this nation, under an apprehension of their tending to lower the tone and energy of the Government. They will be denounced by all office hunters, demagogues, and men of inordinate ambition, more anxious for their own elevation to office than for the public good. All artful men, who rely more on their dexterity and skill in intrigue, than upon honest merit, to secure an election, will raise their voices and cry aloud against them. They will describe them as utopian and visionary; as departing from the elective principle; and as lowering the dignity and character of the Government. But the great body of the people, who compose that portion of the community which can have no views or interests incompatible with the general welfare, which can have no other wish or desire than to see the nation prosper, and which the feelings of nature would stimulate to do what would advance the prosperity and happiness of future generations, will, I flatter myself, lend a listening ear, and grant me a candid and patient hearing. I must also be permitted to indulge the hope, that, in this honorable body, the amendments will not be hastily rejected; nor until they shall have undergone an attentive and critical examination.

A prominent feature of the amendments is, to shorten the term of service of the President, Senators, and Representatives; observation and experience having convinced me, that in an elective Government, long terms of office and high compensations do not tend to make independent public servants, while they produce an anxious solicitude in the incumbents to keep their places; and render seekers of office more eager to obtain them, and more regardless of the means.

My first amendment goes to reduce the term of service of the members of the House of Representatives to one year.

No inconvenience can arise from this arrangement; because there is a constitutional provision that Congress shall assemble once in every year. That body, composed of the immediate representatives of the people, ought to exhibit a fair representation of their sentiments and will; and, coming fresh from the people to the Congress of each year, will, it may be presumed, fairly express such sentiments and will. And if, in an interval from one session of Congress to another, there be a real change of public sentiment, why should not that change be expressed? Will an attempt in their Representatives to resist it, tend to tranquillize the public mind? or will it not, like persecution in religion, tend to make proselytes to their sentiments?

Constitutions, except so far as they are necessary to organize the several departments of Government, and bring the public functionaries into a situation to deliberate and act; and, in the General Government, to draw the line of demarcation between that and the State governments, to prevent interference and collision, are of little avail; and present but feeble barriers against the public will. Whenever a measure is understood and believed to be necessary to promote the general welfare, the people will not fail to effect it. If they cannot, by construction, get round the constitution, they will, by an amendment, go directly to their object. Of the truth of this, experience has furnished ample proof. The danger is, that by attempting to extend constitutional restrictions too far, unnatural and mischievous exertions of power may be produced.

By the second amendment, the term of service of the Senators is to be reduced to three years; one-third to be chosen each year.

The Senate, I am aware, may be surprised, and perhaps feel some displeasure, that one of their own body should propose an amendment, which, in the estimation of some, may tend to lessen their dignity, and destroy their independence. Did I believe this, I should be the last to offer it. If the Senate will hear me patiently, I think I can show that it will produce no such effect.

Senators represent the rights and interests of States in respect to their sovereignty. In them, therefore, the States ought to feel a confidence. And this confidence will rather be increased than lessened by shortening the term of service to three years. Shall I be told that the Legislatures of the States are not to be relied on for their stability and patriotism? that it would be unsafe, every third year, to trust them with the appointment of their Senators? No, surely. The several States are the pillars on which the Constitution of the United States rests, and must rest. If these pillars are not sound, if they are composed of feeble, frail materials, then must the General Government moulder into ruin. This, however, is not my belief. I have confidence in the State Governments. I am for keeping them in their full vigor and strength. For if any disaster befalls the General Government, the States, having within their respective spheres all the power of independent Governments, will be the arks of safety to which the citizens can flee for protection from anarchy, and the horrid evils which follow its train. I have therefore uniformly been opposed to measures which had the remotest tendency to their consolidation.

When I shall have stated the next amendment, it will be found that my plan, instead of lessening the dignity and importance of Senators, will magnify their office, and make it the object of desire and laudable ambition to the best characters and greatest talents of our country; for, from the Senate I propose that the President of the United States shall always be taken; and in a manner that will exclude all cabal and undue influence in obtaining that high office--a mode in which the man of modest merit shall have an equal chance of success with the most daring and artful intriguer.

The third amendment provides for the appointment of a President. He is to be taken by lot from the Senate, and is to hold his office for one year.

This mode promises many advantages, and only two objections against it present themselves to my mind; one, that it is a departure from the elective principle; the other, that it will not always ensure the best talents. I should not have proposed this mode, if any other could have been devised, which would not convulse the whole body politic, set wide open the door to intrigue and cabal, and bring upon the nation incalculable evils; evils already felt, and growing more and more serious. Upon mature examination, those objections appear less formidable than at first view.

When Senators shall be chosen with an eye to this provision, every State will be anxious to make such a selection of persons as will not disgrace it in the eventual elevation of one of them to the Presidential chair. Every State Legislature would, in the choice of the Senator, consider itself as nominating a candidate for the Presidency. The effect of this arrangement would be, in reality, that, instead of the States appointing Electors to choose a President, the Legislatures themselves would become the Electors; with this advantage, that the nomination would be made when not under the influence of a Presidential electioneering fever. In the regular course of appointing Senators, only one nomination would be made at one time in each State; and in most cases, three years would elapse before he could be designated for the Presidency. The great caution in the selection of Senators, with a reference to that high office, would produce another excellent effect: it would ensure the continuance, in that body, of men of the most respectable talents and character--an object of the highest importance to the general welfare. In the mode directed by the constitution for choosing a President by the House of Representatives, there is almost as great a departure as in what I propose, from the pure elective principle; which requires perfect freedom of choice among all who are eligible; and that the ballot of each qualified voter shall have equal weight in making such choice. Whereas, by the constitution, the House are confined to three candidates, and must vote by States; so that a State having twenty-two members, has but one; and, consequently, no more weight than a State having only a single member. And those States whose members shall be equally divided, will have no vote. These circumstances considered, the present constitutional mode of choosing a President by the House of Representatives, when tested by the pure elective principle, may be deemed, as to the mode of choosing, and the object of the choice, as exceptionable as the appointment by lot; while it remains liable to all the evils of a contested election, from which the appointment by lot is wholly free.

In answer to the second objection, it may be fairly presumed that the Senate will always be composed of men possessed at least of decent talents. And such men, with honest views, long experience, and the aid of the Heads of Departments and other officers, would be able to do the public business correctly. It is not necessary, it is not desirable, that the President should command the armies in person; and all our foreign relations may be managed through the agency of able Ministers, whose appointments are to be approved both by the Senate and House of Representatives. The several Executives, ever since the adoption of the constitution, have been in the habit of calling to their aid a Cabinet Council, composed of the Heads of Departments; who ought to consist, as they probably will, of men of talents, integrity, and experience; and who, upon the plan proposed, being likely to continue long in office, will thereby give stability and system to the measures of Government.

If the appointment by lot will not always insure a President of the first rate talents, neither will the present mode of electing; for when party spirit runs high, and parties are nearly balanced, candidates will be set up, not for their talents, but because they are popular and can command votes. And there may be a possibility of having a President for four years, distinguished neither for talents nor integrity. A President appointed by lot will possess the advantage, and in practice it will be found a very great advantage, of coming into office free from party influence; which, under the present mode of electing, is seldom if ever to be expected; and it is to be feared that it will be too powerful to suffer even an honest man to do right.

Appointing a President by lot from the Senate, will give every State an equal and fair chance of participating in the dignity of that high office; will prevent the possibility of bargaining among the large States to the total exclusion of the middling and small States; and will thus remove one ground of State jealousy, which must inevitably grow out of our present mode. As it regards the sovereignty of the respective States, the appointment by lot is in exact conformity to the principles of the constitution; for in the event of an election of a President by the House of Representatives, each State has an equal vote, conformably with its equal rights as sovereign and independent; so that, in respect to peace and union, this mode of appointing a President would produce effects of great and lasting importance.

As the President is to be taken from the Senate, and, if worthy of the Senatorial office, must have experience, and be well informed of the affairs of the nation--and can also avail himself of the information and talents of every member of the Government--there can be no solid objection to reducing his term of service to one year. The President will always enter on his office at the close of the session of Congress; and during the recess have time to make himself more fully acquainted with the state of the nation, so as to present a proper view of it to the next Congress, as well as to conduct successfully the public business at the end of his term. No serious embarrassment or inconvenience, in conducting the public business, has been felt from the change of a President or the Head of a Department. There are and always must be subordinate officers around the Government, well acquainted with the routine of business; which will and must proceed in its usual course. If any example were necessary to show that no injury would arise to the nation from an annual appointment of a President, I might instance the ancient Republic of Rome--where, in the days of her greatest virtue, prosperity, and glory, her chief magistrates, or consuls, were chosen every year. But, being taken from the Senate, a body conversant with the management of their public affairs, as is our Senate, no evil accrued to the public.

The office of President is the only one in our Government clothed with such powers as might endanger liberty; and I am not without apprehension that, at some future period, they may be exerted to overthrow the liberties of our country. The change from four to ten years is small; the next step would be from ten years to life, and then to the nomination of a successor; from which the transition to an hereditary monarchy would almost follow of course. The exigencies of the country, the public safety, and the means of defence against foreign invasion, may place in the hands of an ambitious, daring President, an army, of which he would be the legitimate commander, and with which he might enforce his claim. This may not happen in my day; it probably will not; but I have children whom I love, and whom I expect to leave behind me, to share in the destinies of our common country. I cannot therefore feel indifferent to what may befall them and generations yet unborn.

I do not desire in the smallest degree to lessen the President’s power to do good; I only wish to place such salutary checks upon his power, as to prevent his doing harm. His power of nominating and appointing to office, and removing from office, will still be continued; with only the additional check of requiring the consent of the House of Representatives, in one case, and of the Senate and House in the other. All his other powers will remain the same as at present, and there will be but little danger of an abuse of those powers, if the term of Presidential office be reduced to one year, and the appointment be by lot: which will render it impossible to bring the high prerogatives of this office to aid in procuring it. An artful intriguer cannot then point to the various lucrative offices in the gift of the President, for the purpose of stimulating exertion in favor of his election: than which a more powerful engine could not have been devised.

Of the impropriety and impolicy of the present mode of electing a President, can there be stronger proof, can there be a more convincing evidence, than is now exhibiting in the United States? In whatever direction we turn our eyes, we behold the people arranging themselves under the banners of different candidates, for the purpose of commencing the electioneering campaign for the next President and Vice President. All the passions and feelings of the human heart are brought into the most active operation. The electioneering spirit finds its way to every fireside; pervades our domestic circles; and threatens to destroy the enjoyment of social harmony. The seeds of discord will be sown in families, among friends, and throughout the whole community. In saying this, I do not mean any thing to the disadvantage of either of the candidates. They may have no agency in the business; they may be the involuntary objects of such competition, without the power of directing or controlling the storm. The fault is in the mode of election; in setting the people to choose a King. In fact, a popular election, and the exercise of such powers and prerogatives as are by the constitution vested in the President, are incompatible. The evil is increasing, and will increase, until it shall terminate in civil war and despotism. The people, suffering under the scourge of party feuds and factions, and finding no refuge under the State, any more than in the General Government, from party persecution and oppression, may become impatient, and submit to the first tyrant who can protect them against the thousand tyrants.

I have dwelt so long on this amendment, because of the novelty, in this country, of appointing a Chief Magistrate by lot. The facility of appointing by lot was obvious; but it seemed necessary to exhibit, and to demonstrate the many and highly important advantages which will arise from this mode of appointing a President of the United States. The principal of these I will now present in one short view:

1st. It will make the Senate more respectable.

2d. It is prompt and certain.

3d. It will avoid the evils of a disputed election, now unprovided for in the constitution.

4th. It will exclude intrigue and cabal.

5th. It gives talent and modest merit an equal chance.

6th. It is economical.

7th. It gives to the people a President of the United States, and not the chief of a party.

8th. It removes temptation to use power otherwise than for public good.

9th. It will annihilate a general party pervading the whole United States.

10th. It will remove a direct, powerful, and dangerous influence of the General Government on the individual States.

11th. It will prevent the influence of a Presidential election on our domestic concerns and foreign relations. And,

12th. It will secure the United States against the usurpation of power, and every attempt, through fear, interest, or corruption, to sacrifice their interest, honor, or independence; for one year is too short a time in which to contrive and execute any extensive and dangerous plan of unprincipled ambition; and the same person cannot be President during two successive terms.

Reducing the Presidential term of service to one year, will remove the necessity of attaching to the office the splendor of a palace. The simplicity of ancient Republics would better suit the nature of our Government. The instances of persons called from the plough to command armies, or to preside over the public councils, show that in a Republic pomp and splendor are not necessary to real dignity. Cincinnatus, who was content with the scanty support derived from tilling, with his own hands, his four-acre farm, has been as celebrated in history as the most splendid monarchs. By these remarks I would not be understood to object against giving adequate salaries to all public functionaries. In the case of subordinate officers, it may be left to Legislative discretion. But the President having such great power and extensive influence, his compensation ought to have a constitutional limit, and not exceed fifteen thousand dollars.

FRIDAY, April 15.

Death of the Representative, Jacob Crowninshield.

A message from the House of Representatives notified the Senate of the death of JACOB CROWNINSHIELD, Esq., late a member of that House, and that his funeral will take place to-morrow morning, at 10 o’clock.

On motion, by Mr. GILMAN,

Resolved, That the Senate will attend the funeral of Mr. CROWNINSHIELD to-morrow morning at 10 o’clock.

SATURDAY, April 16.

The Senate adjourned to twelve o’clock, and attended the funeral of the honorable JACOB CROWNINSHIELD. After which they returned to their Chamber, and the VICE PRESIDENT having retired for the remainder of the session, the Senate proceeded by ballot to the choice of a PRESIDENT pro tempore, as the constitution provides; and the honorable SAMUEL SMITH was elected.

Ordered, That the Secretary wait on the President of the United States, and acquaint him that the Senate have, in the absence of the Vice President, elected the honorable SAMUEL SMITH their President pro tempore; and that the Secretary make a like communication to the House of Representatives.

WEDNESDAY, April 20.

Bank of the United States.

Mr. GREGG presented the memorial of the stockholders of the Bank of the United States, signed Samuel Breck, chairman, representing that, by an act of Congress, passed on the 25th of February, 1791, the subscribers to the capital stock of the said Bank, their successors and assigns, were incorporated for a term of years, which act will expire on the 4th day of March, 1811; and praying a renewal of their charter, for reasons stated at large in their memorial; which was read, and referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, to consider and report thereon at the next session of Congress.

MONDAY, 5 o’clock, P. M., April 25.

Adjournment.

Resolved, That Messrs. MITCHILL and CRAWFORD be a committee on the part of the Senate, with such as the House of Representatives may join, to wait on the President of the United States, and notify him that, unless he may have any further communications to make to the two Houses of Congress, they are ready to adjourn.

Ordered, That the Secretary acquaint the House of Representatives therewith, and request the appointment of a committee on their part.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that the House concur in the resolution of the Senate for the appointment of a joint committee to wait on the President of the United States and notify him of the intended recess, and have appointed a committee on their part.

Mr. Mitchill, from the committee, reported that they had waited on the President of the United States, who informed them that he had no further communications to make to the two Houses of Congress; whereupon, the President adjourned the Senate until the first Monday in November next.

TENTH CONGRESS.--FIRST SESSION.

PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES.

New Hampshire.--Peter Carlton, Daniel M. Durell, Francis Gardner, Jedediah K. Smith, Clement Storer.

Massachusetts.--Joseph Barker, John Chandler, Ezekiel Bacon, Orchard Cook, Richard Cutts, Jacob Crowninshield, Josiah Deane, William Ely, Isaiah L. Green, Edward St. Loe Livermore, Daniel Ilsley, Josiah Quincy, Ebenezer Seaver, William Stedman, Samuel Taggart, Joseph B. Varnum, Jabez Upham.

Vermont.--Martin Chittenden, James Elliot, James Fisk, James Witherall.

Rhode Island.--Nehemiah Knight, Isaac Wilbour.

Connecticut.--Epaphroditus Champion, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Jonathan O. Mosely, Timothy Pitkin, jr., Lewis B. Sturges, Benjamin Tallmadge.

New York.--John Blake, jr., George Clinton, Barent Gardenier, John Harris, Reuben Humphreys, William Kirkpatrick, Gurdon S. Mumford, Josiah Masters, Samuel Riker, John Russell, Peter Swart, David Thomas, John Thompson, James J. Van Allen, Philip Van Cortlandt, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Daniel C. Verplanck.

New Jersey.--Ezra Darby, William Helms, Adam Boyd, John Lambert, Thomas Newbold, James Sloan, Henry Southard.

Pennsylvania.--David Bard, Robert Brown, Joseph Clay, William Findlay, John Heister, William Hoge, Robert Jenkins, James Kelly, William Milnor, Daniel Montgomery, jr., John Porter, John Pugh, John Rea, Jacob Richards, Matthias Richards, John Smilie, Samuel Smith, Robert Whitehill.

Delaware.--Nicholas Van Dyke.

Maryland.--John Campbell, Charles Goldsborough, Philip Barton Key, Edward Lloyd, Wm. McCreery, John Montgomery, Nicholas R. Moore, Roger Nelson, Archibald Van Herne.

Virginia.--Burwell Bassett, Wm. A. Burwell, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, John Dawson, John W. Eppes, James M. Garnett, Peterson Goodwyn, Edwin Gray, David Holmes, John G. Jackson, Walter Jones, Joseph Lewis, jr., John Love, John Morrow, Thomas Newton, jr., John Randolph, Abram Trigg, John Smith, Alexander Wilson.

North Carolina.--Evan Alexander, Willis Alston, jr., Wm. Blackledge, Thomas Blount, John Culpepper, Nathaniel Macon, Thomas Kenan, Lemuel Sawyer, James Holland, Richard Stanford, Meshack Franklin, Marmaduke Williams.

South Carolina.--Lemuel J. Alston, jr., William Butler, Joseph Calhoun, John Taylor, Robert Marion, David R. Williams, Richard Wynn.

Georgia.--William W. Bibb, Howell Cobb, Dennis Smelt, George M. Troup.

Ohio.--Jeremiah Morrow.

Kentucky.--Joseph Desha, Matthew Lyon, Benjamin Howard, Richard M. Johnson.

Tennessee.--John Rhea, G. W. Campbell, Jesse Wharton.

Orleans Territory.--Delegate; Daniel Clark.

MONDAY, October 26, 1807.

This being the day appointed by Proclamation of the President of the United States, of the thirtieth day of July last, for the meeting of the Congress, the following members of the House of Representatives appeared, produced their credentials, and took their seats, to wit:

From New Hampshire--Peter Carlton, Daniel M. Durell, Francis Gardner, Jedediah K. Smith, and Clement Storer.

From Massachusetts--Joseph Barker, John Chandler, Orchard Cook, Richard Cutts, Josiah Deane, William Ely, Isaiah L. Green, Daniel Ilsley, Josiah Quincy, Ebenezer Seaver, William Stedman, Samuel Taggart, Joseph B. Varnum, and Jabez Upham.

From Vermont--Martin Chittenden, James Elliot, James Fisk, and James Witherall.

From Rhode Island--Nehemiah Knight, and Isaac Wilbour.

From Connecticut--Epaphroditus Champion, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Jonathan O. Mosely, Timothy Pitkin, jr., Lewis B. Sturges, and Benjamin Tallmadge.

From New York--John Blake, junior, Barent Gardenier, John Harris, Reuben Humphreys, William Kirkpatrick, Josiah Masters, Samuel Riker, John Russell, Peter Swart, David Thomas, John Thompson, James J. Van Allen, Philip Van Cortlandt, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, and Daniel C. Verplanck.

From New Jersey--Ezra Darby, William Helms, John Lambert, Thomas Newbold, James Sloan, and Henry Southard.

From Pennsylvania--David Bard, Robert Brown, William Findlay, John Heister, Robert Jenkins, James Kelly, William Milnor, Daniel Montgomery, jr., John Porter, John Pugh, John Rea, Jacob Richards, Matthias Richards, John Smilie, Samuel Smith, and Robert Whitehill.

From Maryland--John Campbell, Charles Goldsborough, Philip B. Key, Edward Lloyd, William McCreery, John Montgomery, Nicholas R. Moore, Roger Nelson, and Archibald Van Horne.

From Virginia--Burwell Bassett, William A. Burwell, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, John Dawson, John W. Eppes, James M. Garnett, Peterson Goodwyn, Edwin Gray, David Holmes, Walter Jones, Joseph Lewis, jr., John Love, John Morrow, Thomas Newton, jr., John Randolph, and John Smith.

From North Carolina--Evan Alexander, Willis Alston, jr., Thomas Blount, John Culpepper, Thomas Kenan, Lemuel Sawyer, Richard Stanford, and Meshack Franklin.

From South Carolina--Lemuel J. Alston, jr., Wm. Butler, Joseph Calhoun, Thomas Moore, John Taylor, and David R. Williams.

From Georgia--William W. Bibb, Howell Cobb, Dennis Smelt, and George M. Troup.

From Ohio--Jeremiah Morrow.

From Kentucky--Joseph Desha, Benjamin Howard, and Richard M. Johnson.

From Tennessee--John Rhea, and Jesse Wharton.

The Assistant Clerk of the House announced 117 members and one delegate to be present, being a majority of the whole number. He then inquired if it were the pleasure of the House to proceed to the appointment of a Speaker, which being determined in the affirmative, the members proceeded to ballot for that officer, Messrs. CUTTS, HELMS, and JOHN CAMPBELL, being named tellers.

The tellers, after examining the votes, reported that 117 were received, and JOSEPH B. VARNUM, a Representative from the State of Massachusetts, having fifty-nine of them, was declared to be duly elected.

The votes were given as follows, viz:

Joseph B. Varnum, 59; Charles Goldsborough, 17; Burwell Bassett, 17; Josiah Masters, 8; Thomas Blount, 7; John Dawson, 4; John Smilie, 2; Benjamin Tallmadge, 1; Timothy Pitkin, 1; and R. Nelson, 1.

The Speaker being conducted to the Chair, by Mr. VAN CORTLANDT and Mr. ALSTON, addressed the House as follows:

Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:

You will please to accept my most grateful acknowledgments for the honor which by your suffrages on this occasion you have conferred upon me. I am sensible of my own inability to perform the important duties you have been pleased to assign me, in the most desirable manner; but relying on your candor and readiness to afford me your aid, I accept the trust. And be assured, gentlemen, that it will be my assiduous endeavor to discharge the duties of the office faithfully and impartially; and in a manner which, in my opinion, shall be best calculated to meet your wishes and afford me the consolation of an approving conscience.

The oath to support the Constitution of the United States, as prescribed by the act, entitled “An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths,” was administered by Mr. VAN CORTLANDT, one of the Representatives for the State of New York, to the SPEAKER; and then the same oath, or affirmation, was administered by Mr. SPEAKER to all the members present.

GEORGE POINDEXTER, Esq., having also appeared as the delegate from the Mississippi Territory of the United States, the said oath was administered to him by the SPEAKER. The same oath, together with the oath of office prescribed by the said recited act, were also administered by Mr. SPEAKER to the Clerk.

A message from the Senate informed the House that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and ready to proceed to business. Also, that the Senate have appointed a committee on their part, jointly with such committee as may be appointed on the part of this House, 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 communications he may be pleased to make to them.

Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate, to inform them that a quorum of this House is assembled, and have elected JOSEPH B. VARNUM, Esq., one of the Representatives for the State of Massachusetts, their Speaker; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.

Mr. BASSETT, Mr. GOLDSBOROUGH, and Mr. MASTERS, were appointed a committee on the part of this House, jointly with the committee 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 that he may be pleased to make to them.

Election of Clerk, &c.

The House next proceeded to the election of a Clerk. The same tellers which had been appointed on the former election having been named by the Speaker on this, the members proceeded to ballot, and Patrick Magruder having received 72 votes was declared duly elected.

TUESDAY, October 27.

Several other members, to wit: from Virginia, ABRAM TRIGG and ALEXANDER WILSON; from South Carolina, ROBERT MARION; and from Tennessee, GEORGE W. CAMPBELL, appeared, produced their credentials, were qualified, and took their seats in the House.

WEDNESDAY, October 28.

Another member, to wit, WILLIAM HOGE, from Pennsylvania, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

THURSDAY, October 29.

Another member, to wit, WILLIAM BLACKLEDGE, from North Carolina, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

FRIDAY, October 30.

The House proceeded, by ballot, to the appointment of a Chaplain to Congress, on the part of this House; and, upon examining the ballots, a majority of the votes of the whole House was found in favor of the Rev. OBADIAH B. BROWN.

MONDAY, November 2.

Several other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, EZEKIEL BACON; from New York, GURDON S. MUMFORD; from North Carolina, JAMES HOLLAND; from Kentucky, MATTHEW LYON; and from South Carolina, RICHARD WYNN, appeared, produced their credentials, were qualified, and took their seats in the House.

THURSDAY, November 5.

Revolutionary Pensions.

Mr. DANA said it was well known, that during the last Congress, an act was passed for the relief of persons claiming pensions. The object of the act was, to grant relief to some whose cases were not embraced by the former act, and to grant an increased allowance to others who had not, as yet, received sufficient. This act provides for taking depositions before the district judge, in cases where the claimants have never been placed on the pension list, as well as for examination of the claims of those who apply to have their pensions increased. Whether any compensation should be allowed for issuing commissions, or for making the examinations required, is not declared by the act. A difference of practice, he understood, had taken place. In some cases, commissions were issued gratuitously by the district judge; in other cases, these poor solicitors were obliged, from their small pittance, to pay for these services. If any compensation were to be allowed for this service, he thought it should be paid from the public treasury. Whatever might be the mode adopted, he wished it to be fixed by law. For this purpose he offered the following resolution:

“Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire what compensation shall be allowed for issuing commissions giving authority for taking testimony, or examining evidence relative to claims or applications under the act to provide for persons who have been disabled by known wounds received in the Revolutionary war, and that the committee have leave to report by bill or otherwise.”

Frigate Chesapeake.

Mr. QUINCY said the House would recollect that when in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, some days ago, he submitted an amendment to a resolution of the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. DAWSON,) which went to an inquiry into the circumstances of the attack on the Chesapeake, and the causes assigned for it, as well as the manner in which it was repelled. At that time two objections of some apparent validity were urged against this motion; the one was that it might have an improper effect upon a pending trial, the other was as to its form. To obviate these objections, he had modified the resolution, which he should now offer to the House.

Mr. Q. read his motion, as follows:

“Resolved, That the committee to whom was referred so much of the Message of the President of the United States as relates to aggressions committed within our ports and waters, by foreign armed vessels, to violations of our jurisdiction, and to measures necessary for the protection of our ports and harbors, be instructed to inquire into the circumstances of the attack made on the frigate Chesapeake in June last, and the pretexts or causes assigned for making it, and to report the same in detail to the House.”

Mr. Q. would lay before the House his reasons for offering this resolution. He could not acquiesce in the course which had been given to that part of the President’s Message which relates to the attack on the Chesapeake. He could not reconcile it with the sense of justice or with the honor of this House. He asked gentlemen to consider our situation in relation to this subject. A violent attack is made upon one of our public ships of war, in a manner undeniably hostile. A great degree of excitement has taken place in the public mind throughout the continent. Our newspapers have teemed with every species of information, a part of which has been correct, and a part incorrect; which has sometimes fallen short of the truth, and sometimes exceeded it; has been sometimes official, and sometimes unofficial. In this situation of things, the President of the United States deemed it wise and prudent to call an extraordinary session of this Legislature. We are now assembled. He has made a communication to us, and this attack is a striking feature in it. This is our situation. What have we done? The House has gone into a Committee of the Whole, taken up the Message of the President, cut it up into parts, according to Parliamentary custom; and we have taken as many of those parts as we pleased and referred them to particular committees; some of which are a kind of patchwork committees. In all of these references, notwithstanding it was the very object which occasioned the early meeting of the present session, no mention is made of the attack on the Chesapeake. The committee, which he proposed to instruct on this subject, had what related to aggressions committed within our ports and waters submitted to them generally, but they have no compass by which to steer; no prominent object is placed before them. He could not reconcile this manner of acting with his duty. He deemed it necessary to obtain a full development of all the circumstances relative to this affair, in order that Congress, and the people at large, may form a correct judgment of our situation. The course adopted is not the course to gain the information so desirable. It is a course of Parliamentary ignorance, not a course of development. It is a course of concealment. He spoke as to the general effect of measures, and not as to gentlemen’s motives.

He inquired of gentlemen what method they would pursue, if they wanted to understand any particular subject? Would they not refer it to a distinct committee, and not mix it up with extraneous matter? And if you give a committee two or three distinct objects to act upon, but wish them to attend more especially to one, it is proper to give them specific instructions to that point. This is the way to come at the proper understanding of a subject. But, on the contrary, if it were the wish of any member of this House to promote concealment, to prevent a knowledge of facts, the way is obvious. It would be to place three or four subjects together, and to suffer the committee to which they are referred to act as they please upon them. We know that committees thus left to themselves, will never do too much.

It was because the people of the United States wish to know something on this subject, that he made this motion. It may be said that this committee have already the power, and that they may make the necessary inquiries without this instruction. But it is the duty of this House to be certain that they will do so. Indeed, if the committee were now proceeding in this inquiry, this would be no good reason why this motion ought not to be adopted. If, without being instructed by this House, the committee should report the facts now called for, the honor of the act would rest upon that committee; whereas it ought to rest upon this House.

Perhaps it may be said, as on a former occasion, that every man, woman, and child, in the United States is acquainted with these facts; but what is known from popular report, or newspaper information, is not the kind of knowledge we want. We want facts from the proper authority.

An objection had been made to this course, that it would be casting a censure upon the committee. Not so; it would be no more than drawing the attention of an organ of the House to a particular subject. It may be objected to, because a negotiation is pending; but what is done by Congress, at this time, can have no effect on a negotiation carrying on across the Atlantic. The House is at present calm and tranquil, and this is therefore a proper time to undertake an investigation of the facts required. Let the negotiation terminate as it may, we shall never have a fair inquiry into these facts, unless we enter upon it at present. Suppose, said he, the negotiation has a favorable issue, and no inquiry has been made, is there a member present who will say the inquiry would then be entered upon? No, it would be said to be an old wound, which ought not to be probed, but forgotten. But suppose, on the other hand, that the negotiation should be abruptly broken off, and this House should be called upon to put the nation in hostile array, would that be a proper time for entering upon the proposed inquiry? Would the House be in a fit state for deliberating upon the facts required? Indeed, the subject appeared to him so clear, and the duty to bring forward this motion so impressive, that he could not refrain from making it.

Mr. BURWELL said he had hoped he should have been able to have satisfied the gentleman from Massachusetts, as to the attention of the committee to whom this duty was assigned; but after an expression which had dropped from him, he despaired of doing it. He would, however, inform the House that the committee to whom the subject was referred were engaged in a course of investigation on the very part of it now agitated, and had come to a determination to obtain, from the proper authority, a correct detail of the circumstances attending this particular attack; not content with this, they were about to call on the Government for a detail of all aggressions that had been committed within our ports and waters.

Mr. BLOUNT said, that, at the moment the gentleman from Massachusetts had moved this resolution, he was in the committee-room, in the act of addressing a note to the Secretary of State on this subject, according to the direction of the committee, calling for a full and correct statement of all the facts relative to the aggression committed on the frigate Chesapeake. For the satisfaction of the gentleman, he would read the note which he had written. [Mr. B. then opened and read the note.]

THURSDAY, November 12.

Two other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, JACOB CROWNINSHIELD; and from Pennsylvania, JOSEPH CLAY, appeared, produced their credentials, were qualified, and took their seats in the House.

The SPEAKER laid before the House sundry documents, transmitted to him by Duncan McFarland, of the State of North Carolina, relative to his claim to a seat in this House, as a Representative for said State, in the room of John Culpepper; which were referred to the Committee of Elections.

Maryland Contested Election.[55]

The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the report of the Committee of Elections, to whom was referred the memorial of Joshua Barney, of the State of Maryland. The report of the Committee of Elections is as follows:

The Committee of Elections, to whom was committed the petition of Joshua Barney, of the city of Baltimore, praying to be admitted to a seat in the House, he having, in his opinion, the highest number of votes given to a candidate legally qualified to represent the city of Baltimore, having carefully examined the facts stated on both sides, and compared the laws of Maryland under which the said election was held, with the Constitution of the United States, report--

That, by an act of the Assembly of Maryland, passed in November, 1790, it is required that the member shall be an inhabitant of his district at the time of his election, and shall have resided therein twelve calendar months immediately before.

By another act of the Assembly of Maryland, passed in November, 1802, it is enacted that Baltimore town and county shall be the fifth district, which district shall be entitled to send two Representatives to Congress, one of which shall be a resident of Baltimore county, and the other a resident of Baltimore city.

That Joshua Barney is a citizen of Maryland, and has been a resident of Baltimore city for many years.

That William McCreery has been for many years a citizen of Maryland, and a resident of the city of Baltimore; but that, in the year 1803, he removed himself and his family to his estate in Baltimore county; that, from that time, though he himself has occasionally resided in Baltimore, yet he, with his wife and family, have not made the city their settled residence.

That William McCreery states that his intention was, and still is, to reside with his family on his country estate in summer, and in the city of Baltimore in winter; but that, ever since he has removed his family to his farm, he has been obliged every winter, in the public service, to reside, and frequently with his family, in the city of Washington, which prevented him from removing his family, agreeably to his intention, to the city of Baltimore; but he resided himself in the city of Baltimore five or six days before the election; that he and his family were residing in the same situation, when he was elected to serve in the ninth Congress, that they were when he was elected into the present Congress; that, however, not wishing to have been taken up as a candidate at the last election, he expressed to some of his friends some apprehensions that exceptions might be made on account of his constant family residence not being in the city of Baltimore.

At the election in that district for the Congress now in session, Nicholas R. Moore had 6,164 votes; he is a resident in Baltimore county; and William McCreery, against whose right to a seat in this House objection is made on account of residence, had 3,559 votes; and Joshua Barney, who claims a seat in this House, and it is admitted is a resident of Baltimore city, had 2,063 votes; and John Seat, also a resident in Baltimore city, had 353 votes. The above statement of facts being admitted by the parties, further evidence was not required. No question was taken on the legal residence of William McCreery in the city of Baltimore.

The committee proceeded to examine the constitution, with relation to the case submitted to them, and find that qualifications of members are therein determined, without reserving any authority to the State Legislatures to change, add to, or diminish those qualifications; and that, by that instrument, Congress is constituted the sole judge of the qualifications prescribed by it, and are obliged to decide agreeably to the constitutional rules; but the State Legislatures being, by the constitution, authorized to prescribe the time, place and manner of holding the elections, in controversies arising under this authority, Congress are obliged to decide agreeably to the laws of the respective States.

On the most mature consideration of the case submitted to them, the committee are of opinion that William McCreery is duly qualified to represent the fifth district of the State of Maryland, and that the law of that State, restricting the residence of the members of Congress to any particular part of the district for which they may be chosen, is contrary to the Constitution of the United States: therefore,

“Resolved, That William McCreery is entitled to his seat in this House.”

TUESDAY, November 17.

Another member, to wit, MARMADUKE WILLIAMS, from North Carolina, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

Frigate Chesapeake.

Mr. BLOUNT, from the committee to whom was referred so much of the Message of the President as relates to aggressions, &c., made a report.

The report commences with an expression of sensibility at the outrage committed on the Chesapeake; states the receipt of information relative thereto from the State and Navy Departments; presents a general view of the circumstances; observes that it might be said to have been incontestably proved that William Ware, John Strachan, and Daniel Martin are citizens of the United States. But the committee add, that they conceive it unnecessary for them or the House to go into any inquiry on that part of the subject, as in their opinion whether the men taken from the Chesapeake were or were not citizens of the United States, and whether the Chesapeake was or was not within the acknowledged limits of the United States at the time they were taken, the character of the act of taking them remains the same.

“From the foregoing facts, it appears to your committee that the outrage committed on the frigate Chesapeake has been stamped with circumstances of indignity and insult of which there is scarcely to be found a parallel in the history of civilized nations, and requires only the sanction of the Government under color of whose authority it was perpetrated to make it just cause of, if not an irresistible call for, instant and severe retaliation. Whether it will receive that sanction, or be disavowed, and declared an unauthorized act of a subordinate officer, remains to be determined by the answer which shall be given to the demand of explanation. That answer (now daily expected) will either sink the detestable act into piracy, or expand it to the magnitude of premeditated hostility against the sovereignty and independence of this nation; and until its true character shall be fixed and known, your committee deem it expedient to decline expressing any opinion as to the measures proper to be adopted in relation to it. But, as other acts of aggression have been committed within our ports and waters by British ships of war, as well anterior as posterior to this, some of them manifesting the same disregard of our national rights, and seeming to flow from the same contempt for the authority of our laws; and especially as the British squadron, of which the Leopard was one, after being notified of the President’s proclamation, ordering them to depart from the waters of the United States which they knew had been published in conformity to an act of Congress, anchored within the capes of Chesapeake Bay, and in that situation remained, capturing American vessels, even within our acknowledged territorial limits, and sending them to Halifax for adjudication--impressing seamen on board American vessels--firing on vessels and boats of all descriptions, having occasion to pass near them in pursuit of their lawful trade, and occasionally denouncing threats, calculated to alarm and irritate the good people of the United States, particularly the inhabitants of Norfolk and Hampton--all which facts are substantiated by the accompanying documents, Nos. 1 to 6--the committee are of opinion that it is expedient to provide more effectually for the protection of our ports and harbors; but not being prepared to report specifically on that subject, they ask further indulgence of the House, and beg leave to submit for their consideration the following resolution:

“Resolved, That the attack of the British ship of war Leopard on the United States frigate Chesapeake was a flagrant violation of the jurisdiction of the United States, and that the continuance of the British squadron (of which the Leopard was one) in their waters, after being notified of the proclamation of the President of the United States, ordering them to depart the same, was a further violation thereof.”

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

On a motion of Mr. BASSETT, that the proceedings of this day, with closed doors, ought to be kept secret, the question being taken thereupon, it passed in the negative--yeas 22, nays 104.

WEDNESDAY, November 18

British Aggressions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THURSDAY, November 19.

British Armed Vessels.

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

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

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

TH. JEFFERSON.

NOVEMBER 19, 1807.

* * * * *

By the President of the United States of America:

A PROCLAMATION.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TH. JEFFERSON.

By the President:

JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State.

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

SATURDAY, November 21.

Sir James Jay.

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

Mr. TAYLOR opposed and Mr. JONES supported it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TUESDAY, November 24.

British Aggressions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TUESDAY, December 1.

Mr. QUINCY offered the following resolution:

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

Which being under consideration,

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

The resolution was agreed to without a division.

Soldiers of the Revolution, &c.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WEDNESDAY, December 2.

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

Soldiers of the Revolution.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TUESDAY, December 8.

Fortifications and Gunboats.

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

The bill from the Senate being still under consideration,

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

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

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

With respect to the propriety of building gunboats, he would observe that they were not a mere experiment; they were sanctioned by the practice of Europe, and were very beneficial for the defence of ports against sudden attack. The French, Spanish, Dutch, and other nations, in the vicinage of the British Navy, had combined their boats with land batteries, for the purpose of defence against the assaults of that formidable Navy. These boats were also a part of a system heretofore practised in other countries, and proposed to be further pursued here.

Mr. CROWNINSHIELD said that there was some inconsistency in the observations of the gentleman from Pennsylvania; he had said gunboats would be useful with the aid of large vessels, and at the same time said they were entirely useless in the mouths of rivers or deep waters. [Mr. MILNOR explained that he had meant they would be useless when acting alone.] Mr. C. said he had formed a very different opinion, indeed, from that expressed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania with respect to gunboats. It was well known that no longer ago than the year before last, this Government had employed eight or ten gunboats to assist in the attack on Tripoli; they all crossed the Atlantic in safety, except one boat. Although they did not come into the attack on Tripoli, because a peace was prematurely concluded, yet he himself had heard the late Commodore Preble say that, without them the squadron would not have been competent to have made an effectual assault on the city. These boats then kept the sea in very tempestuous weather, a fact which the despatches from the commanding officer had announced. He believed that they could not at this time adopt a better mode of defence than that proposed by the bill. He should be sorry to see the proposed number reduced, because he believed they would render important services, if at any time our ports or harbors should be attacked. These gunboats were not boats that would sink the moment they got into rough water; they were boats of 60 or 70 tons burden, which might navigate the globe with safety. He spoke from experimental knowledge. The gentleman surely did not mean to say they could not swim. In Mr. C.’s opinion, there could be no better system of defence in aid of fortifications than that proposed by the bill.

Mr. BLOUNT presumed the gentleman would admit, as a certainty, that it was the duty of the House to provide effectual protection. The select committee having determined, in their own mind, that the best system of defence would be composed by fortifications and gunboats, had inquired what number, would be of use. The answer to this inquiry was already before the House; it was stated that the United States had already 69 gunboats--that 257 were the whole number which might be usefully employed; consequently that 188 were wanting. If it were the object of gentlemen to afford a certain protection to the country, he hoped they would not hesitate to pass this bill. If the gentleman from Pennsylvania should be able, when the subject was properly before them, to prove to Mr. B. that frigates or ships of war would add to the protection which might be afforded by fortifications and gunboats, he would vote with him for their construction. It would be time to discuss this when the subject was before them. He hoped the idea of the utility of a naval force would not induce gentlemen to withhold from the Executive that force which they had signified as necessary for the protection of our ports and harbors. If any doubt were entertained by gentlemen who were not members of the last Congress, there was a report, which he held in his hand, made at a former session, containing the opinions of naval officers on the expediency or utility of these boats. The report was lengthy, and he should not call for the reading of it, except gentlemen wished it. There was, however, no necessity to demonstrate their utility, as no gentleman had attempted to show that they were not eminently and essentially useful as one species of defence.

The gentleman last up has stated that I wished this mode of defence because it was the wish of the Executive. I stated expressly, and the gentleman must so have understood me, that the committee had selected this number of gunboats because they were informed that this number would be necessary. I referred to the document where this statement is expressed and where it may be found. I meant to express the opinion, that if we built a less number than necessary, it would be a waste of public money; and that protection would not be obtained by a less force than that which is proposed.

Mr. B. also said that the 88 gunboats would cost $440,000; that sum, when applied to the building of a large frigate, would not complete her; and when built, she would carry but 44 guns, one-half the number of guns which would be carried by 88 gunboats; besides which, the expense of rigging and making her fit for service would be enormous. Thus, by building one frigate only at the same expense as would complete 88 gunboats, they lost 44 guns, besides the additional expense of fitting out and manning the frigate. He had, however, only risen at this time to explain that he had been misrepresented when it was stated that he had said he should vote for this number of gunboats because the Executive had recommended it.

Mr. SMILIE said the question was, whether they would appropriate a certain sum of money for the defence of their ports and harbors. He had not heard it said, and he hoped it never would be said, that they ought to defend themselves beyond their own shores. He confessed that he was now called upon to give his vote on a question to the decision of which he was not competent; but it being his duty to decide, he should, on this as on other subjects with which he was not well acquainted, depend upon the opinions of those who were. He believed many gentlemen in the House were in the same situation with himself, not being acquainted with naval affairs. It was the duty of the Executive to communicate information in answer to any inquiries which it was necessary to make. They had performed that duty, and the answers were in favor of gunboats. Should he then pursue any opinion of his own in contradiction to this, when he had no evidence on which to ground that opinion? Certainly not; he should depend upon those who possessed better information on the subject than himself, except there was something so absurd in their opinions that he could not swallow it.

Mr. CHANDLER said, when they had information from actual examination, that the contemplated number of gunboats would be necessary, he did believe that the proposed sum should be appropriated to that object. The gentleman from Pennsylvania, who had moved this amendment, professed himself as willing to protect our ports and harbors as any gentleman, but wished to strike out part of the number of gunboats, in order to adopt another mode of defence. Admitting that a frigate could be built for the sum which would complete eighty-eight gunboats; could he demonstrate that the force of forty-four guns would be equal to eighty-eight of heavier metal? Another thing he would mention; when the gunboats were constructed, a part of them might be removed, and they could increase or diminish the force at any particular place, as occasion might require; if they had one frigate in place of them, they could not divide her strength, and it could be retained at one point only.

Mr. NEWTON said it was not his intention to take up the time of the committee in a disquisition on the subject of gunboats; though, were he to attempt it, he had no doubt but he might be equally qualified with some gentlemen who had displayed their eloquence on this occasion. He thought they should now take into consideration the situation of the country in relation to Great Britain. Why were they now talking of defence, of fortifications, and of gunboats? Because they had arrived at a perilous crisis; the nation had been attacked; the blood of its citizens had been spilled; and they must have war, if reparation were not made. They heard by the papers that a Minister was to be sent to negotiate on the subject; but when that Minister arrived here, would any gentleman say that they would receive that reparation which he was prepared to offer? He believed not. When our affairs were thus situated, and as the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. MACON) said a few days ago, when they were actually in a state of war, ought they not to make a better use of their time and the public money, than in debating on the details of a bill? If a treaty with Great Britain were laid upon their table at this moment, should they for that reason desist from preparations for defence? No; that nation had trampled on every moral principle; there was no faith in her; paper and parchment were no security for her good conduct. If they wished to be respected by that power, they must place themselves in a situation to return injury for injury; to retaliate on her for the violations of their rights. When they did this, they might expect something like decency of conduct, or respect for their rights from that power; until they put themselves in a situation to command her respect, they would in vain expect to receive it.

Mr. GARDENIER said that although he was not one of those who entertained a great passion for gunboats, yet he could see certain situations in which they would be useful in aid of fortifications; but they should be restricted to a certain number. The mode of fortification which was proposed, was by gunboats and batteries; and the proportionate expenditure for these two objects, how much for one, and how much for the other, was a subject which would engage the attention of the House when it came properly before them. He should feel no objection to vote for the whole number of gunboats, were he certain at the same time that enough would be appropriated for land-batteries and other objects.

Mr. MASTERS said, if the amendment of the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. BLOUNT) had for its object to authorize the President to dam up the Hudson River by sinking blocks, he trusted the good sense of the committee would reject such a preposterous proposition. The injurious consequences of such an experimental measure to the city of New York, and the State at large, would be beyond calculation. It would, in all human probability, inundate, in high freshets, a considerable part of the town; and in low water, in the summer season, so prevent the influx of water as to cause the tide to recede more than thirty miles, and ruin a number of most flourishing towns one hundred and seventy miles up the river. The effects would be ruinous to one of the finest rivers in the world. It was a well-known fact that sinking the piers of Westminster bridge, in the river Thames, caused the tide to recede in that river upwards of seven miles; take the same data for calculation, and the tide in Hudson River would recede more than fifty miles. This, said Mr. M., is a visionary scheme to evade the real object of defence, and to introduce false notions of economy. Whenever we attempt to make appropriations for permanent forts and batteries, expense and economy are brought forward as an objection. The objects of necessary defence, and a prudent, well-regulated economy, can be easily reconciled; but your plausible and popular sound of economy, which is always the sweeping argument when this and similar measures are under consideration, is like a fine net, which is intended to catch every thing, both great and small. It may serve for a fine fancy to fill up a speech with, but will not answer for fortifications. It will endanger the nation by keeping us defenceless and weak, tempt aggressions, and invite the destruction of our seaport towns. Where, then, will be your economy?

Mr. QUINCY said he would only ask the gentleman from North Carolina, as to his precise meaning in inserting the word “works.” This word was, perhaps, in common life, confined to constructions other than fortifications; he believed, however, it might include fortifications also. When he had asked the question as to the species of works contemplated to be erected, he had no conception that it was possible, under an expression of this kind, to comprehend the sinking of blocks to choke up the harbor of New York; for he had thought the erection of works was putting up, whilst sinking blocks was putting down. He had, however, a different object in rising. He had understood it to be the intention of this bill not only to authorize the repair of old fortifications, but the erection of new ones; and the bill as it stood antecedent to the gentleman’s amendment, might have been competent to that end. Now, as the gentleman had amended it, it would imply works different from fortifications as he understood. If indeed it were the real object of the gentleman to repair old fortifications only, and not to erect new ones, the bill would now answer his purpose fully. If it were otherwise, he conceived the language was not correct.

Mr. BLOUNT said he felt very little solicitude as to the fate of his motion. His intention was to give a greater latitude to the discretion of the President. He would not, however, undertake to dispute with the gentleman from Massachusetts on the precise meaning of words; for he had not spent his early life within the walls of a college, as that gentleman had, but in the field, fighting for the liberties of his country. Under the belief that the word works did include fortifications, he had made his motion for amendment. It was the intention of the committee both to erect new works and to repair old ones. If the gentlemen from New York and Massachusetts were determined to restrain the President from giving that protection to the port of New York which the people of that State should think proper, he was content. He did not wish to waste the time of the House unnecessarily, especially on a subject which required so much expedition.

Mr. COOK said he lived in a port in which there was sufficient depth of water for any British man of war, and he thought he should feel as indignant at any proposition for destroying the harbor as the gentleman from New York. He hoped the feelings of other gentlemen in the House would be in unison with his. If they were arrived at such a point of degradation, that, in case of attack, they must retreat to or beyond the mountains, and if instead of defending they must abandon the coast to its fate, they had better adopt this measure, and block up their ports altogether. After such a proposition as this, he should not be surprised at any one which could be made; it appeared to him that the spirit of our forefathers was departing the country. He was alarmed when he heard such a proposition as this, and he hoped there would be sufficient magnanimity in the House to give the amendment a decided negative.

WEDNESDAY, December 9.

Another member, to wit, EDWARD ST. LOE LIVERMORE, from Massachusetts, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

Fortifications and Gunboats.

The House proceeded to consider the amendments reported yesterday by the Committee of the Whole to the bill, sent from the Senate, entitled “An act to appropriate money for the construction of an additional number of gunboats.”

Mr. DURELL said, as there appeared to be a considerable diversity of opinion on this gunboat business, and as a number of gentlemen from, the North did not readily fall into the scheme of the Southern gentlemen, and as he was from the North, he would state some reasons why this bill should not pass. He thought, as every gentleman appeared to think, that this was a crisis which called for union and great exertion; the great object was, to arm the nation to meet an event which they would be called to meet ere long. The question was now on one species of this arming, on which there were different opinions.

It appeared that, in addition to fortifications, the precise number of one hundred and eighty-eight gunboats was called for. A question had been asked, why that number was exactly calculated as being necessary; the chairman of the committee, who reported the bill, states that this number was thought necessary by the Executive Department. It was not to the system of gunboats that he had an objection, for he believed that, to a certain extent, they might be useful; but he did not believe that gunboats in connection with fortifications, would attain the end for which they were acknowledged to be proposed. In casting his eye over the documents before him, he perceived that gunboats were assigned to certain situations in the North, where he was confident they could never be of use. He was positive of this fact. Four gunboats were assigned to the port of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He would appeal to gentlemen in the House, acquainted with the situation of that port, whether they seriously believed that four gunboats, or that twenty, would be of any service there? It was impossible that they should; the situation of the port, the strength and rapidity of the tide, were such that they could not be used. The same observation would apply to a number of ports east of that; it was generally conceded that gunboats were not calculated for deep and turbulent waters; the Northern shores were not sand banks, and gentlemen seemed to think these were necessary to allow gunboats to defend even themselves.

He saw that for the ports of Norfolk and New York, there were assigned a large number of gunboats. He was inclined to believe that a number of frigates, to the amount of the expense of these gunboats, would be more consonant with the wishes of the people in the mouth of the Hudson, than so many gunboats.

One hundred and twenty-eight gunboats to Norfolk and New York! The expense of sixty-four, one half of this number, would be fully equal to the expense of four forty-four gun frigates; and he was of opinion that these, at one-half the expense, would be considered by the gentlemen from Norfolk and New York, and by the House, as better calculated than gunboats to defend those ports. Mr. D. could see no reason why they should not have their choice in this respect. He, therefore, concluded with moving to strike out “one hundred and eighty-eight gunboats,” and insert “one hundred and twenty-four gunboats, and four forty-four gun frigates.”

Mr. BLOUNT called for a division of the question, wishing the first question taken on striking out.

Mr. GARDNER felt very conscious of the importance of fortifying the various ports and harbors of the United States, and should give the bill his support on its passage; but he had been in hopes yesterday that the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, would have prevailed. He wished to see the system of gunboats put into operation, and to see the efficiency of that mode of defence properly tested. There appeared to be many different opinions on the subject; and he perceived the House would not be satisfied till the experiment was tried, and their utility known. He was willing that as many gunboats should be employed as was sufficient for defence in those waters where they might be useful; but he did not think they would be efficient in the Northern and Eastern ports of the United States. He should be obliged to gentlemen if they would strike out a part of this number of gunboats, and appropriate the sum applicable to them to another mode of defence. There appeared to be a large majority in favor of the bill, but if they would be so condescending as to fortify the Northern ports in a way most agreeable to the people interested in their defence, he should feel gratified at it. He was in favor of the amendment, though he would rather a large number should be stricken out; and hoped the question on striking out would be carried, whether ships of war were inserted or not. It had been yesterday said, by a gentleman from Virginia, that if a less number were built than that proposed, they would be useless. This argument could have no weight with those who did not think they would afford defence at all; but, for his own part, he should vote for any thing in the shape of defence, till it should be found insufficient by experiment.

Mr. BACON observed, that some gentleman had undertaken in themselves, to represent the whole Northern part of the Union, and had expressed their wishes that the House would condescend to listen to the united prayers of the representatives from those States. He only rose to say, that he, for one, protested against being considered as joining in that request. He was of opinion that the mode embraced by the bill would better accord with the sentiments of the people of the Northern States, than that which those gentlemen had proposed. He had no intention of making any calculation on the subject, because he did not consider himself qualified to do it; but would barely observe that, were the question fairly tried in the Northern interest, those gentlemen would be found in the negative.

Mr. CROWNINSHIELD said he considered the present proposition as much the same with that which was yesterday offered in Committee of the Whole, and to which the committee was decidedly opposed. He trusted the decision of the House to-day would be the same as that of the committee yesterday. He thought his friend from New Hampshire was extremely mistaken in his calculations of the comparative expense of gunboats, and frigates of forty-four guns. It would be seen by the report of the Secretary of the Navy, that the estimates for gunboats would amount to about $5,000; and he thought it would not go beyond it. Taking this for granted, the gentleman’s calculations of expense must fall to the ground. Mr. C. then stated the expense of frigates which had been built, from which it appeared that the expense of building one frigate was fully as much as that of sixty-four gunboats. If they proposed to strike out this number of gunboats in order to build frigates, they must add a sum of one million of dollars to the appropriation.

Mr. SAWYER said it was not his intention to trouble the House often with his observations; for, being but a young member, he sat there more for the purpose of acquiring information than of giving it; nor should he have risen at this time, had not his duty compelled him to reply to some remarks, and to oppose the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Hampshire, (Mr. DURELL.) The gentleman wished the United States to have a fleet; to have four forty-four gun frigates to assist in the defence of New York. For his own part, Mr. S. wished the United States were in such a situation as to enable them to usher into existence a fleet capable of annihilating at one blow the whole naval power of England, which had so long proved a scourge to all nations, and to this nation in particular. Such a consummation was devoutly to be wished; but the attainment of such an object by the United States, was utterly impossible: they had not means wherewith to do it, and an attempt which should fall short of the end, would do the nation more injury than good, by tending to swell the already overgrown naval power of Great Britain. At present, he must say, he was entirely opposed to a Naval Establishment, and differed entirely with the gentleman from Massachusetts, upon the propriety of any such establishment in the present situation of affairs; he wished to have nothing to do with any establishment unconnected with a system of land defence. There was a time when a Naval Establishment might have been consistent with national policy; when a naval armament, such as could then have been constructed, might have been instrumental, by proper management, in maintaining the balance of naval power in Europe; that time was, when the combined fleets of France, Spain, and Holland, were nearly a match for the British naval force; but that time was now elapsed; that opportunity, which might have been so advantageously seized, was, through an unfortunate prejudice in favor of one nation and against another, suffered to escape unheeded. They now saw the effects of that policy; the fleets of France, Spain, and Holland, were swept from the ocean; the British Navy retained the undisputed possession of every sea, and it would be an extravagant undertaking in the United States to attempt the creation of a naval force calculated to make a serious impression upon Great Britain; they would become the mere shipwrights of Great Britain, who would be ready to receive their ships as fast as they could be launched. Could they erect a navy equal to that which Denmark had possessed? Could they build and equip twenty-four sail of the line at once? If they could do this, experience had fatally shown, that so far from aiding in the defence of this nation, that force would soon be turned against it; England, with a superior force, would soon convert them into a means of offence against this nation. But it would not be in the power of the United States, encumbered as they were by a great national debt, and cramped in their resources by interruptions of their trade, to provide a navy as respectable as that of Denmark was; and surely any smaller force could not be contemplated. Let us then, said he, apply our limited means to a mode of defence on which more reliance may be placed; let us in the first place put our ports and harbors in such a state of defence as will, in a great degree, prevent our feeling the want of a navy. To effect this object, he said, they must have recourse to gunboats. He did not conceive this means of defence to be so trivial as the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. DURELL) seemed to think them; not that they could be relied on as an efficient system of defence by themselves; not that they were to expel the British squadron from our shores, (though it was thought they could effect that object;) but because, in conjunction with land batteries and fortifications, they would ensure some safety of person and property in our seaport towns. By judicious management, by disposition in shoal waters, so as to aid the batteries on shore, they might be the means of preventing our cities from being plundered and burned, and our banks and stores from being rifled of their wealth. In this point of view, he considered them as part of a land defence, totally unconnected with a navy; they were not to go into deep water; the ocean was not their element; they were to remain in stations from which they might afford the greatest assistance to our forts and batteries, and when hard pressed or overpowered by force they could take shelter under them. This, said Mr. S., is the great advantage they have over heavy ships, there being no danger of their capture while we can maintain possession of our forts.

The British have not dared to attack a single French port since, though they had full possession of the channel and every means of attack which their unopposed naval superiority could afford. Though they saw preparing in those ports materials for their destruction, though they saw rising up in them means of offence so much dreaded as to require the utmost vigor of national exertion to provide against them, still did they stand aloof. Had Copenhagen been defended by gunboats distributed so as to act with the batteries, she would not have fallen so easy a prey; in fact, the few gunboats they had did all the execution that was done to the British shipping; for the fleet which remained in the port for its defence had no retreat from the superior force of the enemy, but where they could be pursued by vessels of equal size, while the gunboats ran under the forts and continued to annoy the British ships until those forts were taken by land. And if all the vessels which were captured had been gunboats, how much better would it have been for the Danes; how much less heavy would the loss of a few boats have been than that of so many large ships, so long building and accumulating, and at such an immense expense! But in order to show the inutility of gunboats, as well as fortifications, this House was told the British could succeed against our towns by landing a sufficient number of men below our forts and attacking them by land. This is exactly, Mr. S. said, what he wished to hear; for it was conceding at once that our gunboat and fortification defence would be too much for them to pass, that they would be compelled to give up the idea of carrying the place by water, and thus lose all the great advantages which their boasted irresistible naval power could afford them.

Mr. COOK said he could have wished that the different modes of defence should have been united, and decided upon together; but from the disposition of gentlemen who were in favor of the gunboat system, the House appeared to be compelled now to decide on this alone. It was well known that he was not averse to the proposition for constructing a number of gunboats; that he had last session given his vote in favor of them, and was now in favor of increasing the number, believing that in some situations they might be eminently useful; but when he found that so large a sum had been appropriated, almost to the exclusion of any other mode of defence, he deemed it his duty to give his vote in favor of a proposition tending more equally to apportion the modes of defence.

It had been moved to strike out of the bill a certain number of gunboats, and insert a certain number of ships of war. That a navy was necessary for the protection of our commerce was the opinion of President Washington, expressed at a time when our commerce was comparatively small. [Mr. C. here read an extract from an address to Congress from President Washington.] Mr. C. acknowledged that he had not experimental knowledge on this subject; but he appealed to the candor of those gentlemen who advocated this mode of defence, to accord to him that liberality which he would exercise towards them. He meant to impeach the motives of no man. He conceived that every gentleman would act according to the dictates of his conscience, and he claimed their indulgence to do the same.

Were the navy now to be increased to repel aggression from any foreign power, it would be regarded as a proper measure. He was not in favor of a large increase of our Navy; but he conceived it necessary to have a few large ships to drive from their ports scattering ships of an enemy. He thought himself not out of order, since the opinion of the President of the United States on the subject of gunboats had been read, verbally to quote his opinion on this subject. The President was in favor of large ships; he thought it was improper that any single ship should be able to block up a port or harbor of the United States; and that a remedy should be provided. Mr. C. thought that no danger could arise to the liberties of the people from an increase of the Navy; he called upon gentlemen who supported that doctrine to quote a single instance where any nation had lost its liberties from a navy. He did not himself consider an increase of our Navy necessary at the present moment, but it might be necessary at a future time; it would not, therefore, be improper now to provide materials, that they might have them in readiness when wanted. At present their attention should be directed solely to the defence of their cities on the seacoast; but at any future time, when it should be made satisfactorily to appear to this Government that the nations of Europe were disposed to coalesce for the purpose of asserting those rights which were dear to every maritime power, he hoped the United States would be ready and willing to join them in maintaining the freedom of navigation. It has been said, by some people, observed Mr. C., that we ought to lie by on our arms and avert the event of the European contest; let them alone, say they, let Buonaparte fight it out with them. Now this was a doctrine to which Mr. C. could not subscribe. If there was one great power disposed to control and domineer over the ocean, and the United States had great property at stake, why not pay their proportion, their footing as it were? He considered an opposite conduct pusillanimous and unjust. They had more tons of shipping afloat, and were more largely concerned in the freedom of the seas, than any nation on earth, one only excepted; and should they say that they would lie by unconcerned, while the dearest rights of nations were destroyed by any one nation! It must be clear to every one that they should not, and yet instead of increasing their defensive powers where they were assailable and most vulnerable, he was hurt to hear gentlemen propose means of defence for points perfectly unconnected with existing evils, which consisted in the harassing their navigation, and inflicting injuries on their floating commerce.

Mr. C. did not want ships for protection of our cities; he had no fear of their being burnt; he considered them as sufficiently protected by the proposed fortifications and gunboats, but all the money in the Treasury should not be applied to these subjects. The merchants of the United States were more concerned for the defence of their property which they had sent beyond seas than for the burning or sacking of our cities. Some cities, it was true, had been burnt during the Revolutionary War; but it should be recollected that the enemy then carried on a war of extermination, and even invited the savages to burn our towns. The war which was now feared was not a war of the same stamp; it would be merely a war for the right of trade, and not carried on in so sanguinary a manner.

Mr. FISK said the gentleman from Massachusetts was opposed to this measure because it would take all the money out of the Treasury. He should show: First, That it was beyond their means; and Second, That it was not a measure of exigency. Would he be willing to leave our ports and harbors unprotected, and go abroad to protect our commerce? Mr. F. did not think that the merchants of the United States would support that doctrine. If they did, he wished they were out of the United States. The gentleman had told the House that his feelings had been wounded at the deference shown to the statements of the Secretary of War, and a few minutes after, read an extract from an English newspaper, giving an account of a transaction which had taken place between gunboats and English vessels. Mr. F. confessed he was not a little surprised at his preferring the authority of English newspapers to that of the Head of a Department in our own country. A gentleman who did this, might be allowed to indulge in the spirit of prophecy. He had said, if they adopted this measure, they would soon feel the effects of it. Mr. F. wished the gentleman would show how. The gentleman had said, because a few towns were burnt last war, the House seemed to think that the war which was expected would be a war of extermination; but that this was to be a harmless war, a mere war of trade. He would ask that gentleman what was the conduct of Great Britain towards Denmark? Had they spared the town of Copenhagen? He believed not. Would they spare the towns of New York or Norfolk, if it were in their power to destroy them? He thought not. Mr. F. thought the great question now was, What was the most efficient force--what would afford the most complete protection to our ports and harbors? The gentleman had said that they had now no force which could contend with an eighty or ninety gun ship. If that were the case, Mr. F. said, his argument completely recoiled upon himself. They had now eight or ten frigates, and if these could not contend with one eighty or ninety gun ship, they had better stop where they were, and not erect more of such inefficient force. Let us consider the subject for a few moments, said Mr. F. This is not an untried force; it was tried before that gentleman had existence. The instance mentioned by the gentleman from North Carolina, (Mr. SAWYER,) might have shown that this force would be sufficient. It was the opinion of a most experienced naval commander, and whose standing and information entitled him to more than ordinary credit, that he would rather have four gunboats than a forty-four-gun frigate. A frigate could not carry the same metal as a gunboat. If a frigate was dismasted, becalmed, or any accident whatever happened to her, she could not get out of the way. These reasons should have weight on the minds of any gentleman, particularly of one who did not pretend to experimental knowledge on this subject. If the Treasury was as low as it was said to be, they should surely pursue the cheapest means of defence. By adopting the mode of defence by gunboats, in preference to defence by frigates, they would have, at the same expense, a third more in number of guns, besides double the weight of metal. With gunboats there was no loss of time in putting about. Not so with a frigate. She must first discharge one side, and then go about, before she could fire the other. But, gentlemen who were steeled against conviction, and determined, at all events, to have a Navy, would not be influenced by argument or reason. Had not Denmark a Navy? What became of it? It fell into the hands of a superior naval power, and that will be the fate of our Navy if we erect one.

Mr. THOMAS said that the gentleman on his right, his colleague, (Mr. GARDENIER,) had told the House that he should vote to build the whole number of gunboats, not because he thought them an efficient defence, but because he considered them feeble machines. This reasoning might be conclusive in the mind of that gentleman, and he did not care what influenced him, since it appeared they should have his vote for the bill.

However, Mr. T. said he merely rose to reply to one remark of that gentleman. He knew that it had been rung through the country, by electioneering gentry, for these number of years, that the formidable navy, so carefully raised by the former Administration, had been sold off by the present one, and the nation left without defence; and that gentleman (Mr. G.) had repeated the same story, that the formidable navy which had been raised with so much care had been sold off, to the eternal disgrace of the nation. Hearing this assertion, Mr. T. thought it his duty, on that floor, to declare that not a single national ship had been ordered to be sold since the present Administration came into power; that not a single vessel had been sold except from orders issued previous to the time that the administration of this Government was taken out of the hands of those coinciding with that gentleman in political sentiment.

The amendment offered by Mr. DURELL was then negatived--ayes 19.

The bill being about to be read a third time this day, its decision was, on motion of Mr. ELLIOT, postponed till to-morrow.

THURSDAY, December 10.

Fortifications and Gunboats.

The bill sent from the Senate, entitled “An act to appropriate money for the construction of an additional number of gunboats,” together with the amendment agreed to yesterday, was read the third time.

Mr. ELLIOT.--When an humble and uninfluential individual, voluntarily isolating himself from the several great parties that divide, distract, and ruin our devoted and degraded country--our devoted and degraded country--(I repeat the expression, sir, for I know it to be as consonant to the rules of order as I shall prove it to be incontestably true;) when such an individual rises to deliver his sentiments upon an important subject of national concern, it would seem that the singularity of his situation might attract attention, however deficient he may be in the solid powers of argument, or the brilliant tones of eloquence. But these are inauspicious times. These are not the mollia tempora fundi--the soft reasons of persuasion--the calm hours of peace. They are times of alarm and denunciation. For myself, peculiar and almost irresistible reasons would impel me to continue silent, not only this day, but for the short remainder of my political existence. But there are periods when silence is almost equivalent to an abandonment of duty. Private afflictions, as inconceivable by others as they are indescribable by myself, were I disposed to describe them, indispose me for political exertion. There are times, however, when even the most refined feelings of the human heart should give place to the sublime energies of the human mind. When imperious duty calls, the latter should be exerted, even if it be only that the former, when the great effort is over, should resume their empire with more exquisite sensibility.

The present is one of those great crises that rarely occur in the annals of nations--it is, indeed, a crisis of most awful moment. Our political day of hope and joy and peace is suddenly overcast with thick and dark clouds. In the language of sacred oriental poetry, it is a day of darkness and gloominess--a day of clouds and thick darkness--as the morning spread upon the mountains.

In casting my eye over the various documents upon the table, my attention is for the moment attracted by one which has been placed upon it this morning--a report from the Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business, upon matters undetermined at the last session. In this I find mention made of several propositions upon the subject of the defence of the nation, which I had the honor then to propose, and which it was not the pleasure of the House then to act upon. Propositions of a similar character, so far as respects the fortification of the ports and harbors, the organization and arming of the militia, and the equipment of the frigates, it is now hinted, will be carried into effect in the course of the present session. I am happy that my doctrines are becoming popular, and that there is some prospect of their adoption. But it is because I fear, and indeed believe, that the present bill is pressed upon us for the purpose of superseding every measure of national defence which would comport with the true interest and the honor of the nation, that I am so decidedly opposed to it, and that I consider the Republic degraded by the substitution of a weak and miserable policy for measures of a manly and magnanimous character, at a crisis which peculiarly requires them.

The principal argument, although this does not seem to be openly avowed, in favor of the present measure, is the supposed predilection of the Executive for this system of defence. Indeed, this is but a new edition, or rather a new volume, of the celebrated proclamation and gunboat system, which, instead of elevating us in the scale of nations, has greatly sunk the national character. The objects in view are to protect the commerce of the Union to a certain extent, and to protect our coasts and seaports. Of course this measure is to constitute a material, if not the principal part of a general system of national defence and protection. The object is proper and patriotic, and it is a subject of deep regret that the means are inefficient. But history and human experience have settled the true character of these machines, and as we have nothing else to hope for, we can expect nothing like an energetic and effectual system.

The President shall recommend. The voice of the constitution is imperative. It makes it the duty of the Chief Executive Magistrate to take upon himself the responsibility of explicitly recommending to the Legislature such measures as he deems the public welfare to require. In making the inquiry, in what manner has this great and solemn duty been performed at the present moment? the transition is easy to the Message of the President at the commencement of this session. These messages, as public documents, and addressed exclusively to the Legislature, are certainly fair subjects of criticism; and whoever shall be impelled by duty to speak unpleasantly of the present system of administration, will have an abundant source of rich consolation in the reflection, that, when gunboats are the subject of discussion, it is impossible to be out of order. The present system begins and ends with gunboats. In the Message to which allusion has been made, which should have been as a polar star to guide us at this dark season, not a single measure is explicitly and unequivocally recommended. I will read that part of it which relates to the Naval Establishment:

“The gunboats already provided have been chiefly assigned to New York, New Orleans, and the Chesapeake. Whether our movable force on the water, so material in aid of the defensive works on the land, should be augmented in this or any other form, is left to the wisdom of the Legislature. For the purpose of manning these vessels, in sudden attacks on our harbors, it is a matter for consideration whether the seamen of the United States may not justly be formed into a special militia, to be called on for tours of duty, in defence of the harbors where they shall happen to be; the ordinary militia of the place furnishing that portion which may consist of landsmen.”

Here the Executive submits certain matters for consideration, without assuming to himself the responsibility of expressly recommending them. In relation to the Naval Establishment, he only talks of a movable force on the water; and if we should build our flotilla of two hundred and fifty-seven gunboats, at an expense which will be shown to be enormous, and, in the event of a war with Great Britain, two or three British ships of the line, and as many frigates, should come upon our coast, and blow them all to atoms, as would infallibly be the case if they were to come in contact with them, we shall no doubt be told that a wise and prudent Executive never recommended such an ill-judged, degrading, and disastrous measure. But for what purpose are gunboats to be built? To protect commerce and the coast. Every one knows that we cannot protect our commerce in every clime and on every sea against the naval power of Great Britain. It would be unwise, therefore, at present, to exhaust our resources by building a navy of ships of the line. It does not follow, however, that nothing can be done; that we cannot support our own jurisdiction. Nothing effectual, it is certain, can be done by gunboats. They have never been of use but as auxiliaries to more extensive and substantial establishments; and they have always been of so little comparative use, as to render it impossible to ascertain the amount of the service they have rendered. We may safely challenge their advocates to produce a single instance in which, alone and unconnected with works of more consequence, they have been of any essential use at all, for purposes either of offence or defence. In my researches into their history I have met with no instance of the kind. Here I shall advert to a document, the reading of which has been called for by the honorable chairman of the committee on that part of the President’s Message relative to aggressions committed within our waters, and with which I should not otherwise have troubled the House. I do it at this time, because I find my voice failing so fast that I shall be unable to go so fully into the subject as I originally contemplated. This I shall not regret myself, and still less will the House regret it. In the message of February 10, 1807, communicating the information requested by the House of Representatives in relation to the utility and efficacy of gunboats, we find, indeed, that gunboats apparently constitute but a subordinate species of defence, and yet they are spoken of as competent to almost all the purposes of national protection. A flotilla of no less than two hundred is contemplated.

Annexed to the Message are the opinions of several military and naval officers, some of them celebrated and some of them obscure. General Gates, whose memory we all venerate, has been mentioned. He merely gives his opinion, and furnishes no particular information upon the subject. He is followed by General Wilkinson, the hero of the Sabine and New Orleans, the man who violates your constitution at the point of the bayonet in order to preserve it inviolate; the idol of popular delusion for the moment, but the object of a very different homage from the wise and good. Unfortunately, the letter of this great character conveys no information. Commodore Barron says: “Ten or twelve of these boats will probably be sufficient to compel to remove from her position a frigate, and so on in proportion to the size and number of the enemy’s ships. To do more than annoy would be difficult. With those vessels a great number and a long time would be necessary to capture a ship of war; but few commanders would feel secure while open to the attack of an enemy, which, however inferior, he could not destroy.” This is all very candid and very strong reasoning against the cause it is produced to support. It is matter of regret, however, if it ever has been ascertained that gunboats have been able to remove a ship of war from her position, that we have not been put in possession of that information. The following remarks are taken from the communication of Captain Tingey: “The efficacy of gunboats in the defence of coasts, ports, and harbors, must be obvious to every person capable of reflection; when it is considered with what celerity they can generally change their position and mode of attack, extending it widely to as many different directions as their number consists of, or concentrating nearly to one line of direction. Such, indeed, is believed to be the great utility of gunboats for defence, that, notwithstanding the gigantic power of the British Navy, in its present state, a judicious writer in the British Naval Chronicle, after advising a plan for raising a fleet of 150 or 200 gunboats to assist in repelling the threatened invasion of that country, says, ‘a gunboat has this advantage over a battery on shore, that it can be removed at pleasure from place to place, as occasion may require, and a few such vessels, carrying heavy guns, would make prodigious havoc among the enemy’s flat-bottomed boats crowded with soldiers.’” Surely we do not expect the British will come to invade us in flat-bottomed boats. If they should do so, we may array this miserable machinery against them, and shall probably be victorious.

But it is a popular system--the people are in favor of it--and this is an overwhelming answer to every argument that can be urged against it.

With whom is it popular? Certainly not with the people in the Northern States, for a very great majority of them are opposed to it. Within two or three years we have received addresses from the Legislature of New York and Rhode Island, passed, I believe unanimously, in both States, in favor of an enlarged and more efficient system of naval defence. Those two States, of course, may be considered as opposed to this project. No one will set down Connecticut as friendly to gunboats. Is it popular in Massachusetts? One gentleman from that State (Mr. BACON) protests against being considered as the Representative of a people hostile to this mode of defence. But that gentleman will not tell us that a very large majority of his constituents are attached to the system, or that among those who are, one in fifty has any practical or even historical information upon the subject. Are your constituents, Mr. Speaker, in favor of this mode of defence? I presume not. When, two or three years ago, you opposed this establishment in its infancy, you undoubtedly represented their sentiments and feelings, as most certainly you supported their true interest. The Representatives from New Hampshire, and others from the Eastern States, ask you to excuse them from accepting their proportion of these boats, and to give them a few frigates in exchange. You refuse their request.--They ask for frigates, and you give them gunboats. As it respects my own constituents, I have not been able to find any gunboat men among them. It is probable, however, that there are some, as there may be men in that quarter, as in others, willing to believe whatever the Executive believes; but I trust there are fewer of these miserable minions in that district than in some others in the Union.

Mr. CROWNINSHIELD said he regretted that the present had been represented as a local question, applicable to the South; and it had been stated that the defence of the North was not at all in the question. Mr. C. viewed it in a very different light. He considered the whole seaboard of the United States, that every inhabitant on the coast, was deeply interested in the bill now about to pass. Gunboats would as well assist to protect the passage leading into Boston harbor, as the mouth of the Chesapeake. They were certainly fit to aid in the protection of any of the Northern ports. He was astonished when he heard a doubt expressed upon the subject. He was glad to hear a gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. DANA) say he should vote for the bill. He would rather have his vote than his speech on the subject, as well also the vote of one of his colleagues (Mr. UPHAM) who followed him in debate, and took the same course. Both these gentlemen said they should vote for the bill on the table, and yet they observed they could not approve of this mode of defence. It would thus appear that their votes were vastly more reasonable than their arguments. He trusted that on this bill the House would give a unanimous vote. What was the proposition? To put our ports and harbors in some state of defence. Was the measure embraced by this bill all the defence proposed? No; but it was all proposed to be decided on at present, because it could be almost immediately accomplished. And who knew when this force might be wanted? He did not say it would be wanted to-day, to-morrow, or the next day; but possibly the return of Spring might bring an occasion for its service to repel an invader; and, where the risk was deemed even probable, procrastination in preparing for the worst would be the height of imprudence.

In regard to the utility of gunboats, gentlemen differed; and well and honestly they might, because their use had not in this country been sufficiently confirmed by experience. Mr. C. would, however, quote an instance or two in which they had been eminently useful, even in our own country. He had learnt, from a very correct source, that in the war between Great Britain and France, in 1760, when the American colonies took a part, there was an instance on record which proved that these gunboats were employed with success in the river St. Lawrence--that four gunboats, carrying one 18 pound cannon and 20 men each, did attack and capture a brig of 16 guns and 180 men, killing 60 or 70 men in the brig, while the gunboats lost but a single man, and received little or no other injury. If any gentleman doubted, Mr. C. would give the respectable authority of the Vice President of the United States for the fact. Mr. C. had understood he was an officer actually employed by the Colonial Government in that service. Another instance had been given to him by a naval gentleman of eminence, who was not now in the service of the United States, but who, he believed, if called upon, would do himself great honor. Mr. C. then read the statement made by that gentleman, to this effect: “In 1776, the Roebuck and Liverpool, two British frigates--one of them mounting 44 guns on two decks--lay in the river Delaware, below Philadelphia. A flotilla of American gunboats attacked them with spirit. The engagement was severe, and victory terminated in favor of the gunboats. One of the frigates (the Roebuck) was crippled and driven on shore, and would have been taken possession of, if the ammunition in the boats had held out. As it was, after the Roebuck floated off into deeper water, both frigates abandoned their station, and left the gunboats masters of the river.” It was probable that there might be some gentleman of the Revolution near him who might have known of the fact; if so, would it have no impression on the House? He presumed it would have a favorable impression, as it deservedly ought. He could cite other instances--he could say, that in the neighborhood of Gibraltar, at Algeziras, the Spanish gunboats had in many cases attacked British frigates, and sometimes 74-gun ships, and very much annoyed them. He knew of no instance of their capture, because it often happened, that a new wind springing up, carried the vessels out of the reach of their fire. It was also believed to be a fact, that the British naval commanders in the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar had always been alarmed in moderate and calm weather when they saw the gunboats of Algeziras coming out to attack their ships of war. Engagements with them were not uncommon, and the boats frequently had the advantage, and captured merchant vessels under their convoy, and carried them off, in spite of all the efforts to save them which could be made by the men of war.

Mr. SOUTHARD was in hopes this bill would have met with very little opposition, especially when it was considered that it was but a part of a system of defence, of which the other parts would be decided in progression. Various objections had been made to the bill. Some gentlemen supposed that gunboats were altogether insufficient for defence, and that the scheme was merely ideal and visionary; and some had attempted to prove that gunboats had never been used. A gentleman from Massachusetts had just disproved this by circumstantial accounts of two engagements; one on the river St. Lawrence, and one in the river Delaware. In the last instance, about twelve gunboats engaged two British ships of war. Mr. S. would state, from good authority, that the reason why these vessels were not made a prize, was, that the gunboats were not supplied with a sufficient quantity of powder and ammunition. This statement and fact would go far to do away the impressions of those gentlemen who suppose that gunboats are of no efficiency as a defence, or that their utility was ideal. In the progress towards the passage of this bill, every day new difficulties had been discovered, and new objections raised to its passage. Some gentlemen told them if they passed this bill, and appropriated a sum of money sufficient for the object proposed by it, that they would not leave money in the Treasury adequate to the expense of building land batteries, &c. Another objection was, that if they appropriated money for building gunboats, fortifications, and batteries for the seaports, there would be no money left wherewith to provide arms for the militia. If these remarks were even correct, they possessed no weight, because gunboats, fortifications, and land batteries, and arming the militia, were but three several parts of one great system.

After these remarks, he would only state his own idea of what ought to be done. He thought they should first provide gunboats; secondly, erect fortifications and land batteries; thirdly, pass a law providing for arming the militia--for, unless men were armed, they could not prevent an enemy from landing, destroying, and laying waste the country. Mr. S. hoped everything would be done which was requisite for protection. Gentlemen had said that our resources were not sufficient to meet these objects. Mr. S. would observe that there was, in the Treasury, money sufficient to answer all these purposes; if not, the country had resources within itself, fully adequate to every measure of protection and defence. He would not go, as some gentlemen had, into calculations of dollars and cents. If the nation was embroiled in war, its expense would be incalculable. It was impossible to form even an idea of the enormous expense that would accrue from war. But, Mr. S. would withdraw all the money out of the Treasury; he would not leave a cent; he would even drain the blood from his own veins, if it were necessary, for the defence of his country. If the nation was involved in war, life, liberty, and property, every thing, was at stake; and all their energies should be exerted to repel the invader.

Mr. KEY said he conceived he possessed the right to give his sentiments on this subject; and he felt it a duty to assign those reasons which would induce him to vote for the bill under consideration.

Mr. K. had no doubt but, in forming a general system of defence, some few frigates would be found necessary; but he strongly feared they could neither construct line of battle ships or frigates before it would be necessary to use them. Some gentlemen had asserted that the nation was at war; he would not combat this position, though it was not tenable. Some gentlemen said we were on the eve of war, with whom he thought. If they were engaged in war, it would not be upon any other part of the frontier than that accessible by water. Of course the most vulnerable points of the country were upon the seashore. He therefore thought that every species of defence competent to the protection of these points should be adopted, and of this description were fortifications and batteries, aided by gunboats; not that they composed the best possible means of defence, but the best that could be constructed within a given time.

There were, as far as Mr. K. knew, in modern times, but two instances, and but one that was remarkable, of the efficacy of gunboats as a part of a system. One case was the defence of Cadiz, when Nelson, with his whole fleet, anchored in the bay of Cadiz, and was repulsed, principally, he believed, by the instrumentality, but certainly by the assistance of gunboats. In case of attack, made on our ports, gunboats being locomotive, would, in such circumstances, be advantageous. Another case of the success of gunboats occurs in the bay of Gibraltar; they are there secured from attack, until, like spiders darting upon flies, they spring out in calm weather, and always capture their prey.

These gunboats took their origin in an early part of this century, when Gibraltar was surprised by the enemy. Gunboats were then introduced into the Gut of Gibraltar, and from the time that Britain captured Gibraltar, to the present day, such has been the effect of these boats, that the British were always obliged to send supplies and provisions to Gibraltar under convoy. He had mentioned this circumstance, to show that gunboats had acted offensively as well as defensively. If gentlemen, however, considered them as alone a sufficient defence for this country, they were most miserably mistaken; they were merely eligible as a means of defence in aid of fortifications. Mr. K. agreed with the gentleman who had yesterday said that these boats would be no protection against ships of war, with wind and tide in their favor, in Chesapeake Bay; but, as offensive weapons, they might be placed at points where they might lie in readiness till a proper time should arrive in which they could act with advantage. A number of frigates had been, for some time, lying in the Chesapeake. Mr. K. did religiously believe, if the nation had been in a state of war, (and a contrary situation alone had prevented the experiment being made,) that twelve gunboats, stationed at Norfolk, could have driven them away from their anchorage. And why did he believe so? Because they could have chosen their time, when the weather was calm, and large ships could not be worked. It was in this way that gunboats could greatly injure ships of war, and, if not destroy them, could injure them so much as to render them unmanageable. He did not conceive that gunboats should be considered as incapable of rendering essential services, because they had not hitherto driven the British squadron out of the Chesapeake, for the measures taken by the Executive had not warranted such a step. We are not at war, said he; when, by the shameless impressment of our seamen and other injuries, and when consummating her folly and wickedness by the attack on the Chesapeake, the English nation gave cause for war, we did not go to war. In his judgment, and he was reluctant to withhold praise where it was due, a much wiser course was taken; he meant the call upon that Government for reparation before a resort was had to war. Had they gone to war, on the spur of the occasion, they would have committed to the mercy of the British navy twenty millions of American property, afloat on the ocean; it would have fallen a sacrifice to the superior naval force of our opponents. If honorable reparation be made, the course which had been pursued would have been wise; at all events, whether reparation be made or not, time had been given to our citizens to save a great portion of their property. A measure of immediate war would have brought bankruptcy on our cities, and ruin on our citizens. It was well, for this reason, to put the event off as long as possible--the longer it was put off, the better we should be prepared for it when it did arrive.

FRIDAY, December 11.

The Gunboat Bill.

Mr. JOHNSON said, although he should not pretend to propose measures of great national defence, he considered it a prudent exercise of his right as a member, to express his sentiments upon subjects proposed by others, upon which it became his duty to vote. He was in favor of the passage of the bill. He believed that they had arrived at a crisis; a crisis which had marked the maritime annals of Great Britain with the blood of American citizens; the period had arrived when this nation must receive a satisfaction for injuries inflicted, and a security from future wrong; or the sword must again be drawn to defend that liberty which was the boast of all, and which had cost so much. They had before them evidence sufficient to demonstrate the probability of war, an event which could not be long protracted but by an honorable accommodation. While America mourned the loss of her sons, she had wisely forborne to strike a blow which her wrongs had justified. New instructions had been despatched to our Minister at the Court of St. James since the outrage upon the Chesapeake, and a last appeal made to the reason and justice of that Government by whom they had been so much injured. The negotiation had terminated in England, and even now a special Minister was expected from Great Britain to attempt a settlement here. The door to reconciliation had not been closed, and he hoped it would not be barred so long as a real desire could be traced in Great Britain to make an honorable settlement of all important differences. But every thing they could hear or see proved the propriety of making preparations for the worst event. Our Government had been the injured party, and must have redress.

The conduct of the Administration had been arraigned. Mr. J. did not hesitate to approve the conduct of the Executive, and particularly in this late and important transaction, it had acted with prudence, wisdom, and firmness. If feeling had not been governed by prudence, the nation might have been in a state of actual war. Perhaps our wrongs might have justified it; but while there remained a hope for honorable peace, negotiation was the proper course. We fear no nation, but let the time for shedding human blood be protracted, when consistent with our safety. If our claims upon the justice of England should be disregarded, there would be time enough for human butchery. He looked around him, and saw many who had witnessed the calamities and miseries of the American Revolution. But if war could not be avoided, accumulated horrors would not induce the American people to endanger their independence. They would say, like the immortal WASHINGTON, the former victorious leader of their armies, “I will conquer or die with my countrymen.” Unanimity, in times of public exigency, was all-important; any other course than that which had been pursued by the Administration, might and would have created division; but if they should now be driven into war by the injustice of Great Britain, where was the man who would not be with them, who would not approve the conduct of the Administration, pronounce our cause just, and appeal to Heaven for victory.

As to the system of gunboats, which had involved such a wide range of discussion, and almost every national topic, he had no practical knowledge of their utility; but he could state the evidence he had of their utility to the full extent contended for. First, it was a system which had been recommended by the President, supported by the opinions of General Gates, Commodore Barron and Captain Tingey. He perceived that a very large majority of the Representatives of the seacoast, from Georgia to Maine, was in their favor. They are used by most of the powers of Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean, for defence, and often for offence. They were considered particularly useful in the North of Europe and the Baltic, on account of moderate tides, shallow water, and narrow seas. He had also many examples of their practical utility. In the war between France and England and her colonies, a case had been cited of an attack and conflict in the river St. Lawrence, in the year 1763, between four American gunboats and a French vessel of war, carrying 16 guns and 180 men. The battle was obstinate; the French lost 60 or 70 men, the hull and rigging of the vessel were cut to pieces, while only one man was killed on board the gunboats. A battle had been mentioned by the same member, which happened in the Delaware during the Revolution, where two English frigates were attacked by gunboats, one of the frigates driven from our waters, and the other stranded, and would have been captured but for the want of powder. Again: the celebrated battle between the English navy and the French flotilla of gunboats off the port of Boulogne, in the British Channel. Lord Nelson was charged with the destruction of these gunboats, and made the attack for that express purpose. The first attack was made with thirty vessels of war of all sizes; he failed in the enterprise, and was obliged to retire. This great naval commander, not having satisfied himself or his nation by this attempt, ten days after returned to the assault, with more ships of the line, a larger number of frigates and brigs, and renewed the fight; after a very bloody battle and great loss, he was again repulsed. In fact, nothing did the English so much fear as these gunboats, properly managed. A few years ago, it would be recollected, Napoleon collected above one hundred thousand soldiers for the purpose of invading England. This created alarm and agitation in Great Britain, and this project the British Cabinet knew could not be effected without the aid of the French flotilla of gunboats at the port of Boulogne. The late Minister, Mr. Pitt, to divert the attention of Napoleon from this design, by British gold and British influence, created a new coalition upon the continent of Europe against France. For the moment, this coalition had its desired effect, and it is known to all how it had terminated. It had resulted in the conquest of the North, cost the lives of thousands, and inundated Europe with human blood.

Mr. MACON said it appeared to him that the only question at present discussed was, whether the number of boats authorized by this bill was the proper number. Some cases had been stated in which gunboats had been efficacious, and some in which they had not. Mr. M. did not mean to dispute their efficacy, but as gentlemen on the seacoast were divided on the subject, until gentlemen could better agree as to number and utility, so large a number ought not to be built.

There was another thing he should have been glad to have seen before he voted on this bill; he should have wished to have seen how these boats were to be manned. They might be told that people would volunteer their services on board of these boats. There must be some way in which they must be manned; unmanned, they would be perfectly useless. He did not like legislating in this detached way; it had been tried in former days; first passing one law, they must pass another to render it effectual. He wished to see some efficient method in which these boats should be manned; he could have wished that the whole system should go hand in hand. The President was authorized to man these boats. Was any authority given to draught sailors for the purpose, or how were they to be supplied? It was essential that this should be known. He should wish, and if he thought he could succeed he would make a motion to recommit the bill to a select committee for the purpose of making this provision. Suppose twenty boats were stationed at Norfolk, did they know that these boats could be manned? In his opinion, the bill should contain a regulation for manning them; every law should stand upon its own merits, and he should always protest against passing one law which would oblige them to pass another to carry it into effect. Let us, said he, see the whole system, and then let us vote upon it.

Mr. G. W. CAMPBELL said it had not been his intention to speak on this subject. There was sufficient cause to induce him still to decline entering into the debate. His indisposition would certainly prevent him from examining the subject in that manner which its importance required; and he would therefore have persevered in his original intention of remaining silent, had not an attempt been made to make an impression on the public mind, that the friends of this measure were about to drain the Treasury of the United States for a system of defence that would prove inefficient--for a mere useless experiment. This might therefore require some explanation, that the motives of gentlemen who were about to vote for this system of defence should be known, as well as their objects. In the discussion of this subject, gentlemen had also gone into an examination of the utility of our Naval Establishment, and the expediency of increasing it at this time, which was in his opinion a distinct subject, that had little or no connection with the proposed measure. It would be time sufficient to examine that question when it came properly before the House. There had also been a very novel mode of argument introduced on this occasion, and it was the second time it had been used during the present session--that of gentlemen arguing against the expediency of a measure, while they declared their intention to vote for it. This was indeed a new method of legislating, and may be intended to answer a double purpose: it may perhaps enable gentlemen to say to those of their constituents opposed to this measure, (if such there are,) We were inimical to it; we exposed its weakness in the House, and showed its inefficiency--you cannot therefore blame us for its adoption. While, on the other hand, they might say to the friends of the measure, We have supported it by our votes, and are therefore entitled to your confidence on that ground. Mr. C. did not say that this was the object of gentlemen; but if it was not, it appeared to him difficult to ascertain what it could be. It would have appeared much more consistent for those gentlemen who seriously believed the system to be useless, to vote as well as speak against it; and it were to be wished that those who intended to vote for the bill before the House, had permitted it to pass without opposing it; but, as this course of argument had been pursued, he deemed it a duty he owed to his country, to those he had the honor to represent, and to himself, to express to the House (though in a very brief manner) some of the reasons which would induce him to vote for the bill. He did not pretend to possess much information on the subject of gunboats--he had therefore hitherto declined entering into the discussion, and waited to hear what might be advanced on the subject by those who had greater opportunities than himself of knowing their efficiency or inefficiency--but he had found those who had spoken on this subject were obliged, like himself, to depend on the information of others, and did not pretend to furnish the House with any practical knowledge on this subject. They must, therefore, form their opinions from the reasoning on the case, and such evidence as they were possessed of.

The first important inquiry would seem to be, whether the present state of our relations with foreign powers was such as required the adoption of effective measures for national defence. It appeared to be agreed by all that it was. No one denied the importance of the present crisis. It could not be denied by any gentleman who would reflect a moment on the repeated aggressions that have been committed on our commerce, the violated rights of our seamen, the insult offered to our national flag, and the murder of our fellow-citizens. These all go to prove, incontestable, the necessity of our putting the nation in a state of defence. The next inquiry was, of what nature ought our defensive preparations to be? It is clear, they ought to be calculated to meet and repel the attacks that we have a right to expect from those who are likely to become our enemies. Those attacks are to be expected on our coasts and seaport towns which are most exposed, and most vulnerable to a marauding enemy. The species of defence, therefore, that we ought to adopt, should certainly be such as was calculated to protect, as far as in our power, our coast, our harbors, and our seaport towns, from insult and ruin; unless, indeed, these are to be abandoned to the enemy on his first approach. We are then to determine whether we shall defend these or not.

Will the nation consent to expose to an enemy, without an effort to repel him until he has landed, the whole extent of your seacoast, all your seaport towns on the margin of the ocean? This would be a dangerous experiment, and he had supposed too wild a scheme to be advocated by any reflecting politician: though it seemed to be the favorite doctrine of some gentlemen in this House, who were opposed to every species of defence, except placing arms in the hands of the militia. It is true the foe might be repelled by your militia, and no doubt would be; but, what would the citizens of those towns and on your seacoast say? Would they not justly complain that you had neglected their interest, had deserted them in the day of danger, and left them to be pillaged and destroyed by an enemy, without one effort to protect them? They certainly would, and their complaints would be well founded. There were, however, he presumed, but very few willing to subscribe to this doctrine--though it had been advocated by some gentlemen in this House, who appeared opposed not only to ships of war and gunboats, but also to fortifications.

Taking it then as admitted, that the coast and seaport towns are to be defended against naval attacks, what were the means in their power best calculated to effect that object? On this point there was, as might be expected, some difference of opinion. Mr. C. believed it would not be contended by any gentleman that our coast and seaport towns could be effectually defended by fortifications alone. No man was so wild in his plans as to say so. The whole coast, from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, cannot be fortified--some other mode of defence must therefore be resorted to. He apprehended also, it would not be contended that the naval force now in our possession, in addition to fortifications, was sufficient to afford effectual protection to our seaports. This had not been pretended; its inefficiency was too well known for a single individual to rely upon it. There was then no question on the point that they must acquire an additional floating force in aid of fortifications. What kind of addition was it in their power to make? There was but one alternative left them--either to build an additional number of ships of war sufficient for that object, or to resort to the system of gunboats. They had been very earnestly called upon by some gentlemen to make an addition to the navy and unite this with gunboats. This would probably be found impracticable at the present crisis. Mr. C. had expected that those gentlemen who wished to have reduced the number of gunboats proposed, and substitute a few frigates in their place, would have shown the practicability of building their frigates in sufficient time to answer the present exigency. If this could not be effected, the proposition was useless. Mr. C. said the building of a large navy was not consistent with the policy or interest of this country. If it were in their power to do so, it would be at war with the genius of their Government, the interests of the people, and the security of their liberties.

Mr. QUINCY said he would not have risen now, but for an observation of the gentleman from Tennessee, as to speculative opinions. Mr. Q. had before not expressed his own opinion merely, but the opinion of men deeply interested and much experienced in this question. He could not boast of personal experience on the subject, but he had conversed with merchants and persons in naval employ, and he had found but one sentiment existed, that they might be useful, but not so much as to supersede the necessity of other modes. He recollected an observation made by a merchant deeply interested in the defence of our ports. When his opinion was asked of the efficiency of gunboats, he said, “you may have gunboats; but attempt to use them on our coasts, and you would soon not have a gun left on your boats.” Much better would it be that these guns should be rested on carriages, and those distributed along the sea coasts. He had no objection to gunboats when contemplated to be used in shoal and narrow waters; but he must express an opinion against their efficiency in deep and rough waters, not from his own experience, but because it appeared to be the opinion of men skilled in naval affairs; and because the great mass of men interested in the defence of the ports were averse to this mode of defence. He should not vote for the bill, because he should, by so doing, abandon the best interests of the country; and because, when so large a sum was appropriated, it would seem that land batteries were to be proportionably neglected.

Mr. RANDOLPH said that so long as the details of the bill were under consideration, he had forborne to trouble the House with his sentiments, but now, on its final passage, he conceived himself entitled to express freely and fully his objections to it. His object was not to make proselytes, but to present to the House and to his country the grounds of his refusal to sanction the measure. When perhaps seventy or eighty speakers had repeatedly risen in its favor, it was surely reasonable that the few individuals opposed to it should be heard in their own behalf. He complained of the manner in which business had been conducted. Instead of a comprehensive system, the whole extent of which might be embraced by the House, measures had been laid before them piecemeal, and discussions of the most vague and unprofitable nature had grown out of them. So far from that general diffusion of information which was so desirable, they were totally destitute of any concerning the disjointed members which had been laid upon their table, and which he despaired ever seeing connected in one perfect whole. The deliberations which had arisen upon them defied analysis. It was a sort of Parthian warfare, in which the difficulty lay not in vanquishing the enemy, but in coming up with him. He had not proceeded (as was alleged) upon his own speculative opinion. Experiment had proved the inadequacy of this species of armament. When the President of the United States issued his proclamation, commanding the British ships of war to retire from our waters, the want of adequate force alone could justify a failure to carry that proclamation into effect. A consciousness of his incapacity to enforce obedience to it, was notoriously one of the causes why Congress had been convened. Whosoever denied this must have the hardihood to charge the President with being deficient in his duty, which he presumed gentlemen were not prepared to do; and surely it was his bounden duty to enforce respect for the authority of the nation on those by whom it had been treated with derision and contempt. The British force remaining within our jurisdiction, in defiance of the laws, were as much an invading foe as if they had taken possession of the Capitol. The miseries of war had been feelingly depicted.

Mr. R. was as strong an advocate for peace as any gentleman on that floor; provided it were a safe and honorable peace. To his apprehension the arguments which had been urged would justify submission to any extent. He would ask if it was the duty of the Chesapeake to submit for the sake of peace, or to have resisted to the utmost of her strength? She was no more called upon by her duty to resist that attack, than the nation was now called upon to repel the attack which had been made upon her sovereignty. The obligation to resist was in both cases the same. Was any person disposed to applaud as a preserver of peace the unfortunate man of whom he should say no more than that he was not more bound to return the broadside of the enemy than Government were to expel their ships from our harbors after commanding them to depart. Much as he cherished peace, Mr. R. would be sorry to see it preserved by such forbearance; and it was only the inability to execute that could reconcile it for a moment to the feelings of the nation. The proclamation ought not to have been issued, or it should have been enforced. Let it not be supposed that he was an advocate for defence by forty-four gun frigates. Since the existence of their navy the United States had lost two of their stoutest ships to an enemy, and in both instances without even a show of resistance. It was true that in one of these instances, the victor, as if in contempt, had thrown the worthless thing back upon our hands, instead of sending it where he wished it had gone--to Halifax, or to the bottom. An attempt to build a navy at this time would bring not relief but suffering. Mr. R. put little confidence in the regular navy, as it was called, which just sufficed to bait the war-trap, or in the gunboats. Like the contemptible insects to which they had been compared by their advocates, it was hoped that they would find shelter in their insignificance, but if they should prove instruments of annoyance, eventually they would be turned against ourselves. He wished to see the public treasure employed in putting arms into the hands of all who were capable of bearing them, and in providing heavy artillery, not in the erection of a naval force, which, whether great or small, unless it too could retreat beyond the mountains, must fall into the hands of the enemy. If they wanted a force that should combine strength with simplicity, ready at all times for the public protection, they had such a force amply in their power.

The question was put on the passage of the bill, and decided in the affirmative--yeas 111, nays 19.

MONDAY, December 14.

DANIEL CLARK, the Delegate from the Territory of Orleans, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

FRIDAY, December 18.

Embargo.

The following is the Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The communications now made, showing the great and increasing dangers with which our vessels, our seamen, and merchandise, are threatened, on the high seas and elsewhere, from the belligerent powers of Europe, and it being of the greatest importance to keep in safety these essential resources, I deem it my duty to recommend the subject to the consideration of Congress, who will doubtless perceive all the advantage which may be expected from an inhibition of the departure of our vessels from the ports of the United States.

Their wisdom will also see the necessity of making every preparation for whatever events may grow out of the present crisis.

I ask a return of the letters of Messrs. Armstrong and Champagny, which it would be improper to make public.

TH. JEFFERSON.

* * * * *

Extract of a Letter from the Grand Judge, Minister of Justice, to the Imperial Attorney-General for the Council of Prizes.

PARIS, September 18, 1807.

SIR: I have submitted to his Majesty, the Emperor and King, the doubts raised by his Excellency, the Minister of Marine and Colonies, on the extent of certain dispositions of the imperial decree of the 21st of November, 1806, which has declared the British Isles in a state of blockade.

The following are his Majesty’s intentions on the points in question:

1. May vessels of war, by virtue of the imperial decree of the 21st of November last, seize on board neutral vessels, either English property, or even all merchandise proceeding from the English manufactures or territory?

ANSWER.--His Majesty has intimated that, as he did not think proper to express any exception in his decree, there is no ground for making any in its execution in relation to any whomsoever, (à l’égard de qui que ce peut être.) His Majesty has postponed a decision on the question, whether armed French vessels ought to capture neutral vessels bound to or from England, even when they have no English merchandise on board.

REGNIER.

The Message, and documents accompanying it, were severally read.

Ordered, That the letters referred to in said Message be returned to the President of the United States, agreeably to his request.

On motion of Mr. RANDOLPH, that the House do come to the following resolution:

Resolved, That an embargo be laid on all shipping, the property of citizens of the United States, now in port, or which shall hereafter arrive:

And the question being put, that the House do agree to the said resolution, and, upon the question thereupon, the yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members present, and debate arising, a motion was made by Mr. MACON, that the resolution do lie on the table; and it was resolved in the affirmative.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. OTIS, their Secretary:

Mr. Speaker: The Senate have, in confidence, directed me to inform this honorable House that they have passed a bill, entitled “An act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States,” in which bill they desire the concurrence of this House.

The said bill was received, read the third time, and committed to a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on this day.

On motion of Mr. CROWNINSHIELD,

Resolved, That this House will immediately resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on the said bill.

The House accordingly resolved itself into the said committee; and, after some time spent therein, the SPEAKER resumed the chair, and Mr. MASTERS reported that the committee had had the said bill under consideration, but not having time to go through the same, had directed him to ask for leave to sit again.

Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill, entitled “An act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States.”

And then the House adjourned.

MONDAY, December 21.

The House met but transacted no legislative business.

The Embargo Act.

In secret session, the House again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill from the Senate, entitled “An act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States;” and, after some time spent therein, rose, and reported the bill, with several amendments; which were twice read, and, on the question severally put thereupon, agreed to by the House.

A motion being made, by Mr. CROWNINSHIELD, to amend the amendment reported by the Committee of the Whole, by striking out the words “letters of marque excepted,” and the word “retained,” in the tenth line of the amendment, and insert the word “relanded;” and the word “retained,” in the twelfth line, and insert the word “relanded:” Whereupon, it was resolved in the affirmative.

Ordered, That the said bill, with the amendments, be read a third time this day: Whereupon, the question was stated, that the bill sent from the Senate, “An act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States,” together with the amendments agreed to, do pass.

Whereupon, the question was stated that the said bill, with the amendments, do pass: it was resolved in the affirmative--yeas 82, nays 44, as follows:

YEAS.--Lemuel J. Alston, Willis Alston, jr., Ezekiel Bacon, David Bard, Joseph Barker, Burwell Bassett, John Blake, jr., Thomas Blount, John Boyle, Robert Brown, William A. Burwell, William Butler, Joseph Calhoun, George W. Campbell, Peter Carlton, John Chandler, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, Orchard Cook, Jacob Crowninshield, Richard Cutts, John Dawson, Josiah Deane, Joseph Desha, Daniel M. Durell, William Findlay, James Fisk, Meshack Franklin, Francis Gardner, Peterson Goodwyn, Isaiah L. Green, John Heister, William Helms, David Holmes, Benjamin Howard, Daniel Ilsley, Richard M. Johnson, Walter Jones, Thomas Kenan, Nehemiah Knight, John Lambert, John Love, Robert Marion, William McCreery, John Montgomery, Nicholas R. Moore. Thomas Moore, Jeremiah Morrow, John Morrow, Gurdon S. Mumford, Roger Nelson, Thomas Newbold, Thomas Newton, Wilson C. Nicholas, John Porter, John Pugh, John Rea of Pennsylvania, John Rhea of Tennessee, Jacob Richards, Matthias Richards, Samuel Riker, Lemuel Sawyer, Ebenezer Seaver, James Sloan, John Smilie, Jedediah K. Smith, Henry Southard, Clement Storer, Peter Swart, John Taylor, David Thomas, Abram Trigg, George M. Troup, James I. Van Allen, Philip Van Cortlandt, Jesse Wharton, Robert Whitehill, Isaac Wilbour, Marmaduke Williams, Alexander Wilson, Richard Wynn, and James Witherell.

NAYS.--Evan Alexander, William W. Bibb, William Blackledge, John Campbell, Epaphroditus Champion, Martin Chittenden, Howell Cobb, John Culpepper, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, jr., James Elliot, William Ely, Barent Gardenier, James M. Garnett, Charles Goldsborough, Edwin Gray, John Harris, William Hoge, James Holland, Robert Jenkins, James Kelly, Philip B. Key, William Kirkpatrick, Joseph Lewis, jr., Edward St. Loe Livermore, Matthew Lyon, Josiah Masters, William Milnor, Jonathan O. Mosely, Timothy Pitkin, jr., Josiah Quincy, John Randolph, John Rowan, John Russell, Dennis Smelt, Samuel Smith, Richard Stanford, William Stedman, Lewis B. Sturges, Samuel Taggart, Benjamin Tallmadge, Jabez Upham, Archibald Van Horn, and Killian K. Van Rensselaer.

Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said bill, as amended, to the Senate, and desire their concurrence.

The bill is as follows:

An Act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States.

Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That an embargo be and hereby is laid on all ships and vessels in the ports and places within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States, cleared or not cleared, bound to any foreign port or place; and that no clearance be furnished to any ship or vessel bound to such foreign port or place, except vessels under the immediate direction of the President of the United States; and that the President be authorized to give such instructions to the officers of the revenue, and of the navy and revenue cutters of the United States, as shall appear best adapted for carrying the same into full effect: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the departure of any foreign ship or vessel, either in ballast, or with the goods, wares, and merchandise, on board of such foreign ship or vessel, when notified of this act.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That during the continuance of this act, no registered or sea-letter vessel, having on board goods, wares, and merchandise, shall be allowed to depart from one port of the United States to another within the same, unless the master, owner, consignee, or factor of such vessel, shall first give bond with one or more sureties to the collector of the district from which she is bound to depart, in a sum of double the value of the vessel and cargo; that the said goods, wares, and merchandise shall be relanded in some port of the United States, dangers of the seas excepted; which bond, and also a certificate from the collector where the same may be relanded, shall, by the collectors respectively, be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury. All armed vessels possessing public commissions from any foreign power are not to be considered as liable to the embargo laid by this act.

TUESDAY, December 22.

Importation of Slaves.

Mr. MARION presented the petition of sundry merchants and others, in Charleston, South Carolina, stating that many vessels had cleared out from thence for the purpose of importing slaves, before the law was passed by Congress prohibiting the importation of slaves, and some had cleared out immediately after the passing of the law, and had been detained by accidents beyond the time limited by law; and praying that a law may be passed affording them relief.

The question being put on a motion made by Mr. MARION for a reference of this petition to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures--

Mr. MASTERS said if there was any subject in favor of which a petition should not be referred, it was the slave trade. These petitioners knew when the prohibitory law would go into operation, and they were not entitled to relief by the laws of God or man.

The motion for reference was negatived--yeas 37, nays 39.

THURSDAY, December 31.

General Wilkinson.

Mr. RANDOLPH then rose for the purpose of making a motion, and giving information to the House which he had just received. This was a duty which he owed, not only to himself, but to the enlightened and independent freeholders who gave him a seat on this floor, and to the country at large. Within a few days, information had been put into his possession, of a nature and on a subject which he deemed it proper for the constituted authority to inquire into. Had this information come earlier into his possession, he should not till now have delayed giving it publicity. He would first state certain facts, and those facts would be the ground of his motion, on which he should offer no argument. Mr. R. then read the following documents:

[TRANSLATION.]

NEW ORLEANS, January 20, 1796.

In the galley the Victoria, Bernardo Molina, Patron, there have been sent to Don Vincent Folch nine thousand six hundred and forty dollars; which sum, without making the least use of it, you will hold at my disposal, to deliver it at the moment that an order may be presented to you by the American General, Don James Wilkinson. God preserve you many years.

The BARON DE CARONDELET.

To Señor Don TOMAS PORTELL.

* * * * *

I certify that the foregoing is a copy of its original to which I refer.

TOMAS PORTELL.

NEW MADRID, June 27, 1796.

* * * * *

FORT WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 1796.

Ill health and many pressing engagements must be my apology for a short letter. I must refer you to my letter to the Baron for several particulars, and for a detail of my perils and abuses. I must beg leave to refer you to our friend Power, whom I find of youthful enterprise and fidelity. He certainly deserves well of the Court, and I don’t doubt but he will be rewarded.

What political crisis is the present! and how deeply interesting in its probable results, in all its tendencies! … and thereby must hope it may not be carried into execution. If it is, an entire reform in the police and military establishments of Louisiana will be found immediately indispensable to the security of the Mexican provinces. I beg you to write me fully on this question in cipher by Power, whose presence in Philadelphia is necessary, as well to clear his own character, attacked by Wayne, as to support the fact of the outrage recently offered to the Spanish Crown in his person, and to bring me either the person or the deposition of a man now under your command, who had been suborned by Wayne to bear false witness against me, and afterwards, for fear he should recant, bribed him to leave Kentucky. Power will give you the perfect of this infamous transaction, and I conjure you by all the ties of friendship and of policy to assist him on this occasion. If Spain does not resent the outrage offered to Power in the face of all Kentucky … My letter to the Baron will explain the motives which carry me to Philadelphia: from thence I will write again to you. Power will explain to you circumstances which justify the belief of the great treachery that has been practised with respect to the money lately sent me. For the love of God and friendship, enjoin great secrecy and caution in all our concerns. Never suffer my name to be written or spoken. The SUSPICION OF WASHINGTON IS WIDE AWAKE. Beware of Bradford, the Fort Pitt refugee--he seeks to make peace--there are spies every where. We have a report here that you are appointed Governor of Louisiana. God grant it, as I presume the Baron will be promoted. I am your affectionate friend.

W.

Copy of a letter in cipher received from General Wilkinson. Natchez, February 6, 1797.

MANUEL GAYOSO DE LEMOS.

In a separate paper, he says what follows:

This will be delivered to you by Noland, who, you know, is a child of my own raising--true to his profession and firm in his attachments to Spain. I consider him a powerful instrument in your hands, should occasion offer--I will answer for his conduct. I am deeply interested in whatsoever concerns him, and I confidently recommend him to your warmest protection. I am, evidently, your affectionate

WILKINSON.

A copy. MAN. GAYOSO DE LEMOS.

N. B.--Don Gayoso was then Governor of Natchez, and the same year was made Governor of Louisiana.

Mr. RANDOLPH stated the following to be an extract of a letter signed “T. Power,” whose handwriting, he said, could be identified:

“On the 27th of the same month [October last] appeared in the Richmond Enquirer a certificate given by myself to General Wilkinson in New Orleans on the 16th of May preceding. Immediately on my getting sight of this piece, which was the same or the next day, I addressed a note to his Excellency General Wilkinson, [No. 3.] Of this I did not keep a copy, and therefore dare not vouch that it is an exact literal transcript of the original; but I will be bold to say that it is nearly (or, to make use of the General’s own language, substantially) the same.

“Between my repeated declarations to many of my friends and acquaintances (I must say it with a blush) and this certificate, there is a manifest contradiction. And between this same certificate and the deductions to be drawn from my declaration before the Richmond Court, there is an apparent inconsistency, which it is now my task to clear up and reconcile.

“During General Wilkinson’s residence in New Orleans, last winter, I used occasionally to visit him. A few days before he left New Orleans, I waited upon him one morning, and after some conversation on certain transactions that had taken place at a former period in the Western country, and on the delicate situation in which his conduct during the winter was likely to place him, he asked me if I had any objection to give him a certificate that might help him to silence that foul-mouthed Bradford, and refute the assertions of the editor of the Western World. I replied without hesitation that I had none, and would give him one with pleasure, provided he promised me it should not be published. On this he assured me that the only use he proposed to make of it was to lay it before the President, with the view to prove the falsehood of the charges circulated against him, vindicate his character, and secure the confidence of the Executive. This, if not exactly, is substantially what the General said. He then desired me to sit down and write the certificate. I observed that I might not make it out entirely to his satisfaction; and that, as he best knew the points he wished should be embraced in it, he had better make it out himself, and I would copy it. To this he agreed. Next morning, I waited on his Excellency, and he presented me the certificate, which I copied, as it has been published, with a few alterations. One--a very material one--is that, after these words: ‘Do most solemnly declare that I have at no time carried or delivered to Gen. James Wilkinson’--I erased the words, ‘either directly or indirectly,’ and declared to the General I could not insert those words. He did not insist, and contented himself with saying that he wished me to insert them if my conscience would allow it, but not otherwise. This is ingenuously exactly what passed between the General and myself at that time.

“Now let me with the same frankness and ingenuousness, without referring to any preceding or subsequent event, narrate the transaction of 1796, alluded to in my certificate, and concerning which I offered to give testimony in the federal circuit court in Richmond. It is the same that is the subject of the affidavits of Messrs. Derbigny and Mercier. That of the former gentleman is correct as to substance, for I actually did receive from Captain Don Thomas Portell, commandant of New Madrid, the sum of $9,640 for General Wilkinson, towards the latter end of June or beginning of July, 1796, which was packed up in the manner described by Mr. Derbigny, and when I was stopped and my boat searched on the Ohio by Lieutenant Steele, under the orders of General Anthony Wayne, I had other sums on board, but this was the only one I had received for General Wilkinson. On my arrival at Louisville, determined not to expose myself a second time to military insult, and fearful of being overtaken by Steele on his return, and of being again overhauled, I landed my cargo, purchased a horse, and proceeded by land to Cincinnati. As I passed through Lexington, I published in Stewart’s Kentucky Herald my affidavit concerning this outrage, supported by those of the spectators of the transaction, Welsh, White, and Sansom; preceded by a few strictures on this military piracy, signed Impartial. And I now take this opportunity of clearing General Wilkinson of the charge of being the author of it, as is asserted by Bradford, of New Orleans, and declare it was written by myself, and that excepting Captain Campbell Smith, no person ever saw it before it was put into the hands of the printer.

“At Cincinnati I acquainted General W. with the circumstances that had occurred, and he gave me orders to deliver the money to Mr. Philip Nolan. These orders I punctually executed. Mr. Nolan conveyed the barrels of sugar and coffee that contained the dollars to Frankfort in a wagon. I there saw them opened in Mr. Montgomery Brown’s store. The sugar and coffee I afterwards sold to Mr. Abijah Hunt, of Cincinnati.

“I shall take no notice of Mr. McDonough’s affidavit. It does not refer to any thing alluded to in my certificate. That part of mine that has reference to my mission to Kentucky and Detroit in 1797, I shall also pass over in silence, as it has no connection with the present subject.

“I will now endeavor, in a few words, to reconcile what may appear contradictory and inconsistent in my certificate, and the declaration I have just laid before you.

“Was I base and dishonorable enough to descend to tergiversation, captious logic, and sophistical evasion, I could maintain that this contradiction does not exist, and that I never did carry or deliver to General Wilkinson any cash, bills or property of any species. It is true I delivered a certain sum of money, by his order, to Mr. Nolan; but Philip Nolan is not James Wilkinson; ergo, I may with a safe conscience swear that I never delivered James Wilkinson any money, &c., but I scorn to make use of any such pitiful, contemptible and degrading mode of defence, and will allow for a moment that I did deliver to General Wilkinson the money in question. It is generally admitted that in politics morality is not to be measured by the same narrow scale as that which ought to regulate the moral conduct of men in their private concerns. The rigid stoic would, on a long run, make but a bungling politician; and the most austere moralist, if he has his country’s interest at heart, and is acting in a public capacity, would not hesitate to do that which, as a private man, and in private concerns, he would shrink and recede from with horror and trembling precipitation.

“Let us now for a while suppose that I was a secret agent of the Spanish Government, and that General Wilkinson was a pensioner of said Government, or had received certain sums for co-operation with and promoting its views, and that those views and projects were inimical to that of the United States, should I be worthy of the trust reposed in me by my Government, were I to refuse to give General W. any document that might contribute to raise him in the good opinion of the Administration of his country, blazon his integrity and patriotism, and fortify him in their confidence, and by their means enlarge his power of injuring them and serving us? Surely not; or if I did, I should deserve to be hooted at as an idiot.”

Mr. RANDOLPH then said it would be waste of time to comment on what he had read, but he conceived it his duty to tell the House that he had good cause to believe that there was a member of this body who had it in his power, if the authority of the House were exercised upon him, if he were coerced, to give the House much more full, important, and damning evidence than that which had already appeared. He alluded to the gentleman from the Territory of Orleans, (Mr. CLARK,) whom he had now the pleasure to see in his seat. If the United States were in the critical situation which had been so often represented, and in which all considered them to be placed, in what position was the military force of the United States at this moment? Was it not proper that this business should be inquired into? He had been given to understand, long ago, that an inquiry on this subject was to be courted; it had not taken place. He had no more to say, but moved the following resolution:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause an inquiry to be instituted into the conduct of Brigadier-general James Wilkinson, Commander-in-chief of the Armies of the United States, in relation to his having, at any time, while in the service of the United States, corruptly received money from the Government of Spain or its agents.

Mr. CLARK said he unexpectedly heard himself named, and he would observe that it had been long supposed, from his residence in Louisiana, his acquaintance with military officers, and the various means of information which he might have possessed while Consul at New Orleans, that he was acquainted with certain transactions which had taken place in that country. The knowledge which he had possessed he had endeavored to impart to the Administration at different times, both verbally and by a written correspondence, to which a deaf ear had been turned. As this information had not been attended to, he had refused to gratify curiosity on the subject. And, notwithstanding the gentleman’s calling upon him, he felt himself bound to say that he would not be influenced by fear, favor, or affection, to give any information on the subject, except compelled by a resolution of the House.

Mr. THOMAS moved that the resolution offered by Mr. RANDOLPH should lie on the table; but a motion made to consider was agreed to.

Mr. RANDOLPH said, as it appeared by the declaration of the gentleman from New Orleans, that he did possess information, and as the House had a right to it, he wished the Speaker or some other gentleman to inform him of the manner in which it might be obtained.

[No order was taken on this point.]

Mr. TAYLOR moved that the resolution be committed to a Committee of the Whole, not on to-day or to-morrow, but at a distant day, that time might be afforded for consideration.

After debate, Mr. TAYLOR withdrew his motion.

Mr. GARDENIER moved that it be referred to a select committee, with power to send for persons, papers, &c.

Mr. MARION moved to strike out that part of this motion giving power to a select committee to send for persons, papers, &c.

On the foregoing motions a very lengthy and somewhat desultory debate ensued of about five hours. The debate turned on many incidental questions, among which, whether Congress had a constitutional right to request the President to cause the proposed inquiry to be made? To this it was answered that Congress had as much right to make this request as to request the President to lay before them public papers--either of which requests he might refuse. It was also said, that in making this request, the House could not command more attention than was due to a respectable individual.

It was doubted whether a member could be called upon to give information in his seat, or at the bar of the House? In answer, precedents were produced of cases in which members of the House had been interrogated at the bar.

It was also contended, that if delivered in his place, the communication would be liable to commentary or reply, by any gentleman who might think proper to discuss it, in the same manner as any other speech.

It was made a question whether this information could be more properly received by a Committee of the Whole, or a select committee, or by the House? It was said on this, that it had heretofore been the course of procedure to empower chairmen of committees in such cases to administer oaths; that in the House a member could be compelled to give information if the House thought fit, but in Committee of the Whole he could not be compelled; that if information or evidence were to be received in the House, it would perplex their proceedings by loading the table and journals with interrogatories, &c.

It was questioned whether it were proper to decide it now, to refer it, or to postpone it? On these points there appeared to be a great diversity of opinion--some thinking that the evidence which they had received was sufficient to induce them to pass the resolution without further consideration, being a mere request to the President to inquire; others wished further time and more evidence previous to giving their vote on the subject, considering it of great importance; others were in favor of a reference to a committee, to consider all the foregoing points as well as the propriety of the main resolution; some wished this committee to have power to send for persons and papers, to report to the House their opinions on this subject, together with evidence, believing that positive and satisfactory evidence should be produced before they adopted this resolution, and as it was impossible to understand precisely the evidence now produced from the mere reading of it; other gentlemen wished it referred to a committee without power to send for persons, papers, &c., as they conceived the House did not possess power to enforce their orders in such cases, General Wilkinson being a military and not a civil officer, whom the President alone had power to remove.

None of these points were decided either directly or by implication.

In the course of this devious discussion, the succeeding observations on the main subject were made by different gentlemen.

Mr. W. ALSTON had heard nothing in the documents read to-day impeaching the character of General Wilkinson more than what the newspapers throughout the Union had teemed with for two years, except, indeed, a letter from Mr. Power; and who was Mr. Power, or what credibility could be attached to any thing emanating from him? Every person in the United States who could read knew his character. He was opposed to coercing evidence or considering a resolution proposing an inquiry, even if he were in favor of the inquiry.

Mr. SMILIE thought the debate which had already taken place on a reference totally improper. He had heard sufficient evidence on this subject to convince him that such an inquiry was necessary; he did not think that there could be any further doubt on the subject. The House could not try General Wilkinson; he must be tried by another tribunal. They owed it to the country and to General Wilkinson himself to request an inquiry, and he hoped there would not be a dissenting voice on the question of agreement to the resolution. He could not give an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of General Wilkinson, but he thought it absolutely necessary that an inquiry should be had.

Mr. GARDENIER was satisfied of the impropriety of proceeding on the consideration of any question of importance too hastily, more especially in a case so materially affecting an officer of high rank in the United States. He wished to have time to consider fully before he could vote on a subject of as much magnitude as this; they should not act from first impressions. If the subject were referred to a committee with power to send for persons, papers, &c., the testimony on the subject would come before them in a proper shape, and not with the inaccuracy which must always attend information given in this manner, but in a condensed form, in which its force might be fully felt. He did not wish to be precipitated into an inquiry too soon; neither did he wish an inquiry to be made because it was due to General Wilkinson. If this inquiry was courted by, and this motion intended as a favor to General Wilkinson, he was astonished that it had not been brought forward before. There certainly had been before ground enough shown for an inquiry into his conduct; but if General Wilkinson’s conduct had so far evinced his purity as not to excite in the Administration even a suspicion against his character, if no inquiry had been made on the charges which had resounded from every part of the Union, Mr. G. did not wish now, merely for the sake of doing justice to that officer, to press an inquiry which the Executive had not thought proper to make. Neither did he wish rashly to decide on this question, because in doing this they would add the weight of their accusation to the cries of the whole nation; the united force of which no individual could repel.

Mr. CHANDLER said this was a subject which had been long before the nation, and with which they were all acquainted: if that officer was innocent, it was due to himself and his friends that an inquiry should be made; if he were guilty, it was due to the United States. The evidence produced was sufficient on which to ground an inquiry, and he was ready to decide without further time.

Mr. NICHOLAS had no doubt but an inquiry ought to be made; after what had been heard, if General Wilkinson were the lowest officer in the United States, he should be of opinion that an inquiry ought to be made, but he doubted whether this was a question on which they were now prepared to decide. For this reason he had seconded the motion for referring the resolution to a select committee, who could consider whether this subject came under cognizance of the House; he considered the House as a mere legislative body, except in the single case of impeachment. He was not prepared to say what was proper to be done with this resolution, but his first impression was against acting on it. It would open doors for receiving complaints of the misconduct of any officer; he did not think this power was lodged in the House, and he had no wish to assume powers which did not pertain to them. As to the question whether there should be an inquiry or not, no man could doubt. An inquiry must be made. Would it be said that an office of this importance should be suffered to be retained by a man who had received a pension from a foreign Government? He thought it could not; and, therefore, he wished an inquiry to be made into the truth of this charge.

Mr. BURWELL was decidedly opposed to reference to any committee whatever. It seemed to be the universal opinion that an inquiry ought to be had on the conduct of the Commander-in-chief of the Army of the United States; and it was highly important that the subject should be acted on speedily. If the nation was (as appeared probable) to be involved in war, it was necessary that the Commander-in-chief should possess the confidence of the Army, the People, and the Government.

Mr. JOHNSON said the good people of Kentucky were interested in this subject. Many reports to the prejudice of General Wilkinson existed there; nothing certain had appeared against him, but the people entertained doubts on the subject; there were circumstances which they wished to be investigated; if nothing could be found against him, the sooner his innocence was known the better. Knowing this, he should not hesitate to give his vote in such a manner as to dispose of the subject most speedily. The investigation was due to the people, and to the man himself.

Mr. MACON said if ever there had been a time since the year 1783, in which it was particularly necessary that those persons in office should have the confidence of the Government and of the people, that time had arrived. Could it be expected after hearing the information which had been produced that the people would have confidence in General Wilkinson? It was as important that the Commander-in-chief should be free from suspicion as that the President or the House of Representatives should be unsuspected. The Commander-in-chief during the American Revolution was irreproachable; calumny never assailed him, and he of course enjoyed the full confidence of the people. The evidence which had been this day read, they were told, had neither been before the grand jury nor the court at Richmond, and there was certainly sufficient on which to ground an inquiry.

[An extended discussion took place, and continued, at intervals, until the 7th of January, when Mr. RANDOLPH withdrew his motion, to make room for the following from Mr. BURWELL of Virginia:

Resolved, That Mr. John Randolph, a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia, and Mr. Daniel Clark, Delegate from the Territory of Orleans, be requested to lay upon the Clerk’s table, all papers or other information in their possession “in relation to the conduct of Brigadier-general James Wilkinson, while in the service of the United States, in corruptly receiving money from the Government or agents of Spain.”

This resolution was adopted by a vote of 90 to 19.

In compliance with this vote, Mr. RANDOLPH immediately laid on the table the documents he had read on the 31st, and Mr. Clark, on Monday the 11th, laid on the table the following statement:]

General Wilkinson.

DANIEL CLARK’S STATEMENT.

In obedience to the direction of the House of Representatives, expressed in their resolution of Friday last, I submit the following statement:

I arrived from Europe at New Orleans in December, 1786, having been invited to the country by an uncle of considerable wealth and influence, who had been long resident in that city. Shortly after my arrival, I was employed in the office of the Secretary of the Government--this office was the depository of all State papers. In 1787, General Wilkinson made his first visit to New Orleans, and was introduced by my uncle to the Governor and other officers of the Spanish Government.

In 1788, much sensation was excited by the report of his having entered into some arrangements with the Government of Louisiana to separate the Western country from the United States, and this report acquired great credit upon his second visit to New Orleans in 1789. About this time I saw a letter from the General to a person in New Orleans, giving an account of Colonel Connolly’s mission to him from the British Government in Canada, and of proposals made to him on the part of that Government, and mentioning his determination of adhering to his connection with the Spaniards.

My intimacy with the officers of the Spanish Government and my access to official information, disclosed to me shortly afterwards some of the plans the General had proposed to the Government for effecting the contemplated separation. The general project was, the severance of the Western country from the United States, and the establishment of a separate Government in the alliance and under the protection of Spain. In effecting this, Spain was to furnish money and arms, and the minds of the Western people were to be seduced and brought over to the project by liberal advantages resulting from it, to be held out by Spain. The trade of the Mississippi was to be rendered free, the port of New Orleans to be opened to them, and a free commerce allowed in the productions of the new Government with Spain and her West India Islands.

I remember about the same time to have seen a list of names of citizens of the Western country which was in the handwriting of the General, who were recommended for pensions, and the sums were stated proper to be paid to each; and I then distinctly understood that he and others were actually pensioners of the Spanish Government.

I had no personal knowledge of money being paid to General Wilkinson or to any agent for him, on account of his pension, previously to the year 1793 or 1794. In one of these years, and in which I cannot be certain, until I can consult my books, a Mr. La Cassagne, who I understood was Postmaster at the Falls of Ohio, came to New Orleans, and, as one of the association with General Wilkinson, in the project of dismemberment, received a sum of money, four thousand dollars of which, or thereabout, were embarked by a special permission, free of duty, on board a vessel which had been consigned to me, and which sailed for Philadelphia, in which vessel Mr. La Cassagne went passenger. At and prior to this period I had various opportunities of seeing the projects submitted to the Spanish Government, and of learning many of the details from the agents employed to carry them into execution.

In 1794, two gentlemen of the names of Owens and Collins, friends and agents of General Wilkinson, came to New Orleans. To the first was intrusted, as I was particularly informed by the officers of the Spanish Government, the sum of six thousand dollars, to be delivered to General Wilkinson on account of his own pension, and that of others. On his way, in returning to Kentucky, Owens was murdered by his boat’s crew, and the money it was understood was made away with by them. This occurrence occasioned a considerable noise in Kentucky, and contributed, with Mr. Power’s visits at a subsequent period, to awaken the suspicion of General Wayne, who took measures to intercept the correspondence of General Wilkinson with the Spanish Government, which were not attended with success.

Collins, the co-agent with Owens, first attempted to fit out a small vessel in the port of New Orleans, in order to proceed to some port in the Atlantic States; but she was destroyed by the hurricane of the month of August of 1794. He then fitted out a small vessel in the Bayou St. John, and shipped in her at least eleven thousand dollars, which he took round to Charleston.

This shipment was made under such peculiar circumstances that it became known to many, and the destination of it was afterwards fully disclosed to me by the officers of the Spanish Government, by Collins, and by General Wilkinson himself, who complained that Collins instead of sending him the money on his arrival had employed it in some wild speculations to the West Indies, by which he had lost a considerable sum, and that in consequence of the mismanagement of his agents he had derived but little advantage from the money paid on his account by the Government.

Mr. Power was a Spanish subject, resident in Louisiana, till the object of his visits to the Western country became known to me in 1796, when he embarked on board the brig Gayoso, at New Orleans for Philadelphia, in company with Judge Sebastian, in which vessel, as she had been consigned to myself, I saw embarked under a special permission four thousand dollars or thereabout, which, I was informed, were for Sebastian’s own account, as one of those concerned in the scheme of dismemberment of the Western country.

Mr. Power, as he afterwards informed me, on his tour through the Western country, saw General Wilkinson at Greenville, and was the bearer of a letter to him for the Secretary of the Government of Louisiana, dated the 7th or 8th March, 1796, advising that a sum of money had been sent to Don Thomas Portell, commandant of New Madrid, to be delivered to his order. This money Mr. Power delivered to Mr. Nolan, by Wilkinson’s directions. What concerned Mr. Nolan’s agency in this business I learned from himself, when he afterwards visited New Orleans.

In 1797, Power was intrusted with another mission to Kentucky, and had directions to propose certain plans to effect the separation of the Western country from the United States. These plans were proposed and rejected, as he often solemnly assured me, through the means of a Mr. George Nicholas, to whom among others they were communicated, who spurned the idea of receiving foreign money. Power then proceeded to Detroit to see General Wilkinson, and was sent back by him under guard to New Madrid, from whence he returned to New Orleans. Power’s secret instructions were known to me afterwards, and I am enabled to state that the plan contemplated entirely failed.

At the period spoken of, and for some time afterwards, I was resident in the Spanish territory, subject to the Spanish laws, without an expectation of becoming a citizen of the United States. My obligations were then to conceal, and not to communicate to the Government of the United States the projects and enterprises which I have mentioned of General Wilkinson and the Spanish Government.

In the month of October, of 1798, I visited General Wilkinson by his particular request at his camp at Loftus’ Heights, where he had shortly before arrived. The General had heard of remarks made by me on the subject of his pension, which had rendered him uneasy, and he was desirous of making some arrangements with me on the subject. I passed three days and nights in the General’s tent. The chief subjects of our conversation were, the views and enterprises of the Spanish Government in relation to the United States, and speculations as to the result of political affairs. In the course of our conversation, he stated that there was still a balance of ten thousand dollars due him by the Spanish Government, for which he would gladly take in exchange Governor Gayoso’s plantation near the Natchez, who might reimburse himself from the treasury at New Orleans. I asked the General whether this sum was due on the old business of the pension. He replied that it was, and intimated a wish that I should propose to Governor Gayoso a transfer of his plantation for the money due him from the Spanish treasury. The whole affair had always been odious to me, and I declined any agency in it. I acknowledged to him that I had often spoken freely and publicly of his Spanish pension, but told him I had communicated nothing to his Government on the subject. I advised him to drop his Spanish connection. He justified it heretofore from the peculiar situation of Kentucky; the disadvantages the country labored under at the period when he formed his connection with the Spaniards, the doubtful and distracted state of the Union at that time, which he represented as bound together by nothing better than a rope of sand. And he assured me solemnly that he had terminated his connections with the Spanish Government, and that they never should be renewed. I gave the General to understand that as the affair stood, I should not in future say any thing about it. From that period until the present I have heard one report only of the former connection being renewed, and that was in 1804, shortly after the General’s departure from New Orleans. I had been absent for two or three months, and returned to the city not long after General Wilkinson sailed from it. I was informed by the late Mayor, that reports had reached the ears of the Governor, of a sum of ten thousand dollars having been received by the General of the Spanish Government, while he was one of the Commissioners for taking possession of Louisiana. He wished me to inquire into the truth of them, which I agreed to do, on condition that I might be permitted to communicate the suspicion to the General, if the fact alleged against him could not be better verified. This was assented to. I made this inquiry, and satisfied myself by an inspection of the treasury-book for 1804, that the ten thousand dollars had not been paid. I then communicated the circumstance to a friend of the General, (Mr. Evan Jones,) with a request that he would inform him of it. The report was revived at the last session of Congress, by a letter from Colonel Ferdinand Claiborne, of Natchez, to the Delegate of the Mississippi Territory. A member of the House informed me that the money in question was acknowledged by General Smith to have been received at the time mentioned, but that it was in payment for tobacco. I knew that no tobacco had been delivered, and waited on General Smith for information as to the receipt of the money, who disavowed all knowledge of it; and I took the opportunity of assuring him, and as many others as mentioned the subject, that I believed it to be false, and gave them my reasons for the opinion.

This summary necessarily omits many details tending to corroborate and illustrate the facts and opinions I have stated. No allusion has been had to the public explanations of the transaction referred to, made by General Wilkinson and his friends. So far as they are resolved into commercial enterprises and speculations, I had the best opportunity of being acquainted with them, as I was, during the time referred to, the agent of the house who were consignees of the General at New Orleans, and who had an interest in his shipments, and whoso books are in my possession.

DANIEL CLARK.

WASHINGTON CITY, Jan. 11, 1808.

* * * * *

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, to wit: January 11, 1808.

Personally appeared before me, William Cranch, chief judge of the circuit court of the District of Columbia, Daniel Clark, Esq., who being solemnly sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, doth depose and say, that the foregoing statement made by him, under the order of the House of Representatives, so far as regards matters of his own knowledge, is true, and so far as regards the matters whereof he was informed by others, he believes to be true.

W. CRANCH.

Mr. ROWAN moved to amend the resolution under consideration by striking out all that part after the word “Resolved,” and inserting the following:

Resolved, That a special committee be appointed to inquire into the conduct of Brigadier General James Wilkinson, in relation to his having, at any time whilst in the service of the United States, corruptly received money from the Government of Spain or its agents, and that the said committee have the power to send for persons and papers, and compel their attendance and production--and that they report the result of their inquiry to this House.

The SPEAKER declared the amendment to be a substitute, and of course not in order.

Mr. RANDOLPH said he was decidedly of opinion that the gentleman from Kentucky ought to have an opportunity of taking the sense of the House on his motion: he therefore withdrew the resolution under consideration: when

Mr. ROWAN moved the resolution as above stated.

Mr. BACON said, notwithstanding the evidence which had just been read, he would give the reasons why he could not yet vote for this House to act in any manner on this subject, more especially as proposed by this resolution. It was not to be concealed that the impressions made upon his mind by the statement of the gentleman from New Orleans were very considerable; but the impressions which that or any other statement were calculated to make, were very different from the question of what it was their duty to do in relation to it. He hoped that they would not be so much impressed by it (for it contained a great deal he must confess) as to suffer it to impel them into a path wide of their constitutional limits. He did not mean to express a definite sentiment as to the guilt or innocence of the officer involved.

He would not, under the privilege of his seat, on the one hand blazon the merits of General Wilkinson to the world, nor on the other, declare that he had sufficient evidence of his guilt. He would leave it to the unbiased decision of the proper tribunal.

Mr. B. observed the other day, and would now repeat it, that it was not within their power to adopt the resolution then under consideration, or that now offered by the gentleman from Kentucky. He then and now conceived that the offence with which General Wilkinson was charged, might be cognizable by more than one department--certainly by the Executive, from his being a military officer. He could say nothing about the inquiry now instituted one way or the other; for if the constitution did not authorize them to complete an inquiry, they had no right to interfere with it, being the exclusive province of the Executive. It struck him further, that if the facts in this statement should be proven on a full examination to be true, (and he did not call its correctness in question, for he had heard the same things from other people,) he could not see why it was not a case cognizable by a judicial tribunal. The constitution expressly forbade any person holding an office under the United States to take a pension or donation from a foreign power. The act of receiving money from a foreign power, therefore--the charge made against General Wilkinson--was a crime against the supreme law of the land, and cognizable by the judicial authority. If, therefore, we could, as proposed, instruct, request, or in any manner interfere with the Executive with respect to that portion of the inquiry which appertains peculiarly to the Executive, as the only power competent to remove this officer, why may we not in the same manner interfere with the jurisdiction or cognizance of the Supreme Court? He could see no difference; with equal justice they could interfere with one as with the other.

Gentlemen who were in favor of an inquiry in this form, could not have considered the subject so maturely as they ought. This was a Government of distributive powers. One class had been delegated to the Representative body, one to the Executive, and another to the Judiciary. If they once began each to invade the other’s jurisdiction, the distributive system was destroyed. It has been said that we are the Representatives of the people; that it is our duty to see that the Republic take no harm. This expression was calculated perhaps to captivate the public ear, and acquire popularity, as well as to captivate the House. But whatever they might think of what ought to have been provided, they ought to consider what was. I do not think, because we may on this, or any other occasion, suppose that we could do a great deal of good, we ought to take any steps towards effecting an object until we contemplate our particular powers in relation to that object. It has been said that this House is the grand inquest of the nation. I do not know what is meant by this expression; but if I understand the meaning of the term, it conveys the same meaning as grand jury. Now, Mr. B. said, he could not agree to any position that this House was legitimately, on general subjects, the grand inquest of the nation. With respect to impeachments, and in that case alone, were they the grand jury, for then the two Houses acted in a judicial capacity--this House being the grand inquest to inquire, and the Senate being the petit jury to judge of their presentment. Now, if this House were the grand inquest to inquire into this, or a similar case, in which an inquiry might seem to be conducive to the interest of the nation, and were to present a result, where was the jury to judge of the truth of their verdict? Was it to be tried by the Senate? That was not pretended to be the course.

On all these accounts, therefore, whatever was the impression which the paper this morning laid on the table might be calculated to produce on their minds, he thought they ought sedulously to attend to the constitutional limits of their duty, and not conclude, merely because they might in any case act beneficially, that they had the power to act in such case.

He had before observed, that he would not express an opinion; but he would say that an inquiry ought to be had; it will, it must be had, and it should be a full and impartial inquiry. If the inquiry which had been instituted were but the semblance of an inquiry, for one it would not satisfy him, or the people, or the nation; it ought not to satisfy them. Gentlemen had said that a military court of inquiry would not be competent. Mr. B. did not know what might be their particular power as to sending for persons; but if that court had not sufficient power, it was in the power of the House to clothe them with it. He thought they might, though he would not say that they ought to do this. As a court of inquiry might have been, or could be, clothed with this power; and, adverting to what he had before said, that it was a case cognizable by a judicial tribunal; and if so, that a judicial tribunal had all the power that this House could exercise in any criminal case, and more than they had in this, he should vote against every resolution going to express a conviction that this House had any power or right whatever to act on a subject solely within the constitutional right of the Executive or Judiciary.

Mr. RANDOLPH said, if the gentleman who had just sat down had not given his hasty impressions, but left his good understanding free to operate, his objections to the resolution would have vanished. The great mistake made by every gentleman who opposed this measure on constitutional grounds, was this: that they looked upon an inquiry made by this House, through the organ of one of its committees, as leading to the punishment of the individual implicated, and that where this House was not competent to inflict punishment, it was incompetent to make inquiry; this was the great stumbling-block, which had impeded their apprehension. But he would ask the gentleman from Massachusetts whether this House was not competent to make an inquiry for its own legislative guidance? Was it not competent, as well in its capacity of supervisor of the public peace, as to obtain a guide for its own actions, to inquire into this matter? Was not the House clothed with the power of disbanding the army? Now, suppose a committee of the House, upon inquiry, were to report, perhaps, that not only the Commander-in-chief, but the whole mass of the army, were tainted with foreign corruption, or were abettors of domestic treason, could any man assign to himself a stronger reason than this for breaking an army on the spot? Did not the gentleman know, or rather did he not feel, that this House had the right of refusing the supplies necessary for the army? And could a stronger reason be given for a refusal to pass the military appropriation bill than that they were nourishing an institution which threatened our existence as a free and happy people? Let me, if it is in order, ask the gentleman from Massachusetts to turn his attention to the proceeding of which we have official notice in another branch of the National Legislature, an inquiry into the conduct of one of its own members. Did they not all know that that man’s offence was punishable by a civil tribunal? But the inquiry was not there made with a view to a trial, not to usurp the powers of the judiciary, but to direct that body in the exercise of its acknowledged legislative functions. Inasmuch as they possessed the power to expel one of their own members, to amputate the diseased limb, they possessed the power, and exercised it, to make an inquiry. Now, the gentleman from Kentucky had just as much right to institute an inquiry which might lead to the exercise of the legislative powers of this House, which might cause the disbanding of the present army, the erection of another, or the refusal of supplies, as to institute an inquiry into the conduct of a member with a view to his expulsion, or of an Executive officer, with a view to impeach him before the Senate.

Mr. R. therefore presumed that any inquiry which this House might choose to make into the conduct of any officer, civil or military, was not an interference with the powers of any of the co-ordinate branches of Government; they were left free to move in their own orbits. If a crime had been committed against the statute law of the United States by such officer, the judiciary were as free to punish it as it was free to punish a member of this House, into whose conduct, upon suspicion of treason or misdemeanor, inquiry had been made, with a view to his expulsion. The Executive likewise was left free to exercise his discretion; he was left free to dismiss this officer, to inquire into his conduct himself, either with his own eyes or ears, or by a military court; to applaud, or censure.

Did they take possession of the body of this officer by an inquiry into his conduct? Did they interfere with the court of inquiry now on foot, but totally incompetent to the object? Gentlemen, indeed, had said, that if that court did not possess the power of compelling the attendance of witnesses, we might clothe it with that power. In expressing this opinion, the gentleman from Massachusetts had not been more considerate than in expressing his first opinion. Could any one conceive a more dreadful or terrible instrument of persecution than a military court, clothed with the power to coerce the evidence, and the production of papers of private citizens? Clothe them with this power, and there is not a man in the United States who may not be compelled to go, at whatsoever season, to the remotest garrison, on whatsoever trifling occasion, at the will of a court martial, or a court of inquiry, leading to the establishment of a court martial.

In the course of the present year, Mr. R. said it had been his lot to receive, from no dubious or suspicious source, information touching, not, to be sure, the immediate subject on which an inquiry had been moved by the gentleman from Kentucky, but one intimately and closely connected with it. He meant the project, through the instrumentality of the Army of the United States, to dismember the Union; and he had no hesitation in saying--and it had been the opinion of a large majority, if not of every one of those of whom he had been a colleague--that the Army of the United States was tainted with that disease; and that, so far from the Army of the United States having the credit of suppressing that project, the moment it was found that the courage of that Army had failed, the project was abandoned by those who had undertaken it, because the agency of the army was the whole pivot on which that plot had turned! This was in evidence before the grand jury, who had the subject in cognizance last spring. He said that these conspirators were caressed at the different posts of the United States, in their way down the river, and by officers of no small rank, that they received arms from them, and the principal part of the arms these men had with them was taken from the public stores; and under a knowledge of these circumstances, was he not justified in the belief that the whole Army of the United States was connected in the project? He did not mean every individual, for there were some who could not be trusted, and some who were at posts too far distant to be reached. That those who were confidants of the Commander-in-chief were interested in the conspiracy, no man who knew any thing of the circumstances could doubt. He, therefore, thought that the resolution moved by the gentleman from Kentucky was every way reasonable. Indeed, he did not know whether the resolution should not be so varied as to embrace not only a charge of that nature, but all whatsoever.

Before he sat down, he should have it in his power to give to the House something certainly very much resembling evidence in support of the justice of his suspicions on this subject. On the 26th of January last, the House would perceive by the Journals, a Message was received from the President of the United States, “transmitting further information touching an illegal combination,” &c., printed by order of the House, and which he now held in his hand. In this Message is contained the following affidavit:

“I, James Wilkinson, Brigadier General and Commander-in-chief of the Army of the United States, to warrant the arrest of Samuel Swartwout, James Alexander, Esq., and Peter V. Ogden, on a charge of treason, misprision of treason, or such other offence against the Government and laws of the United States, as the following facts may legally charge them with, on the honor of a soldier, and on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, do declare and swear, that in the beginning of the month of October last, when in command at Natchitoches, a stranger was introduced to me by Colonel Cushing, by the name of Swartwout, who, a few minutes after the Colonel retired from the room, slipped into my hand a letter of formal introduction from Colonel Burr, of which the following is a correct copy:

“‘PHILADELPHIA, 25th July, 1806.

“‘DEAR SIR: Mr. Swartwout, the brother of Colonel S., of New York, being on his way down the Mississippi, and presuming that he may pass you at some post on the river, has requested of me a letter of introduction, which I give with pleasure, as he is a most amiable young man, and highly respectable from his character and connections. I pray you to afford him any friendly offices which his situation may require, and beg you to pardon the trouble which this may give you.

“‘With entire respect, your friend and obedient servant,

A. BURR.

“‘His Exc’y GEN. WILKINSON.’

“Together with a packet, which he informed me he was charged by the same person to deliver me in private. This packet contained a letter in cipher from Colonel Burr, of which the following is, substantially, as fair an interpretation as I have heretofore been able to make, the original of which I hold in my possession.”

Mr. RANDOLPH said he should certainly have abstained from noticing the circumstance he was about to mention, and which he had believed to be of general notoriety, had it not been that within a very few days past, a gentleman, (with whom Mr. R. was in habits of intimacy, and whose means of information were as good as those of any member of the House,) to his utter surprise, informed Mr. R. that he was totally ignorant of the fact.

Mr. R. said he held in his hand an actual interpretation of this ciphered letter, which was made in the grand-jury room at Richmond, by three members of that body, for their use, and in their presence; and it was necessary here to state, that so extremely delicate was General Wilkinson, that he refused to leave the papers in possession of the grand jury: whenever the jury met, they were put into their hands, and whenever they rose, the witness was called up, and received them back again. Here was a copy--rather a different one from that which, “On the honor of a soldier, and on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God,” was as fair an interpretation as General Wilkinson was able to make. A comparison of the two would throw a little light on the subject. In the printed copy of the last session might be read, “I (Aaron Burr) have actually commenced the enterprise--detachments from different points,” &c. In the original the words had been scratched out with a knife, so as to cut the paper--“I have actually commenced”--not the enterprise, but “the Eastern detachments.” Now mark; by changing the word Eastern into enterprise, and moving the full stop so as to separate Eastern from its substantive detachments, the important fact was lost, that, as there were Eastern detachments under Colonel Burr, there must have been Western detachments under somebody else! Now, with a dictionary in his hand, could any man change “Eastern” into “enterprise,” and move the full stop, under an exertion of the best of his ability? Again: the printed copy says, “every thing internal and external favors views;” the original has it “favors our views.” The word “our” perhaps could not be found in any English dictionary! The printed version says again, “The project [this is the best interpretation upon his oath which a party who had never suffered the papers to go out of his hand could make] is brought to the point so long desired.” The real interpretation is, “the project, my dear friend, is brought to the point so long desired.”

Mr. R. said, exclusive of other and direct evidence, tending to show the dependence which these conspirators put on the army of the United States, and that it was eventually their sole hope and support, and that the moment they found they were to be deprived of it they changed their purpose--exclusive of this, and that the conspirators were received at Massac and the other forts below, and of their there getting arms and stores, there was something in this suppression of words in the letter that spoke to his mind more forcibly than volumes of evidence, the implication of a man who, had he been innocent, would have given all the evidence in any letter he professed to interpret. This suppression did certainly convey to the mind of Mr. R. an impression, which he had never attempted to conceal, of the guilt not only of the principal but of many of the inferior officers of the Army. But guilt is always short-sighted and infatuated. Not content with that dubious sort of faith which it might sometimes acquire when not brought to the trial, it had attempted not only to occupy the middle ground of doubt and suspicion, but to clothe itself with the reputation of the fairest character in the country, and in so doing, had torn the last shred of concealment from its own deformity. It stood now exposed to the whole people of the United States; and he left the House to say whether they would shut their eyes and ears, as they had been almost invited to do, against conviction.

Mr. SMILIE wished to know of the gentleman from Virginia whether there was not a motion before the grand jury to find a bill against General Wilkinson?

Mr. RANDOLPH said he had introduced this subject in order to suggest to the gentleman from Kentucky the propriety of modifying or amending his resolution. He would now give the information required by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and hoped he should not be considered as intruding on the time of the House in so doing.

There was before the grand jury a motion to present General Wilkinson, for misprision of treason. This motion was overruled upon this ground: that the treasonable (overt) act having been alleged to be committed in the State of Ohio, and General Wilkinson’s letter to the President of the United States having been dated, although but a short time, prior to that act, this person had the benefit of what lawyers would call a legal exception, or a fraud. But, said Mr. R., I will inform the gentleman, that I did not hear a single member of the grand jury express any other opinion than that which I myself expressed of the moral (not of the legal) guilt of the party.

Mr. SMILIE said he would not detain the House on this subject; he had the other day taken an opportunity to state his sentiments on the subject, that in his opinion there was no power in the House to proceed in the business. The same sentiments he yet entertained; and when gentlemen told him that it was necessary for the public safety that this House should exercise such powers, and at the same time they could not point out a single expression in the constitution vesting the House with this power, he could not consent to vote with them: nor had a single gentleman who had spoken, attempted to show that they did possess these powers. The gentleman from Virginia had spoken of their power to disband the army; if the gentleman chose to bring forward a resolution for that purpose, Mr. S. said he would meet him. He had also told them that they had a power to refuse supplies: Mr. S. said he agreed with the gentleman in this: but when they stepped out of the road, and assumed a power not vested in them, he could not go along with the gentleman. Was it not the duty of the President alone to inquire, who possessed full power to act on the information which might be the result of an inquiry? Certainly it was. The officer interested in this discussion was undoubtedly subject to trial by a court martial, and no doubt also by a court of justice; for if he was guilty of the crimes laid to his charge, they were of a high nature, and would subject him to the cognizance of the civil law.

But he would ask gentlemen, if they succeeded in passing the resolution upon the table, what was next to be done? Did the House believe that they could remove or punish a military officer for misconduct? If they could not do this, and he presumed no gentleman would contend for this, Mr. S. could see no reason for an inquiry. Were they to become mere juries for a court of justice--mere collectors of evidence--for it was admitted that they could not act upon it after it was collected? He believed the courts of justice were possessed of sufficient authority without this House volunteering their assistance.

Mr. S. remarked what would be the effect of this motion, which was substantially the same as that proposed by the gentleman from New York, and rejected by a large majority. It would answer the purpose of holding up this man to suspicion for years to come, for aught he knew, without producing any other effect. He was willing to inquire; he had seen from the beginning of the business that an inquiry must take place. There had been a number of papers laid upon the table relative to this; he was willing to transmit them to the proper department, there to be made use of, and he hoped the House would go no further. For in regard to the proceedings which had taken place, they had exercised a right which did not appertain to them in proceeding in the business at all; they had no right to beset the character of the man; and he rested his objections on this point, that no man could show him an authority for it. He was very sorry, because he thought it would produce effects of a serious nature, to hear a gentleman this day denounce the army as corrupted throughout. He must tell that gentleman that he could not credit the assertion. They had tried (without meaning to express any opinion as to the officer now involved) their officers and found them trusty. And to hold them up as unworthy of trust at this time, in a crisis like the present, was impolitic and unjust. If gentlemen knew of any particular officers who were corrupt, why could and did they not lodge information against them, not by clamor here, but by proof before the proper authority?

Mr. S. in conclusion declared that he should not vote for this resolution; for, in any way, a procedure by this House on the subject would be incorrect.

Mr. RHEA, of Tennessee, called for the reading of the letter of ---- Duncan, contained in the evidence laid before the House this session relative to the late trial at Richmond; it might be satisfactory in explaining the differences between the version of the ciphered letter by the grand jury and the translation made by General Wilkinson.

Mr. LOVE said, that although the form of the question had been varied, by the resolution of the gentleman from Kentucky, (Mr. ROWAN,) yet the principles of decision remained nearly the same as on the original resolution; the same objections applied, as to the subject embraced by the present form, and, so long as it thus remained, those objections would continue to influence his determination.

These grounds of difficulty had been attempted to be removed by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. RANDOLPH,) by arguing, that the investigation of the subject might lead to measures which no one would doubt it was competent to the House to act on. By pursuing the inquiry, it was said, it might be found that it would be expedient to disband the army, or withhold its necessary supplies: this, said Mr. L., is begging the question. The terms of the resolution, in their present shape, cannot possibly conduct a committee to any such inquiry: it is confined to a single object; it is, whether the present commander of the army has been guilty of corruptly receiving money from Spain. The charge alluded to is understood to be of an ancient date; it is not suggested by any one that the army is tainted with this crime, specially set forth in the resolution: the charge, if proven, could not then be a cause for disbanding the army, or withholding the necessary supplies. If an object of this kind is contemplated let it be so stated, and an inquiry into the grounds of such proposition, however strange in idea, would only be the exercise of a constitutional right.

The resolution, Mr. L. repeated, called the attention of the House to a single fact, it exhibited a charge already made penal, both by the military and civil code; it respects a character over whom we have no constitutional control, by impeachment or otherwise. If an improper character is commissioned to the command of our armies, and continues so, let the responsibility fall where the constitution has placed it, on the Executive; the attention of the Legislature must be called to other things than judging of the merits or crimes of the soldiery. But it is objected that the military tribunal appointed to make an inquiry on the demand of the person accused, and which the House understood was now engaged in the performance of that duty, has no power to compel the attendance of witnesses, or the production of papers. He would not for a moment so far impeach the patriotism of those gentlemen, who have declared themselves possessed of knowledge on the subject of the charge, as to suppose they would not attend the respectful summons of a tribunal erected by our own laws, for the investigation of crimes which they admit are of importance to their country. Those gentlemen surely too well understand the rights of others to object to a cross-examination; but if a military court is not possessed of a power sufficient to compel, if it should be necessary, the attendance of witnesses, the common judicial tribunals are so; the civil, as well as the martial code, has cognizance of such offences as are suggested; the same effect, as it respects a military officer, would follow the establishment of guilt before either tribunal. If gentlemen object to a military court, which the law has instituted, let them resort to a civil one; it is there they may without apprehension or difficulty make those disclosures which the good of their country requires; it is not here that a power is found, either to prosecute or punish the offences of military men. He hoped the time of this Legislature would be better employed than in the usurpation of the powers of the Judiciary or Executive, in the investigation of criminal charges against military men, whom they could neither hear the defence of, nor punish their crime, if proved.

Mr. L. said, that as to the truth and weight of the charges made against the military character in question, he felt no disposition to decide; to determine a man guilty of crimes of great enormity, without a hearing, without examination or testimony, and without a possibility of defence, was so hostile to every principle of justice, and common humanity even, that he had not permitted his mind to enter into any investigation of fact, or his feelings to enlist in the prosecution; much detail of circumstance had been used, which ought to put the House extremely on its guard against the influence of feeling in deciding the present question. A gentleman had the other day said, that he felt no delicacy towards a man, whom he had on his oath been obliged to say was guilty of misprision of treason; it was thus intimated that the grand jury of Virginia district, who investigated the subject of Burr’s conspiracy, had agitated the question of General Wilkinson’s criminality; (setting aside the observation which might well be made that Burr’s conspiracy was no part of the present inquiry) it appeared to Mr. L., that the question having been agitated, and no presentment being made of the officer now charged, a considerable portion of the grand jury must have said in like manner, on their oaths, that that officer was not guilty of misprision of treason; but to-day the same gentleman has informed us, that the reason why no presentment was preferred against Wilkinson was, that he escaped by a legal exception in his favor; that although the immorality of his act was complete, (as well as he could understand the gentleman at the distance he was from him,) the offence could not be located, or some other legal defect. Mr. L. said he confessed he was not well informed of the proceedings of the grand jury, he had heard some noise which he had scarcely listened to about them: he had never before heard, that the principal officers of the army were leagued in Burr’s conspiracy: he would say, however, that the grand jury assembled on that occasion, was as able and respectable a one as ever sat on any former occasion of the kind, and he confessed he was surprised to hear they had omitted to exercise a general power, which, when it appeared to them the officers of our army were actually conspirators against the Government, as we are now informed, it became imperiously their duty to exercise, by making a presentment of the dangers of the country: any general evil a grand jury may present, if they believe it to exist only in intention. The acts of a legislative body, and some he believed of Congress itself, had been presented by grand juries as of evil tendency; and one instance at least has occurred of a grand jury having presented the very court which presided over it. Certainly such an evil as a general conspiracy of the officers of our army required some public exhibition of the offence; even if it was such in them as well as the commander, as not to be brought, in the opinion of the jury, within the form of an efficient prosecution. Mr. L. said, he was sorry that he too had been led into the notice of facts by the surprising things he had heard. He hoped unnecessary delay would be avoided. The time occupied in the discussion of this dispute had already, he would presume, prevented some of the committees from reporting on subjects of the first consideration. The present eventful and threatening aspect of foreign affairs demanded attention; he particularly apprehended it might have prevented the report of the bill for arming the militia, as well as other subjects of national interest, from being taken up. Let us then, said Mr. L., meet this question, decide upon it, and send to the proper departments the information which will enable them to act in the manner we are told they have attempted, under the laws in existence. The question which they solely ought now to consider was their right to act. He believed there was no man in that House who did not, after what had been said, wish a thorough investigation, but certainly the mode to be pursued was obvious and easy. He conceived it would be entirely sufficient if the papers and information were transmitted to the proper department, and should, if the resolution was negatived, beg leave, if he could get the floor, to offer a resolution, with a preamble, detailing the reasons which governed him in his vote, by which it might appear, that although he felt as much anxiety as any man that the proper tribunals should act on the subject, yet his objection to the present mode proposed, arose from a source above mere matters of expediency or temporary feeling.

Mr. L. then said, as it was not in order in the then stage of the debate, to propose his resolution, he would read it, in order that the House might be apprised of his views. He then concluded by reading the following resolution:

Resolved, therefore, That the papers and information laid on the Clerk’s table of this House, relative to General James Wilkinson, be referred to the Secretary of the War Department of the United States.

Mr. LYON said, notwithstanding the impression made upon his mind by the statement read this day, he should vote in the same way as he should have done before he heard it, if the power of the House to make an inquiry were not called in question. He would as soon cut off his right hand as to say that this House had not the power to call in question the conduct of the Commander-in-chief. Was this House prepared to say that they had not the power to inquire whether or not the Commander-in-chief has sufficiently the confidence of the people and of the Army? He would not commit himself in this way; and, after what had been urged as reasons for voting against the resolution, he could not promise how he should vote. The question was altogether varied by the motion now under consideration; the former and original question was, whether they would request the President to perform certain duties; it was now moved that they should perform these duties themselves; and he should certainly vote in favor of it, if it were contended that this House had not the power to pass it.

As to the creed of the gentleman behind him, (Mr. LOVE,) he could not subscribe to it; it was too long for his comprehension; but if it were intelligible, he would tell the gentleman behind him that he could not agree with him.

He should be satisfied to see what the court of inquiry would do in this business; and if they did not do what would satisfy the nation, he should be perfectly willing to proceed in the inquiry. He thought that then, feeling as his colleague (Mr. ROWAN) must feel, it would come properly before the House. Mr. L. had long had a suspicion of this man, and his mind was much at variance on the subject. None of his feelings would induce him to surrender the right of the House to inquire, and if this were made a general ground of opposition to the motion, he should assuredly vote for it.

Mr. TAYLOR confessed that the importance of the subject was sufficient to claim his ardent attention, and from the consideration he had given it, he was opposed to the resolution, and felt it a duty not to give a silent vote on a measure, which by the terms of the resolution offered was not to inquire on a general subject, (which even on this subject unconnected with any individual, but as he might be incidentally concerned, might be excusable,) but to inquire about the conduct of a single individual; or in short and plain terms to denounce the man; a man, too, holding an office out of the immediate control of this House, amenable to other tribunals, and liable, if guilty of all that has been asserted against him, to the sentence of death, both by our civil and military courts.

This measure of denouncing an individual whom this House cannot impeach, said Mr. T., is then a new case, and one which, if adopted, will establish a precedent dangerous to this Government, dangerous to the life and liberty, the honor and reputation of the citizen, and calculated in its effects to put at hazard every institution and sacred provision in the constitution under which we profess to act.

We shall in the first place interfere with the Executive Department--with which department the constitution has expressly intrusted the care, the responsibility of watching over the army; and in respect to the inquiry proposed to be made by a committee of this House, when we have made it, we can pass no sentence, we can ground no impeachment against the denounced; we should then have to come back and acknowledge our imbecility, by asking, or requesting the President to do that which we found ourselves unable to perform.

We assume to ourselves the responsibility which properly attaches to that department. I rejoice that here the maxim is monstrous and exploded, that the Executive can do no wrong; that here the ministers are not liable for the acts of the superior, but the superior accountable for the acts of his ministers and agents. If General Wilkinson is the monster in iniquity his enemies state him to be, if the President has continued him in employment after he had evidence positive of his guilt, or if, as has been charged, he has turned a deaf ear to the proof about to be offered by an ardent, a disinterested friend to his country, why has not this blazing patriotism burst out in a direct and not an indirect impeachment of the Executive? But the sense of the nation is too well known to venture at this thing. No, say the advocates of the resolution, this has nothing to do with confidence in the Executive--and yet if the Executive has a spark of that patriotism which he ought to possess, if he is not the protector and upholder of a knowing traitor, would he dare to disregard the information, if legally substantiated, which the gentleman from Virginia and the delegate from Orleans had laid on your table? If confidence has nothing to do with this, why did not these gentlemen hand in to that department of the Government which had the constitutional cognizance and final control of this business, all the information they had on this subject? Why make this House the great gun from which to thunder their denunciations and fulminations against an individual, when there was a shorter and more easy way of getting at their object? A corrupt Executive would desire the very measure proposed. Interfere with his functions, assume his responsibility--what would be the result? You denounce the agent, the tool of such an Executive, (the Colonel Vernon of Cromwell, for example.) You order, or you request, that his conduct should be inquired into. Well, in obedience to your order, this corrupt Executive appoints a corrupt board of officers. The conduct is inquired into, and the accused comes out glossed over with an honorable acquittal from this court, and ready and more fitly prepared to execute the ambitious designs of his protector. Ask of the Executive why is this so? He answers, I have obeyed your orders, the responsibility is yours and not mine. This will be the effect of our travelling out of our defined orbit and taking upon ourselves what never was intrusted to us by the constitution under which we act--already, when gentlemen say that we are not to know that a court of inquiry is ordered in this case, but which every one does know, is now sitting--I say, already do they anticipate the result, and in a fore-handed way make it a theme of abuse against that Executive, with which they tell us confidence or diffidence has nothing to do in this question.

But to be done with these words, so offensive to the chaste ears of the supporters of this measure. Mr. T. said he would ask these gentlemen if they would allow their own judgment, views, and conduct to be judged of by those who by duty were compelled to decide upon the measures they proposed? They surely did not claim that infallibility which they denied to others. Well, then, said he, place them in one scale, with all their acts or with any particular act, and place the Executive in the other, with all or with any of his acts. Nay, sir, take the present subject only as a criterion. Let the nation hold the balance. I have no hesitation in saying that their scale would kick the beam. This I am compelled to say; I have more confidence in the present Administration than I have in those who brought forward and now support the presentation. I seek for nothing but truth--I would not kiss my hand for any thing that the Executive could do for me or mine. I am not one of those politicians who expect pay for doing nothing.

I come now, said Mr. T., to my second grand objection to this measure--that it will interfere also with the Judiciary Department of our Government. Treason and perjury have been alleged against this individual; by what tribunal are these crimes cognizable? Certainly by the courts of law. The constitution has guarantied to every citizen the right of a fair and impartial trial by his peers, a jury unbiased of his countrymen--will this right be preserved to General Wilkinson after the denunciatory speeches which have been uttered on this floor are published? Will this right be preserved to him, when the whole continent has been searched not only for all that Burr could collect, but for a new enlistment, a host of witnesses against this man? Your committee of denunciation collects the testimony, the committee makes report of the whole to this House, and it is published. I say, will not this be prejudging the man, and condemning him, before he has been brought before your judicial tribunal, to which he is amenable if guilty of all that has been urged against him on this floor? After such a procedure would there be a possibility of this man’s obtaining a fair trial, of his enjoying that right which is secured to him by the sacred provisions of the constitution, and which even in a country far less jealous of the liberties of the citizens than ours ought to be, he would have secured to him?

I come now, said Mr. T., to my third objection to this measure--and which is nearly allied to the last--and that is, that in our military courts too you deprive this man of a fair trial. Every observation I have made in respect to the right of a fair trial by jury, I contend applies equally strong to the trials in our military courts. But this man is a soldier, he is Commander-in-chief of your standing Army, therefore he is fair game--therefore we must hunt him down. Let us see what power the constitution gives us in this respect--we have the power of disbanding the Army at any time by denying the vote of supplies--we are forbid to part with that power for a longer term than for two years, we can then disband the Army, in its climax of misconduct and disaffection, in spite of the Executive. Mr. T. asked was this the object at present? If it was, why did the gentlemen make the terms of their resolution wide enough to embrace the whole Army? But he gave them the credit due to their candor--they drove openly and above board at the man.

There was another power given to the Legislature of the United States by our constitution--to pass laws for the regulation and government of the Army. Had this power been exercised? It had. Had the Legislature been restricted in the severity of the laws enacted for this body of men? They would see by looking over them. Mr. T. said he had looked over them. One hundred and one articles were contained in the statute book, every one of which (except about half a dozen) were distinct definitions of crimes. Of the statute book he wished to speak respectfully; the severity of this code might be necessary; but duty compelled him to speak of it as he found it. It would seem as if the Legislature in penning this law had borrowed the pen of Draco, dipped in blood. Every step they took, from article to article, was marked with blood, with scourges, and with death. No less than sixteen definitions were there contained of crimes capital and punishable with loss of life. After having armed the courts, which, said Mr. T., are appointed to sit in judgment on these soldiers, (and remember that not only the standing Army, but the militia also are at times subject to these rules,) with the power of life and death placed in their hands, the scourge, the halter, and the musket, for lacerating and destroying the infractors of these articles, the Legislature, with all this severity, tempered the whole with one divine, one beneficial principle. This box of Pandora contains hope--the hope of a fair, impartial, and unbiased trial, by their comrades, by their peers. But this hope, by your present resolution, is proposed to be destroyed: as if the gloom around the arrested soldier was not sufficiently dark, you now are about to establish a precedent, which whenever used will shut out every gleam of light. Would it be surprising that men thus proscribed, marked out as the fit objects on which to pour out your vials of wrath, should in time become disaffected, should turn their arms against their country? Yes, by the course proposed you prejudge a citizen--you mark your victim. What despotism can be worse than this? The pious Parliament of England who brought Cromwell into power did this very thing. They were not content with the uncertainty of the proceedings of the criminal courts of that day--they appointed a committee, (as is proposed now, sir,) a court of high commissions, to take care that the courts of law and the military courts should let none go whom they had marked for destruction. How did this business end? The very pious and country-loving Parliament, who were so intent upon the public good as to break down and trample on every opposing impediment either of law, religion, or morality, and all for the public safety, (the very motive we hear now urged,) were kicked out by Cromwell and that very army they had supported at one time and proscribed at another; and were sent, according to the language of that day, to seek the Lord elsewhere. And their degradation produced gratulations from every part of the Commonwealth to the Protector, and confirmed him in as absolute power as the Emperor of the French by similar means has at this day acquired.

Why should I go back, said he, to the days of Cromwell. The effects of the mistake in this respect of a gallant and infatuated nation now exist. History need not record it for our instruction; the fatal error happened in our time. It would be too painful to travel from step to step, and detail the whole of the misfortunes of this gallant people. I will take, I think, the most interesting incident in the French Revolution--the point of time which decided that France was not to be a Republic. The Girondists, who were the most enlightened, the most virtuous, perhaps the only real Republicans in France, denounced Marat. Marat and his friends made head against their opponents and in turn denounced them. Marat was destroyed by an enthusiast, but his party prevailed. Yes, from the rostrum in the conventional hall proceeded the poison, from the National Convention was administered the dose which annihilated all true Republicanism in that country--the system of prejudging the criminal before his trial. How was this denouncing system improved upon? At first, indeed, there was kept up the show of a trial in the courts below, but the victim was nevertheless as certainly marked, or certainly doomed to destruction. But the orators in the Convention, having a long session, and finding nothing better to employ themselves in, multiplied the victims so fast, that to be possessed of a handsome house or estate, a beautiful wife, sister, or daughter, was crime sufficient to incur denunciation--the courts became so crowded with victims, that to expedite the business, instead of formal trials, the courts condemned en masse: ten, twenty, or fifty, were delivered over to the public executioner, with only the ceremony of passing in review before the judge; a motion of his hand, or the waving of his bonnet rouge, was a sufficient signal for the executioners to lead the denounced to the guillotine.

We have a constitution, (said he,) we have laws enacted for the prevention and punishment of crimes. The rights of our citizens are, I hope, sacredly guarded by the provisions contained in them. Shall we then adopt this revolutionary measure?

All history shows--the experience of all ages ought to have impressed this important truth on our minds--that in religion anathemas, in politics denunciations, in popular assemblies, have led to the same slaughter-house--fell intolerance and bloody persecution. Shall we now throw aside our chart and compass, and venture in this wide, boisterous, and dangerous sea of expediency?

Look at the constitution--search for this denunciatory power vested in this House. What is it? We have a right to impeach a civil officer for misconduct. What punishment can we demand for him when convicted? Dismissal from office, and disqualification from holding any future office of trust and profit. In nothing does the wisdom, the inspiration of the framers of this instrument more appear than in this restriction. They well knew the danger of introducing personal feelings and resentments, of party rage and fury in this body; of gathering here armed with the power of destroying one another.

I have said, on a former occasion, that this House had no power itself; its committee cannot have the power of sending for persons, papers, and records; it is nowhere directly given; it cannot be derived incidentally, in a case, the cognizance of which is not given to us by the constitution. I then stated the cases where this incidental power is, ex necessitate rei, derived, viz: 1st. For collecting testimony whereon to form articles of impeachment. 2d. Testimony may be thus collected in deciding on the expulsion of a member, 3d. Where an election is contested.

The gentlemen who support the resolution have been desired to show the power of the House for this purpose in this constitution or in any law. They have not done so. They are obliged to resort to expediency, and that expediency, I have contended, will not hold them out. But, say they, the courts of inquiry and courts martial have no power of collecting testimony, and we must do it for them. Will the depositions taken before this House, or before your committee, be evidence in your courts? They will not. To sum up the whole, although I must acknowledge that the motives which actuated the mover and myself are, and must be the same; I declare I think he means as well as I, the good of his country; yet I would defy him to instance a more oppressive, a more unfair mode of procedure in the Spanish inquisition than the preliminary trial, for it is a trial of General Wilkinson, now carrying on, on this floor, and about to be prolonged by hanging it upon tenter hooks before a committee. Gracious God! what innocence can withstand this mode? He is charged with being a Spanish pensioner in 1796--again, on the river Sabine--a conspirator with Burr--a perjured man--a conspirator against the liberties of the citizens whom he arrested as traitors and coadjutors with Burr. These, denunciations are enforced with eloquence, mixed and commixed, compounded and animadverted upon by as great talents as any in the nation. No notice is given to him to attend and make defence. Thus, with accumulated denunciations, but with but one document before us which can look like evidence, and that ex parte, this House is to be pressed into a vote which is to fix the stamp upon the character of the man, is to mark him as the victim of the courts below. If he were a demon I would not use him thus unfairly.

TUESDAY, January 12.

General Wilkinson.

The House resumed the consideration of a resolution moved by Mr. ROWAN, for the appointment of a special committee to inquire into the conduct of Brigadier-General Wilkinson, with power to send for persons and papers, and to compel their attendance and production, which was depending yesterday at the time of adjournment: Whereupon, Mr. ROWAN moved to amend the resolution, to read as follows:

Resolved, That a special committee be appointed to inquire into the conduct of Brigadier-General Wilkinson, in relation to his having, at any time, while in the service of the United States, corruptly received money from the Government of Spain, or its agents; or in relation to his having, during the time aforesaid, been an accomplice, or in any way concerned with the agents of any Foreign Power, or with Aaron Burr, in a project to dismember these United States; and that the said committee have power to send for persons and papers, and to compel their attendance and production; and that they report the result of their inquiry to this House.

A motion being made to amend this resolution, which gave rise to much discussion, Mr. ROWAN withdrew it, and Mr. RANDOLPH immediately renewed his original motion, in these words:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause an inquiry to be instituted into the conduct of Brigadier-General Wilkinson, Commander-in-chief of the Armies of the United States, in relation to his having, at any time, while in the service of the United States, corruptly received money from the Government of Spain, or its agents.

He said he had withdrawn it only to give the gentleman from Kentucky an opportunity of taking the sense of the House on his proposition; to do which, in his opinion, every gentleman had a right. He perceived that the gentleman from Kentucky was about to be deprived of taking the sense of the House by an evasion of the question, and now renewed his own motion, which he had only withdrawn with an intention to renew it if that of the gentleman from Kentucky should not be adopted. He would here say, that though he did not agree with all the doctrines of the gentleman, that he thought all his arguments which bore upon this case were unanswerable.

The House agreed to consider Mr. RANDOLPH’s resolution--51 to 36.

A further extended and heated discussion took place, interrupted by calls for the question.

The question, on Mr. RANDOLPH’s resolution, was then taken by yeas and nays--yeas 72, nays 49, as follows:

YEAS.--Evan Alexander, Lemuel J. Alston, Burwell Bassett, William W. Bibb, William Blackledge, Thomas Blount, John Boyle, William A. Burwell, William Butler, John Campbell, Epaphroditus Champion, Martin Chittenden, Matthew Clay, Howell Cobb, John Davenport, jr., Joseph Desha, James Elliot, William Ely, John W. Eppes, Barent Gardenier, Francis Gardner, James M. Garnett, Charles Goldsborough, Edwin Gray, John Harris, William Helms, William Hoge, David Holmes, Benjamin Howard, Reuben Humphreys, Richard M. Johnson, Walter Jones, James Kelly, Thomas Kenan, Joseph Lewis, jun., Edward St. Loe Livermore, Edward Lloyd, Nathaniel Macon, Robert Marion, Josiah Masters, Daniel Montgomery, jun., Thomas Moore, Jonathan O. Mosely, Gurdon S. Mumford, Thomas Newton, Timothy Pitkin, jr., Josiah Quincy, John Randolph, John Rea of Pennsylvania, Jacob Richards, Samuel Riker, John Rowan, John Russell, Dennis Smelt, Samuel Smith, John Smith, Richard Stanford, William Stedman, Lewis B. Sturges, Peter Swart, Samuel Taggart, Abram Trigg, George M. Troup, Jabez Upham, James I. Van Allen, Nicholas Van Dyke, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Daniel C. Verplanck, Jesse Wharton, Marmaduke Williams, Alexander Wilson, and Richard Wynn.

NAYS.--Willis Alston, jr., Ezekiel Bacon, David Bard, Joseph Barker, Robert Brown, Joseph Calhoun, George W. Campbell, Peter Carlton, John Chandler, Richard Cutts, Josiah Deane, Daniel M. Durell, William Findlay, James Fisk, Meshack Franklin, Isaiah L. Green, John Heister, James Holland, Daniel Ilsley, Robert Jenkins, William Kirkpatrick, Nehemiah Knight, John Lambert, John Love, Matthew Lyon, William McCreery, William Milnor, Nicholas R. Moore, Jeremiah Morrow, John Morrow, Roger Nelson, Thomas Newbold, Wilson C. Nicholas, John Porter, John Pugh, John Rhea of Tennessee, Mathias Richards, Ebenezer Seaver, James Sloan, John Smilie, Jedediah K. Smith, Henry Southard, Clement Storer, John Taylor, John Thompson, Archibald Van Horn, Robert Whitehill, Isaac Wilbour, and James Witherell.

Mr. EPPES said he had stated on a former day, in his place, that no information had at any time been received by the present Administration which went to charge Brigadier-General Wilkinson with being a Spanish pensioner. This statement was made in reply to a gentleman from Kentucky, who thought it unnecessary to forward to the Executive the evidence exhibited against General Wilkinson, on the ground that this evidence was already in possession of the Executive Department. A fact so important to the public ought not to rest on the assertion of any individual. If corruption has at any period of our political existence fixed its fangs on this Government, if men known to be Spanish pensioners have at any period been honored with confidence by any administration, it is proper the people should understand at what period this confidence commenced, and by whom it was reposed. So far back as the year 1789 or 1790, information was forwarded to the Executive Department of this Government, that a combination between citizens of the United States and the Spanish Government had been formed, for the purpose of dismembering the United States. The information (together with the names of most of the persons concerned in the combination) was forwarded to the first Administration formed under this Government, at the head of which General WASHINGTON was placed. It was known to the second Administration under Mr. ADAMS, and additional information forwarded to him by Mr. Ellicott. If General Wilkinson was originally concerned in this combination, he must have been appointed to office by the first administration under this Government, and continued by the second, with a full and complete knowledge of this fact. The present Republican party found General Wilkinson in office, and abundant proof can be produced that he possessed the confidence of the two preceding Administrations. If he was originally a member of the old Spanish combination, or has, at any period prior to the year 1801, been guilty of any act calculated to destroy the public confidence, let the responsibility rest on those who appointed and continued him in office. We have seen in one State of the Union a member of this combination removed from the important office of judge, on the ground of being a Spanish pensioner. A charge of the same kind is now made on oath by a member of this House, against an officer of the United States. It is time that all the information possessed by the Government of the United States on the subject of this combination, should be brought fairly before the public. With a view to obtain this information, he offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to lay before the House of Representatives all the information which may at any time from the establishment of the present Federal Government to the present time, have been forwarded to any department of the Government, touching a combination between the agents of any foreign Government and citizens of the United States, for dismembering the Union, or going to show that any officer of the United States has at any time corruptly received money from any foreign Government or its agents; distinguishing as far as possible the period at which such information has been forwarded, and by whom.

Mr. RANDOLPH seconded this motion.

After a few objections to this resolution from Mr. QUINCY, on account of its being too comprehensive, not giving the President power to withhold confidential correspondence, the question was, on motion of Mr. RHEA, taken by yeas and nays, and carried unanimously, every member present, to the number of one hundred and twenty, voting in the affirmative.

Mr. ROWAN said that although a decision on his resolution had been eluded, out of respect for the opinions of gentlemen who objected to particular parts of it, he had modified it, and offered it as follows:

Resolved, That a special committee be appointed to inquire into the conduct of Brigadier-General Wilkinson, in relation to his having at any time whilst in the service of the United States, either as a civil or military officer, been a pensioner of the Government of Spain, or corruptly received money from that Government, or its agents; and that the said committee have power to send for such persons and papers as may be necessary to assist their inquiries; and that they report the result to this House, to enable this House the better to legislate on subjects of the common weal, and our foreign relations, and particularly our relation with Spain, as well as on the subject of the increase of the Army of the United States and its regulations.

A motion to consider this resolution was negatived--60 to 46.

Mr. HOLLAND moved that a committee be appointed to wait upon the President with the resolutions this day adopted.

Mr. LOVE moved that the evidence or information laid before the House relative to the conduct of General Wilkinson be transmitted to the Executive.

On motion of Mr. ROWAN, seconded by Mr. RANDOLPH, the words “copies of” papers, &c., were inserted; and the resolution for transmitting copies of the papers was agreed to without a division.

The motion for appointing a committee to wait on the President with these resolutions and copies, was agreed to without a division. Messrs. RANDOLPH and EPPES were appointed the committee.

FRIDAY, January 15.

Government Contracts.

On motion of Mr. BASSETT, the House went into Committee of the Whole on the resolutions submitted by him some days ago relative to the contractors.

The first resolution being under consideration, as follows:

Resolved, That provision ought to be made by law to prohibit the officers of Government from making any contract, on behalf of the United States, with any person being a member of either House of Congress, or with any other person for his or their use:

Mr. BASSETT said he presumed that this proposition possessed sufficient intrinsic merit not to require the aid of extensive talents or laborious exertions of any gentleman to advocate it. He assumed it as an axiom, that fundamental principles must rest for their security on the purity of the Representative body. He should, however, trust the support of this measure to its own importance.

The resolution was carried--59 to 15.

TUESDAY, January 19.

Naturalization Laws.

Mr. BURWELL begged leave to offer a resolution to the consideration of the House, on the subject of which it was not his intention now to make any observations; it was upon the subject of the naturalization laws of the United States. Upon examination of the constitution, it would be found that Congress had now, since the 1st of January, 1808, full power to act on the subject, and dispose of it in such manner as the public good might require. It was now in their power to exclude foreigners from the country altogether, or admit them under such restrictions as might be deemed consistent with the public interest. He therefore hoped the resolution would be agreed to, and give him an opportunity of introducing such a bill as he contemplated, and on which the House might then decide. The resolution is as follows:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of amending the act of Congress, passed the 14th of April, 1802, entitled “An act to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and to repeal the acts heretofore passed on that subject.”

The resolution was agreed to, and Messrs. BURWELL, QUINCY, MACON, G. W. CAMPBELL, SMILIE, FISK, and J. MONTGOMERY, were appointed the committee, with leave to report by bill, or otherwise.

The Militia.

On motion of Mr. M. CLAY, the House went into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill more effectually to provide for the national defence by the militia of the United States.

The first section being read, as follows:

“That all the militia of the United States, liable to do duty, over twenty-one and under ---- years of age, shall be deemed and held in requisition, and called the junior class of militia. And the President of the United States shall be, and he hereby is, authorized, on the appearance of national danger, to order out the same, or any part thereof, to any part of the United States or their Territories, for not more than one whole year at any one time. And whensoever a part of the said junior class shall, by the President of the United States, be called into actual service, such call shall commence with those that are lowest in number, as to age first, and so in rotation: the same shall not be compelled to do duty a second time until the whole of the said junior class shall have served one tour; and when called into the actual service of the United States, they shall be armed and equipped by the United States. For this purpose two hundred thousand stand of arms complete, shall be deposited in such places as the President of the United States shall direct, and whensoever the whole, or any part of the said junior class of militia, shall be called into actual service by the United States, and shall be armed and equipped by the same, it shall be lawful, and they, and each of them, are hereby permitted to retain the said arms and accoutrements, as their own property, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.”

Mr. M. CLAY said it was necessary to fill the blank in the first section, before they proceeded any further, and it was incumbent on those who were friends to this project, to show that there were defects in the militia law as it now stood; and, if they could prove to the House that the system offered was better than the old one, he presumed there could be no objection to the bill under consideration. At all events he wished gentlemen to take a serious view of the subject; it was a great national question, on which the salvation of the country depended. He would endeavor to bring forward the best testimony that could be had to prove that the present system was defective, and he hoped he should be able to do it. I will commence with the adoption of the constitution under which we are now acting. We find that President WASHINGTON always kept this subject in the view of the National Legislature. This shows that there was something in his opinion to do; it was not his business to tell us what it was, but ours to find out. If gentlemen will take up the Presidential communications from the commencement of the Government, they will find that the subject has been uniformly recommended by each successive President of the United States to the present time. I state this as a strong evidence that, in their opinion, a change was wanting somewhere. Next to this I will call your attention to the communications made from the State Executives to their Legislatures. We find also, that the State Legislatures, almost every year, and in every session, have had the subject under their consideration, and turned it over in one way or the other. This proves that there is in their opinion some defect. We must now remedy that defect if we can; it behooves us to do so; and if I shall be fortunate enough to point out the propriety and mode of making this alteration, I shall have done my duty. We will go further back than the adoption of the constitution; we do not recollect the whole body of the militia ever to have been brought into action to such effect as our strength of numbers would have warranted, if the militia had been properly organized; there was a defect somewhere, which should be remedied without going either to one extreme or another. If gentlemen will turn their eyes to the bill on the table, they will find that our project is to steer between the two, not to harass the militia, but to render them fit for efficient service, by taking only those that can be best spared from home, and, when in actual service, can be most relied on. History itself furnishes no instance, let the mode of warfare be what it might, where the whole body of the militia were ever called into actual service, and kept there for any length of time to advantage. If there was much marching and fighting, the old men with families would soon find the way home; they could not be relied on for a length of time. I remember often to have heard this complaint made before the Revolutionary war; when we were at war with the Indians. Nay, further, if we go among the savages, we find that they do not all turn out to battle, and leave their women and children only behind; they take neither old nor young men, I mean their lads, to battle, but such only as may be useful in the field.

When we recur to the times of the Revolution, which every old gentleman recollects, and every young one has heard of, every one then in service will attest the fact, that wherever the body of the militia were called on to march, old and young together, the old men soon found their way into the hospital; they would complain of old rheumatisms, &c.; they would often fatigue and break down the young men by imposing on them the additional burden of their knapsacks.

My object is to leave at home the senior and minor classes as much as possible; nothing but imperious necessity and imminent danger should call them to the field, and that within their own State, or in the neighboring State. I wish not to derange the state of society, which must be the case if the whole body of the militia are called out at once. During the last war, we saw not only fields and neighborhoods, but whole States, laid waste from being deprived of their cultivators. I wish to avoid this evil; I wish to leave men enough at home to cultivate the earth and take care of the crop. It is well known to gentlemen of the Revolution, that while we lay at Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania, at Middlebrook, in New Jersey, and at other places, we were almost in a state of starvation, because all hands, meaning the whole body of the militia, had been called out, and cultivation and manufactures neglected. I have seen (and an awful sight it was) not less than five thousand men on parade at a time, in the midst of winter, almost naked, without shirts or shoes; of times have I seen them march on the frozen ground barefoot, marking their footsteps with blood as they marched. At the times here spoken of, the Army was reduced to the awful necessity of going into the adjacent country and threshing out the grain from the straw, and, while thus engaged, the poor and almost naked women, with their helpless babes crying round them, would ask, with tears running down their withered cheeks, for God’s sake not to take all, telling the soldiers that that was their all, and when that was gone they must starve; that they had no money, nor wherewith to get money. Now, my object is to avoid such another scene--not only on this account, but in some of the Southern States, we have an internal enemy, an enemy within our own families. There should always be a sufficient force left at home to awe and keep that enemy down. By taking out the junior class only, we shall always have a sufficient number left to quell and keep down insurrection at home. We shall presently show that we have a sufficient number of young men under the age of twenty-six and over twenty-one, to meet the enemy whenever they are called on. We have three great points of assault, New York, Charleston, and New Orleans, and I shall I trust be able to show that we have a sufficient number of young men of the junior class to keep up a continual force, if necessary, to meet all attacks. It behooves me now to show what disposition I intend to make of the minor class--young men under twenty-one years of age. It is not my intention that they shall be called into service, except in case of the utmost necessity, and then only within their own State. We find, from report, that to be the rock on which the Emperor of France has split. He takes his men when in their infancy, from the age of eighteen. They ought to be left until they are twenty-one, to lay in a sufficient stock of information to carry them into life. Let them learn trades or attend to their studies; for we consider the trade or profession which a man learns in his youth, whether mechanical or mental, as a fortune; and therefore we do not wish to interrupt them until they have completed their studies or trades, except imperious necessity should require it. It is necessary that every man should have somewhat from which he may receive subsistence during his passage through life. During his minority he lays up by learning a trade or profession, a principal, the interest of which supports him after he attains the age of twenty-one. We also well know that young men under twenty-one cannot stand hardship; they may do some service; they may march about a little, but their system is not matured; they cannot undergo fatigue. We also know that it will almost take two men of eighteen years of age, each, to cope with one of twenty-five in bodily strength.

We shall now proceed to show the numbers of each class, as nearly as they can be ascertained from the census of 1800. We have taken the authority of the best statistical writers for the progressive numbers.

The census of 1800 gave of males from twenty-six to forty-five, 432,193. I am not very particular as to fractions, they being of little consequence. The annual increase from 1790 to 1800 was about three and one-half per cent., which we will assume for the increase since the last census, being seven years. This will give us an increase since 1800 of 105,882, which added to the number by the last census, makes 538,075. From these deduct, unfit for service, as nearly as we can ascertain, 35,000 or 40,000. We have taken, for the sake of equal numbers, 38,075; which leaves 500,000 men, who may be relied on if the danger should be so great as to call for all men over twenty-six and under forty-five.

By the census of 1800, those over twenty-one and under twenty-six, were between 190,000 and 200,000 men. To this add, for the increase since, by the rule just laid down, 49,400; which will make 249,000, under twenty-six and over twenty-one. Deduct from this number 8,000 or 9,000, for those unfit for service. For the sake of round numbers deduct 9,000; which will leave 240,000 able men. We will suppose wanting at any one time, 30,000 or 40,000 at each of the three great points I have mentioned, which would still leave enough at home to supply the succession and deficiencies. Out of this class of men, then, between twenty-one and twenty-six, could be called out sufficient for service, at any one time, from 90,000 to 100,000, and leave double that number still in requisition. If, however, it should be thought that 240,000 would not be a sufficient number, we have only to take all under twenty-seven instead of twenty-six. Those between twenty-six and twenty-seven, added to the others, would form a body of 280,000 men, without taking any under twenty-one or over twenty-seven. It is about this time of life, twenty-six or twenty-seven, when a man begins to know mankind; they have then sown their wild oats, as we generally say; they then wish to settle and see a family rising up before them; they feel vigorous, and wish to show their activity and strength, in running, tumbling, and wrestling; they think themselves great men; they wish to travel and see the world; they have a roving disposition. This is the moment to lay hold of them and make them good soldiers. I know well that it will be said by some that it is an invidious distinction to stop at twenty-six or twenty-seven. Why may not the same be said of stopping at forty-five or beginning at eighteen? It is said that this classification will tear up the old militia system. I do not care how soon it is plucked by the roots; we have had enough of it. Why persist in a system which we cannot get along with? What is the consequence? To show what that is, it is only necessary to read the report of the Secretary of War. Under an exertion of all the energies of the commanding officers, after the insult of the 22d of June last, on the Chesapeake; after the Executive officers had exerted themselves to procure the best information upon the subject of the militia held in requisition, what is the result? The report just mentioned will show that you cannot rely with confidence on the militia in its present state; nor can you on volunteers. The last will do for a moment at the commencement of a war. In case of invasion they will do very well for the moment. They do not go out with a view of brushing their own coats, washing their shirts, and to cook their victuals; they expect to call for the best of every thing at every house. Some gentlemen volunteers went down lately to Norfolk from Petersburg and Richmond. They conceived themselves on a level with the officers; it would not do; they came home disgusted, and you will not get them to go again. What was the case during the last war? When a large troop of volunteers was raised (I know the fact, I had a brother among them, and can therefore speak of it) they came prancing to General WASHINGTON. The old General asked them what they could do? “Fight for our country,” said they. “Will you go into camp with the Army and do regular duty?” They answered “No.” “You have my thanks, then, gentlemen,” said the veteran, “go home again.” This was only to make a show, they intended nothing else; they may do for a moment; but there must be method and regularity in our Army. It will not do to have a large body of men collected for any purpose without it. And therefore it is, that as the great mass of our militia now stand, no reliance can be placed upon them. It will not answer to rely on regular troops. It is easy enough to raise a standing army, but it is difficult to disband them. We had at the close of the last war an awful testimony of the truth of this. Nothing but the vast weight of character of General WASHINGTON, who, descending from his high office of Commander-in-chief, mixed with them as a brother soldier, could have prevented them from revolting. See what a clamor is now raised, and rumors afloat through the country, about your standing army of 3,000 men. Get a man sufficiently popular for Commander-in-chief of a large standing army, and what sort of government should we soon have? We may shudder even to think of what might be the result. Look at the contrary side, as now proposed to regulate the militia. You take them from the bosom of their families for one year. At the end of that term they will be anxious to return home. Mutiny will not arrest them. With avidity they will return; a tear of joy will bid them welcome.

Gentlemen say the bill does not give us detail sufficient. We can fix all this when we have once passed upon the principle. This I repeat; nearly one year has elapsed since the outrage committed on the Chesapeake, and yet no return of volunteers or militia. This goes to show that volunteers are not to be relied on, and also that the militia laws are defective.

I hope we have shown that we have strong reasons to suspect that the present militia system is not the best that can be devised. We have shown this from the best testimony in our power from the adoption of the constitution to this day. From the communications of the President of the United States to Congress, and from State Governors to the State Legislatures, it may be seen that the subject has almost always been introduced and recommended to the consideration of the Legislatures. If this is not the best system that can be adopted, I am willing that any gentleman should propose a better. Let us see any other system, we will examine it thoroughly and act with our best judgment on it. This is a time when the whole United States are in danger, and some modification of our present system must be made.

Towards the close of the last war the militia began to fight very well. In Kentucky the fighting men were numerous. After the attempt of the army at the close of the war, to turn their arms against their country, Government placed their soldiers when out of service on the frontier, with the natives on their borders, with whom we were then at war. Virginia gave lands to her soldiers which were in the background. Why? Because it would not do to fix these men of seven or eight years, standing among the body of the people. We will give them this land, said the officers of Government, and let them go and fight the Indians. The reason was, that they had served seven or eight years in the regular army. This fungus, a standing army, was applied on our frontiers as a breastwork and safeguard, to keep off the savages; we wanted to keep them out of the way. We could have burnt up the Indian towns and put an end to the whole race immediately; but we did not wish to do it; we wished to keep our old soldiers fighting till they cooled off from the habit of inactivity acquired by service in the war.

We have endeavored to show that volunteers will do but for a moment, and that when there is nothing to do, and they can have both male and female waiting upon them. They cannot be relied on in war. They are not the kind of troops for service when invaded by a powerful enemy. Volunteers may do for sailors or marines, if they choose to go to sea. We have endeavored to show that classification is the only mode by which they can be relied on for the real service of their country; that old men are not the best for service; that young men under twenty-one ought to be kept at home till they get enough of experience to serve them through life; and that young men, over twenty-one and under twenty-six, have a propensity to be in action, to serve their country and to acquire fame.

Some gentlemen make objections to the mode of officering. I have no doubts upon that subject; the thing will work well--this the constitution has reserved to the States themselves. When officers are wanting, young men can always be found peculiarly qualified to conduct their companions to the fight--young men of high standing and weight of character. The soldiers, having themselves choice of their commander, will choose one out of many candidates, as there always will be, in whom they can confide. I presume, young men of first talents and enterprise will have preference. Let them have a man to command them of their own age. They will say one to the other, I know this man; I have known him from my youth, and can confide in him.

As a reward for the services of these young men, after a campaign is ended, let them keep as their own property the arms with which they fought, which will be handed down from father to son: “This is the piece I fought with.” Let it be engraven on the barrel, this belongs to such a one, he earned it by serving his country at such a time. After men have served one year, sufficient numbers will be found to replace them, who will be anxious to see the country, and travel over the Union, emulous of fame: and when they have served a tour will long to return to their kindred, loaded with an honorable pledge of the service done their country.

It is certainly a desirable thing that the physical strength of the country should be applied in the most advantageous manner to the protection of the country. We admit that some men marry early. In this case let them hire men as substitutes from their own class. This substitute may serve out his time and return. By that time another young man may have married, and his substitute, being accustomed to service, may go out a second term. By the adoption of this principle of classification you get the best blood of the country, that which you can rely upon. You will not see your hospitals filled with old men disabled by the rheumatism and gout; nor will you see children in the ranks, trembling at every leaf that falls around them, not sufficiently hardened to lie out upon the ground covered with ice and snow. If we go on in the same bungling manner as heretofore, we shall never have an efficient militia; you will annually receive the President’s Message recommending the subject to your consideration.

I hope gentlemen will think with me, and not impute impure motives--the fact is, I have two sons that will soon be twenty-one, and I love them as much as any man can, and perhaps can say what few can. The first property I gave each of them was a gun; and have enjoined it on them in my will, that it I was given them to defend that country which their father had assisted in delivering from bondage. My son’s gun will impress on his mind that he must fight when his country calls for his services; it is his fortune.

I hope gentlemen will take a serious view of the subject--that every man will lay his shoulder to the wheel, and rise up to the East and West, South and North, to prepare for the protection of his domicil. Gentlemen have said that this was a new project, that it will create confusion now, when the service of our militia is most wanting. It is because of the crisis that I have at this moment brought the matter forward. The present system is acknowledged to be defective; we wish to make it as efficient as possible--that our countrymen may know who must march at a moment’s warning.

In Virginia, during the last war, young men, merchants, lawyers, and doctors, went out to battle, stayed two or three weeks, took sick, and went home. As long as every door was open, the hand of every man giving them friendship, and caressed by every woman, they stood their ground; but when dependence was placed on them for service, they were off. I recollect a circumstance of some new militia just come into camp on the eve of a battle. The time of battle soon came; these men were placed in front; but no sooner did the redcoats, as they called the English, come within one hundred yards, than they threw down their arms and ran as though their lives depended altogether on their heels for preservation. When they were asked, where are you going, boys? Did you ever see the like, said they, we cannot stand them. When the redcoats come now it will be just the same. Substitutes towards the close of a war become good soldiers. I know that substitutes are objected to by some gentlemen, they wish every man to stand in his own place, all to stand on the same footing. In my humble opinion this would be bad policy, because all men have not the same gifts. Some cannot fight, from religious principles--others cannot fight for the want of nerve. The bill has made provision for such, if they cannot fight let them furnish a substitute. We know all men are not gifted alike: the strength of some lies in one way, and in others another; Samson’s lay in his hair. Now on this floor, some gentlemen of strong minds, who think a great deal, never talk; while some who talk incessantly, appear never to think at all. It certainly would be a great economizing of public time and money, for some to think more and talk less. I am not in the habit of public speaking, not being mechanically bred to it; I nevertheless offer my mite in support of the proposed system. It is a great project; and although not fluent of speech, yet I am willing to be tested by my votes and actions, from the year 1776, the time I commenced my political career, to the present day; and I defy any man to say that I ever gave other than a republican vote, or did any other than a republican act, while acting as a public man. I know the word republican is with some a hackneyed word; but I mean the true electric principles of Republican Government. I went young into the army myself, I was never out of it, after I entered it, until the conclusion of the war. I have been thirty-two years in public life. I mention this to show that I am entitled to claim a knowledge of mankind.

You may exercise your militia from the age of eighteen, till they arrive at forty-five, and after the whole twenty-seven years mustering they will not know the manual. My object is not to call out any man until he is wanted; and when they are wanted, to call them out, and in one fortnight they will be ready for service, and in a month may take the field, already soldiers--comparatively speaking. There will attend this system no expense in time of peace. I have seen a number of projects for taking legions into camp for six months at a time. The project will not do. When you take your men to the field, let them think of nothing else but fighting--not even of women. These half-way soldiers, half regulars and half militia, would be of no account. They would be a heterogeneous mass, fit for neither the one thing nor the other.[56]

WEDNESDAY, January 20.

General Wilkinson.

THE PRESIDENT’S ANSWER TO THE HOUSE RESOLUTIONS.

The Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was then read, as follows:

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

Some days previous to your resolutions of the thirteenth instant, a Court of Inquiry had been instituted at the request of General Wilkinson, charged to make the inquiry into his conduct which the first resolution desires, and had commenced their proceedings. To the Judge Advocate of that court, the papers and information on that subject, transmitted to me by the House of Representatives, have been delivered, to be used according to the rules and powers of that court.

The request of a communication of any information which may have been received at any time since the establishment of the present Government, touching combinations with foreign agents for dismembering the Union, or the corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States from the agents of foreign governments, can be complied with but in a partial degree.

It is well understood that, in the first or second year of the Presidency of General Washington, information was given to him relating to certain combinations with the agents of a foreign Government for the dismemberment of the Union; which combinations had taken place before the establishment of the present Federal Government. This information, however, is believed never to have been deposited in any public office, or left in that of the President’s Secretary; these having been duly examined; but to have been considered as personally confidential, and therefore retained among his private papers. A communication from the Governor of Virginia to President Washington, is found in the office of the President’s Secretary, which, although not strictly within the terms of the request of the House of Representatives, is communicated, inasmuch as it may throw some light on the subjects of the correspondence of that time, between certain foreign agents and citizens of the United States.

In the first or second year of the Administration of President Adams, Andrew Ellicott, then employed in designating, in conjunction with the Spanish authorities, the boundaries between the Territories of the United States and Spain, under the treaty with that nation, communicated to the Executive of the United States papers and information respecting the subjects of the present inquiry, which were deposited in the Office of State. Copies of these are now transmitted to the House of Representatives, except of a single letter and a reference from the said Andrew Ellicott, which, being expressly desired to be kept secret, is therefore not communicated; but its contents can be obtained from himself in a more legal form; and directions have been given to summon him to appear as a witness before the Court of Inquiry.

A paper “on the commerce of Louisiana,” bearing date the eighteenth of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, is found in the office of State, supposed to have been communicated by Mr. Daniel Clark, of New Orleans, then a subject of Spain, and now of the House of Representatives of the United States, stating certain commercial transactions of General Wilkinson, in New Orleans; an extract from this is now communicated, because it contains facts which may have some bearing on the questions relating to him.

The destruction of the War Office by fire, in the close of one thousand eight hundred, involved all information it contained at that date.

The papers already described, therefore, constitute the whole of the information on these subjects, deposited in the public offices, during the preceding Administration, as far as has yet been found; but it cannot be affirmed that there may be no other, because the papers of the office being filed, for the most part, alphabetically, unless aided by the suggestion of any particular name which may have given such information, nothing short of a careful examination of the papers in the offices generally, could authorize such an affirmation.

About a twelvemonth after I came to the administration of the Government, Mr. Clark gave some verbal information to myself, as well as to the Secretary of State, relating to the same combinations for the dismemberment of the Union. He was listened to freely; and he then delivered the letter of Governor Gayoso, addressed to himself, of which a copy is now communicated. After his return to New Orleans, he forwarded to the Secretary of State other papers, with a request that, after perusal, they should be burnt. This however was not done; and he was so informed by the Secretary of State, and that they would be held subject to his orders. These papers have not yet been found in the office. A letter therefore has been addressed to the former Chief Clerk, who may, perhaps, give information respecting them. As far as our memories enable us to say, they related only to the combinations before spoken of, and not at all to the corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States; consequently they respected what was considered as a dead matter, known to the preceding Administrations, and offering nothing new to call for investigations, which those nearest the dates of the transactions had not thought proper to institute.

In the course of the communications made to me on the subject of the conspiracy of Aaron Burr, I sometimes received letters, some of them anonymous, some under names true or false, expressing suspicions and insinuations against General Wilkinson. But only one of them, and that anonymous, specified any particular fact, and that fact was one of those which had been already communicated to a former Administration.

No other information within the purview of the request of the House, is known to have been received by any Department of the Government, from the establishment of the present Federal Government. That which has been recently communicated to the House of Representatives, and by them to me, is the first direct testimony ever made known to me, charging General Wilkinson with the corrupt receipt of money; and the House of Representatives may be assured that the duties which this information devolves on me, shall be exercised with rigorous impartiality. Should any want of power in the court to compel the rendering of testimony obstruct that full and impartial inquiry, which alone can establish guilt or innocence and satisfy justice, the legislative authority only will be competent to the remedy.

TH. JEFFERSON.

JANUARY 20, 1808.

The said Message, together with sundry documents accompanying the same, were read, and referred to Mr. JOHN MONTGOMERY, Mr. NICHOLAS, Mr. UPHAM, Mr. SMILIE, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. G. W. CAMPBELL, and Mr. JEDEDIAH K. SMITH, with instructions to report thereon by bill, or otherwise.

[The following are the documents communicated with his Message by the President:]

WAR DEPARTMENT, Jan. 2, 1808.

In compliance with a request from Brigadier-General James Wilkinson, the President of the United States has directed a court of inquiry to be instituted, for the purpose of hearing such testimony as may be produced in relation to the said General James Wilkinson’s having been, or now being, a pensioner to the Spanish Government, while holding a commission under the Government of the United States.

Colonel Henry Burbeck, as President, Colonel Thomas H. Cushing and Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Williams, as members, are hereby directed to meet at the city of Washington, on Monday, the 11th day of the present month of January, as a court of inquiry, for the purpose above stated; and, after a full investigation of such evidence and circumstances as may come to their knowledge, the court will report to this Department a correct statement of its proceedings, together with its opinion on the amount of testimony exhibited.

Walter Jones, Esquire, District Attorney for the District of Columbia, will be requested to act as Judge Advocate or Recorder to the court.

H. DEARBORN, Secretary of War.

Col. HENRY BURBECK, President Court of Inquiry.

* * * * *

RICHMOND, May 31, 1790.

SIR: The enclosed copy of a letter from the Spanish Governor of New Orleans to a respectable gentleman in Kentucky, was handed to me by Mr. Banks of this city. As the subject of this paper appears interesting to the United States, I have taken the liberty to forward it to you.

I am, with the highest respect,

Your most obedient servant,

BEVERLY RANDOLPH.

* * * * *

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 16, 1789.

SIR: General Wilkinson having represented to me, that you had it in contemplation to settle in this province, and that your example would have considerable influence on many good families of your country, I think it my duty, in order to forward the intentions of my royal master, to inform you that I shall receive you and your followers with great pleasure, and that you have liberty to settle in any part of Louisiana, or any where on the east side of the Mississippi below the Yazoo river. In order to populate the province, His Majesty has been graciously pleased to authorize me to grant to the emigrants, free of all expense, tracts of from two hundred and forty to eight hundred acres, in proportion to their property; and in particular cases of men of influence, who may aid these views, I shall extend the grant as far as three thousand acres. To all persons who actually become settlers, liberty is granted to bring down their property in the produce of your country, duty free; but the King does not agree to take your tobacco, and, of consequence, you must depend upon the common market of this city, as the province makes more than the quantity which the King allows me to take. I mention this particular to prevent disappointment. You will be exempt from taxation, and will be allowed the private exercise of your religion without molestation from any person whatever, and will enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities of His Majesty’s other subjects.

In order to cultivate an amicable connection with the settlers of the Ohio, His Majesty has been graciously pleased, at the same time, to give liberty to the inhabitants of that country to bring down their produce to this city for sale, subject to a duty of fifteen per cent, on the value here; but to prevent imposition, and to distinguish between the real settler and the trader, the former, on entering their produce at the custom-house, will be obliged to subscribe to the conditions mentioned in the proclamation, of which General Wilkinson carries a copy for your information.

Though unknown to you, General Wilkinson has taught me to respect your character.

It is, therefore, I subscribe myself, with great esteem, your most obedient and humble servant,

ESTEVAN MIRO.

BENJAMIN SEBASTIAN, Esq., Kentucky.

Attest: S. COLEMAN, A. C. C.

* * * * *

NATCHEZ, June 17, 1796.

MY DEAR FRIEND: I received your favor of the 12th instant, in which you give me a proof of your sincere friendship by opening your heart, without reserve, on the interesting subject of the treaty. Following the same sentiments that have dictated to you the confidence that you have in me, I shall unreservedly, and in the most confidential manner, give you my opinion on the same subject.

I have powerful reasons to believe that the part of the treaty concerning limits will never be accomplished; and for that reason so little has been said on what otherwise should be detailed concerning the subjects and citizens of both countries. The State of Georgia is as much displeased as you express yourself, and several petitions have already been presented to Congress against the treaty.

In the time that the treaty was signed, the political affairs of Europe determined our Court to do any thing to keep the United States in a perfect neutrality, and thereby destroy a new plan that was forming to renew and continue a destructive war. The treaty with England had a different object. It was to attract the Americans to their interest in such a manner as to have still in her power to keep them dependent; the plan has fallen through, and the British will no longer deliver the posts. Our treaty that was made to counterbalance that, will suffer equal difficulties; for the circumstances being altered, so will be the conditions on every side. Spain made a treaty with the Union; but if this Union is dissolved, one of the contracting parties exists no longer, and the other is absolved from her engagements. It is more than probable that a separation of several States will take place, which will alter the political existence of a power that could influence on the balance of that of others; therefore Spain, being deprived of that assistance which could arise from her connection with the Union, will alter her views. This is the political situation of things with regard to the treaty; besides that, there are other insurmountable difficulties with respect to the Indians, which render impracticable the execution of the part concerning limits; therefore, even when no change should happen in the United States, the treaty will be reduced to the navigation of this river.

Laying aside every obstacle, and only guided by the same principles that have affected you, I have already represented in the strongest and most energetic manner on the subject of real property; without a solution from Court, it will be out of our power to fulfil the contents of the treaty. When I told you that your property should not suffer in this Government, it was founded on all these principles, and several others that are not vanished. I have constantly been a friend to the country, and in this critical moment will not neglect its interests. Be sure, and assure all your neighbors, that I will do the needful, and that my exertions at all times shall be in proportion to the exigency.

With regard to the debts of this Government, they will continue to be paid in the manner prescribed; however, I shall act in such a manner as to have them cleared much sooner than what is expected. Every individual of this Government is just now attending their crops of cotton, that promise very advantageously; therefore in this critical moment they must not be disturbed, or they will suffer essentially. I am waiting anxiously for Mr. Dunbar to regulate several things in which he has had, and is to have an interference. I really believe that the Baron has him employed. I do not know for certain when the Baron is to go to the Havana, nor do I believe that he knows it. The first packet may perhaps throw some light on the subject. The return of our Court to Madrid will be productive of some very great change in the administration of our affairs; therefore I wait that moment with impatience.

Nothing can affect the mortgage you have on Fuly’s property; he has not yet appeared, but Mr. Ree acts for him.

I remain, with the most sincere friendship, my dear friend, your most obedient,

M. GAYOSO DE LEMOS.

Reserve this letter.

P. S.--In the other letter I express the reason of my new regulation, &c.

DANIEL CLARK, Esq.

* * * * *

Extract from a paper on the commerce of Louisiana, supposed to be referred to in a letter from Mr. Daniel Clark to the Secretary of State, of the 18th April, 1798, and written by him.

About the period of which we are now speaking, in the middle of the year 1787, the foundation of an intercourse with Kentucky and the settlements on the Ohio was laid, which daily increases. Previous to that time, all those who ventured on the Mississippi had their property seized by the first commanding officer whom they met, and little or no communication was kept up between the countries. Now and then, an emigrant who wished to settle in Natchez, by dint of entreaty, and solicitation of friends who had interest in New Orleans, procured permission to remove there with his family, slaves, cattle, furniture, and farming utensils; but was allowed to bring no other property, except cash. An unexpected incident, however, changed the face of things, and was productive of a new line of conduct. The arrival of a boat, belonging to General Wilkinson, loaded with tobacco and other productions of Kentucky, is announced in town, and a guard was immediately sent on board of it. The General’s name had hindered this being done at Natchez, and the commandant was fearful that such a step might be displeasing to his superiors, who might wish to show some respect to the property of a general officer; at any rate, the boat was proceeding to Orleans, and they would then resolve on what measures they ought to pursue, and put in execution. The Government, not much disposed to show any mark of respect or forbearance towards the General’s property, he not having at that time arrived, was about proceeding in the usual way of confiscation, when a merchant in Orleans, who had considerable influence there, and who was formerly acquainted with the General, represented to the Governor that the measures taken by the Intendant would very probably give rise to disagreeable events; that the people of Kentucky were already exasperated at the conduct of the Spaniards in seizing on the property of all those who navigated the Mississippi; and, if this system was pursued, they would very probably, in spite of Congress and the Executive of the United States, take upon themselves to obtain the navigation of the river by force, which they were well able to do; a measure for some time before much dreaded by this Government, which had no force to resist them, if such a plan was put in execution. Hints were likewise given that Wilkinson was a very popular man, who could influence the whole of that country; and probably that his sending a boat before him, with a wish that she might be seized, was but a snare at his return to influence the minds of the people, and having brought them to the point he wished, induce them to appoint him their leader, and then, like a torrent, spread over the country, and carry fire and desolation from one end of the province to the other.

Governor Miro, a weak man, unacquainted with the American Government, ignorant even of the position of Kentucky with respect to his own province, but alarmed at the very idea of an irruption of Kentucky men, whom he feared without knowing their strength, communicated his wishes to the Intendant that the guard might be removed from the boat, which was accordingly done; and a Mr. Patterson, who was the agent of the General, was permitted to take charge of the property on board, and to sell it free of duty. The General, on his arrival in Orleans some time after, was informed of the obligation he lay under to the merchant who had impressed the Government with such an idea of his importance and influence at home, waited on him, and, in concert with him, formed a plan for their future operations. In his interview with the Governor, that he might not seem to derogate from the character given of him by appearing concerned in so trifling a business as a boat-load of tobacco, hams, and butter, he gave him to understand that the property belonged to many citizens of Kentucky, who, availing themselves of his return to the Atlantic States by way of Orleans, wished to make a trial of the temper of this Government, as he, on his arrival, might inform his own what steps had been pursued under his eye, that adequate measures might be afterwards taken to procure satisfaction. He acknowledged with gratitude the attention and respect manifested by the Governor towards himself in the favor shown to his agent; but at the same time mentioned that he would not wish the Governor to expose himself to the anger of his Court by refraining from seizing on the boat and cargo, as it was but a trifle, if such were the positive orders from Court, and that he had not a power to relax them according to circumstances. Convinced by this discourse that the General rather wished for an opportunity of embroiling affairs than sought to avoid it, the Governor became more alarmed. For two or three years before, particularly since the arrival of the Commissioners from Georgia, who had come to Natchez to claim that country, he had been fearful of an invasion at every annual rise of the waters, and the news of a few boats being seen was enough to alarm the whole province. He revolved in his mind what measures he ought to pursue (consistent with the orders he had from home to permit the free navigation of the river) in order to keep the Kentucky people quiet; and, in his succeeding interviews with Wilkinson, having procured more knowledge than he had hitherto acquired of their character, population, strength, and dispositions, he thought he could do nothing better than hold out a bait to Wilkinson to use his influence in restraining the people from an invasion of this province till he could give advice to this Court, and require further instructions. This was the point to which the parties wished to bring him, and, being informed that in Kentucky two or three crops were on hand, for which, if an immediate vent was not found, the people could not be kept within bounds, he made Wilkinson the offer of a permission to import, on his own account, to New Orleans, free of duty, all the productions of Kentucky, thinking by this means to conciliate the good will of the people, without yielding the point of navigation, as the commerce carried on would appear the effect of an indulgence to an individual, which could be withdrawn at pleasure. On consultation with his friends, who well knew what further concessions Wilkinson could extort from the fears of the Spaniards, by the promises of his good offices in preaching peace, harmony, and good understanding with this Government, until arrangements were made between Spain and America, he was advised to insist that the Governor should insure him a market for all the flour and tobacco he might send, as in the event of an unfortunate shipment, he would be ruined whilst endeavoring to do a service to Louisiana. This was accepted. Flour was always wanted in New Orleans, and the King of Spain had given orders to purchase more tobacco for the supply of his manufactories at home than Louisiana at that time produced, and which was paid for at about $9.50 per cwt. In Kentucky it cost but $2, and the profit was immense. In consequence, the General appointed his friend Daniel Clark his agent here, returned by way of Charleston in a vessel, with a particular permission to go to the United States, even at the very moment of Gardoqui’s information; and, on his arrival in Kentucky, bought up all the produce he could collect, which he shipped and disposed of as before mentioned; and for some time all the trade for the Ohio was carried on in his name, a line from him sufficing to insure to the owner of the boat every privilege and protection he could desire.

On granting this privilege to Wilkinson, the Government came to a resolution of encouraging emigration from the Western country, and offered passports to all settlers, with an exemption of duty on all the property they might bring with them invested in the produce of the country they came from under the denomination of settlers. All those who had acquaintances with a few persons of influence in Orleans obtained passports, made shipments to their address, which were admitted free of duty, and, under pretence of following shortly after with their families, continued their speculations. Others came with their property, had lands granted them, which, after locating, they disposed of, and, having finished their business, returned to the United States. A few only remained in the province, and they were the people who, in general, availed themselves least of the immunities granted by the Government. They possessed a few slaves and cattle, but had little other property, and they generally settled among their countrymen in the Natchez, and increased the cultivation of tobacco, at that time the principal article raised for export in the district. This encouragement given to emigrants and speculators opened a market for the produce of the Ohio. Flour was imported from Pittsburg; and the farmers finding a vent for all they could raise, their lands augmented in value, their industry increased, and they exported annually to Louisiana, for some time past, from ten to fifteen thousand barrels of flour, for which they generally find a ready market. When the first adventurers began to purchase, flour was to be had for from eighteen to twenty shillings, Pennsylvania currency, per barrel, on the Monongahela, but was of a very bad quality, and was only made use of for biscuit, or in times of scarcity. It gradually improved, and in 1792 the best kind was supposed equal to that manufactured in Philadelphia; but, being put up negligently, does not keep so long, and for that reason alone is not so much esteemed as Philadelphia flour.

The Court of Spain, informed by its officers here of the steps they had taken, and the motives which had induced them, otherwise ignorant of the situation of affairs with respect to Kentucky, and consequently easily impressed with the ideas they wished to inculcate, not only approved of what they had done, but granted a further permission to all the inhabitants of the Western country to export their produce to Orleans, where it was admitted on paying fifteen per cent. duty. This increased the intercourse, as many who would not before adventure, while it was a matter of favor granted by the Governor, now entered into commercial speculations; and, from the Ohio, the province of Louisiana was not only supplied with a sufficient stock of flour, whiskey, and salted provisions, hemp, and, latterly, cordage, but a considerable quantity of some of them often was shipped from hence, as the produce of this province, to Havana and other Spanish ports; besides these articles, the produce of their lands, dry goods were secretly imported, and sold in the different ports along the river; and, although orders were given to the commandant of New Madrid, the first Spanish port below the mouth of the Ohio, to prevent such importations, and seize on all who transgressed these orders, it was easily avoided. Here the boats gave a manifest of their cargo, under which a passport was given; this was endorsed by the different commandants on the river as the boats passed; the owners might sell their cargoes where they pleased, and by the manifest which they were bound to deliver to the Government immediately on their arrival at New Orleans, their duties were calculated. These duties continued to be exacted at the rate of fifteen per cent. until after the arrival of the Baron de Carondelet, when, under the idea of facilitating certain political ideas of his own, he reduced them, on his own authority, to six per cent. This measure was highly disapproved of by Gardoqui, the Minister of Finance, who threatened to make him personally responsible for the difference, and ordered the duties to be placed on the former footing. The Baron, who was not easily diverted from a favorite measure, paid no attention to the Minister’s first orders; he represented a second time, and again received a more positive order than the first. Despairing of being able to gain his point with him, and determined not to abandon it, he addressed himself to the King, through the Minister of State. His plans were approved of, and the duty fixed at six per cent., at which rate it still subsists: and this is the duty exacted on every thing imported from any of the American settlements on the Ohio or Mississippi for sale in New Orleans. This duty is far from being burdensome to the importer, on account of the low rate of estimation, and the facility with which, by various means, a considerable part of it is always avoided. Flour is valued but at four dollars a barrel; first quality tobacco, three dollars per hundredweight; other quality, two dollars; whiskey, thirty-seven and a half cents per gallon; and salt provisions and all other articles at a reasonable rate, as may be seen in the tariff which accompanies this, according to which the duties are calculated, and which naturally fall on the consumer. By degrees the importation of flour from the Ohio has almost put a final stop to any from the Atlantic States, and we shortly expect that such quantities will be manufactured in the Western country, as to permit the merchant of Orleans to enter into competition with those of the Middle States at foreign markets. The quantity of different productions imported from the Ohio since the opening of that trade has varied considerably from year to year. In the beginning, tobacco was the principal export from Kentucky, and, at one period, from one thousand five hundred to two thousand hogsheads came down the Mississippi annually for three or four years; they, at the same time, exported a great quantity of butter, lard, and salt provisions. Within the last three years, the exportation of tobacco has considerably diminished, and flour seems to take its place. Hemp has likewise been imported from thence in considerable quantities; was formerly reshipped from hence to the Atlantic States, but what now comes is manufactured here. Cordage is likewise imported from Kentucky, where some rope-walks are set up; and, in future, it is to be presumed that little or no hemp will be exported from New Orleans: for the encouragement of the manufactory here, that article is exempt from duty on importation. In the year 1792, the King ceased purchasing the usual quantities of tobacco in Louisiana, which was formerly two millions of pounds, on account of some frauds in packing, and the general bad quality of the tobacco, as the planters, sure of having theirs received by the inspectors, on giving a small gratuity, made generally three cuttings, and put up every thing that ever looked like tobacco. This punishment was sensibly felt, as a great price was given for it, say nine dollars and a half per hundredweight. This culture ceased immediately on the eastern side of the Mississippi on this event taking place. The people of Natchez turned their attention to indigo, which they raised with success; but changed this branch for that of cotton, which now forms the staple article of their growth, and bids fair to be an object of the greatest importance; the crop of last year from that district is supposed to exceed three thousand bales, of two hundred and fifty pounds each, and the average price has been twenty cents per pound.

* * * * *

NATCHEZ, June 4, 1797.

SIR: As it is probable that this will reach you before my despatches of the 27th of last month, by way of New Orleans, I have enclosed duplicates.

About seven days ago, twenty-five Spanish soldiers arrived at this place, where they continued one night, and then proceeded up to the Walnut Hills. On the 28th of May, I received a letter from Governor Gayoso, No. 1, to which I replied on the 31st, No. 2. From Governor Gayoso’s letter, it appears that the Baron de Carondelet is not well satisfied with his conduct; they are at this time not on good terms, and the breach has been widened by the artful management of a certain Mr. Power, now at this place, who was last season intriguing in the State of Kentucky for the Spanish Government; he is particularly patronized by the Baron. The transactions which the Baron alludes to, I suspect, are the arrangements I made with Governor Gayoso, by which the troops of the United States were brought into this district with his consent and apparent approbation. The difficulty of getting them away is now obvious both to himself and the Baron, and as it was done without consulting the latter, he feels an inclination to condemn the conduct of the former.

It is now reported by the Spaniards that a Minister Plenipotentiary has been sent by the Court of Madrid to the United States to inform our Executive that the country and posts now held by His Catholic Majesty on the east side of the Mississippi, above the thirty-first degree of North latitude, are not to be given up until a general peace takes place in Europe, and that, from the uniform pacific disposition of the United States there can be no doubt of his success. This report is credited but by few.

The citizens of the United States, who are trading on the Mississippi, are frequently treated with great insolence at the Spanish posts, and their property taken for the use of His Catholic Majesty, when wanted, and always at a reduced price. About three weeks ago, a cargo of flour, consisting of between three and four hundred barrels, was taken at the Walnut Hills from a Mr. McCluny, of Washington County, in the State of Pennsylvania, against his will, to be paid for in New Orleans at such price as the officers of Government see proper to give, which is generally three dollars per barrel less than the current price in market. A few days ago Mr. Francis Baily, a citizen of the United States, who had lately come on here with some goods, had a tender of a commissary’s certificate payable at the treasury in New Orleans, which species of paper was passing at a discount of twelve per cent.; Mr. Baily declined taking the certificate as payment for the debt, and appealed to Governor Gayoso for redress, who immediately decreed that the tender was legal. These cases are not singular; they are particularized because both the gentlemen mentioned will be in Philadelphia in the course of a few weeks, and I expect will make a point of substantiating the facts--both cases being a violation of the late treaty between His Catholic Majesty and the United States.

From the jealous and suspicious disposition of the Spaniards, I do not think it possible that any treaty or compact can be lasting between that nation and our Western people, while the former have any possessions on the east side of the Mississippi.

Dr. Watrous is now here. He was on his way from Fort Hamilton, on furlough, to the State of Connecticut, but Captain Pope and myself prevailed upon him to stay with us, until we have some intelligence respecting our continuance in this country.

I am, sir, with great esteem and respect, your friend and humble servant,

ANDREW ELLICOTT.

Hon. SECRETARY OF STATE.

P. S.--At the moment I was folding this, the enclosed proclamation, No. 3, by the Baron de Carondelet, was put into my hands. The various and contradictory reasons assigned by the Spanish officers for their delay in carrying the late treaty into effect, are too obvious to need a comment.

A. E.

* * * * *

NATCHEZ, June 5, 1797.

SIR: I have this moment received private information that Mr. Power, who I have mentioned to you in my communication of yesterday, is, by order of the Baron de Carondelet, to proceed immediately through the wilderness, to the State of Kentucky. There is every reason to believe that his business is to forward the views of Spain, by detaching the citizens of Kentucky from the Union. It has been hinted to me that Mr. Power will, in the first instance, pay a visit to General Wilkinson, who, we are informed, is now in Cincinnati.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

ANDREW ELLICOTT.

Hon. SECRETARY OF STATE.

* * * * *

DARLING’S CREEK, November 8, 1798.

SIR: On the 10th of last month, having opened the boundary between the United States and His Catholic Majesty, from the Mississippi River to the thin pine country, we ceased carrying the line on in that accurate scientific manner in which it was begun, and from the end of the line, designated in the report which accompanies this, the work will generally be done with a common surveying compass, and corrected at the different navigable water-courses which it may happen to cross.

The line mentioned in the report is opened sixty feet wide, and passes through a country impenetrable to any but Americans. The labor has been equal to what would in our country have opened at least one hundred miles. The business, it is evident, will not go on with that rapidity we could wish; nothing, however, will be wanting on our part, and I think it will be completed the ensuing season. Governor Gayoso has evidently been brought into a co-operation very reluctantly, and certainly has no desire of having it pushed. Mr. Power, a gentleman well known for his intrigues in Kentucky and other parts of the United States, is the surveyor on the part of the Crown of Spain; he has attended but one week on the line, and I do not believe that he will attend another, during the execution of the work. He has, however, employed a deputy, who is Mr. Daniel Burnet, the same person who carried Mr. Hutchins’s papers to Congress last winter; he has yet behaved very well. The others employed, Major Minor excepted, are of little consequence, except to disorganize and talk politics. The acting commissary is a Mr. Gensack; he was taken by the British at the Cape, and carried to Jamaica, from whence he made his escape to the United States, where he found safety, but, in the true character of his nation, he equally hates both Americans and British: he is sullen, reserved, and intriguing. There are no Spaniards concerned in the business, and but a few of the common soldiers. Major Minor and Mr. Burnet are Americans; the others, including the laborers, are generally French, or descended from French ancestors, or Roman Catholic Irish. When I look over this strange heterogeneous collection, I cannot help asking this question: “Can the Spaniards really be serious in carrying the treaty into effect?” If they are, it is very extraordinary that there is not one of that nation employed above the rank of a common soldier.

I have always been of opinion that it was a happy circumstance for both countries that Major Minor was appointed Commissioner on behalf of the Crown of Spain; his prudence and sound judgment will, in all probability, enable us to carry the work through, which I am confident would not have been the case, had Mr. Power been appointed to that trust, as was proposed by Governor Gayoso, and to which I pointedly objected, as did Mr. Dunbar also.

If our surveyor had been a man of prudence and talents, our difficulties would have been much less; but his want of information, extreme pride and ungovernable temper, constantly furnish the opposite party with weapons. He has insinuated that the work is erroneous, and that Major Minor and myself have combined to injure both Governments, and wantonly lavish away public money. He himself has been the only idle person on the side of the United States; his whole attendance on the line as surveyor would not exceed one week. His insinuations, I am confident, would have but little weight with the people of the United States, but the case is very different with the Spaniards, naturally jealous, and uninformed in science, particularly so far as it relates to astronomical operations.

On Friday, the 12th of last month, General Wilkinson arrived at our camp, and continued with us until Sunday, the 14th. We had much conversation on the state and situation of the country; his ideas respecting both appeared very correct so far as I was able to determine. He informed me that he had seen some of Mr. Freeman’s correspondence with Captain Guion, which, in his opinion, came fully within the meaning of the late sedition law; and recommended, in the most serious manner, that he should be immediately suspended from his employment on the line. This, added to the opinion of Governor Sargent, (who spent a number of days at our camp,) Colonel Bruin, and many other respectable gentlemen, determined me in taking that measure. The surveying at present is done by Mr. Gillespie, the chain-carrying by Mr. Ellicott and Mr. Walker. General Wilkinson has removed Mr. McClary from the command of my escort; his conduct was far less exceptionable than that of Mr. Freeman, and when he did err it was generally the effect of bad advice.

Mr. Freeman left our camp on the 30th September, at the very time we were changing our system of carrying on the work, and in which the compass only is used, without giving me any notice of his departure, that arrangements might be made to meet the want of a surveyor. He was absent until the evening of the 17th ultimo, and on the morning of the 18th he was furnished with a note of suspension. He has constantly conducted himself in that same independent way.

The reference, No. 9, which was in cipher, in my communication of the 14th of November last, contained an account of an extraordinary plan; but that plan, in my opinion, is now given over, and the knowledge obtained of the country, its strength, and the disposition of the inhabitants, will be turned to the advantage of the United States by some of the principal characters concerned. It is the best they can now do. That the plan is given over may be collected from No. 1, which for particular reasons is in cipher, and ought to be secret. It cannot be considered as a literal translation, which you will see by the introduction, but it conveys accurately the ideas contained in the letter from which it is extracted.

The plan of Baron de Carondelet, mentioned in my communication of 27th of June last year, was correct as there stated; the particulars I have since obtained, and will be detailed to you by a gentleman, in the course of a few months, who was in the secret of the whole business. That you may not be at a loss when that gentleman calls upon you, he will have a letter of introduction from me, with an official communication, and a number of questions in the same cipher with reference to No. 1. His answers to those questions will convince you that my information has constantly been correct.

I shall leave this place (where I have only halted to draw up this communication) to-morrow, and proceed to the Pearl River, where the guide line will be corrected. I shall then proceed down the river to Lake Maurepas, from thence into Lake Pontchartrain and to New Orleans, where I expect to arrive about the 1st of January next. From New Orleans I shall follow the coast to Mobile, and again correct the guide line as run by the surveyors. From Mobile I shall follow the coast to Pensacola; I shall pursue the coast to the Chatetucka, and ascend the river to the guide line; as soon as that is corrected, I shall proceed to the mouth of Flint River and from thence to St. Mary’s.

You will easily perceive that my design in following the coast is to obtain an accurate knowledge of its situation, the navigation of the different rivers we shall have to ascend, and to correct the geographical positions where it may be necessary. My map of the Mississippi, corrected by a great number of observations, is now made out in the rough, and ready for copying.

The astronomical observations which I have made since I left Philadelphia, will make a large and not uninteresting publication.

Our business now goes on with the greatest harmony. That part near the coast, in which, as an American and friend to my country, I feel myself the most interested, will be nearly completed before Mr. Freeman can join us, if the President should disapprove of the measures which have been taken with him; and in that case I must request the favor of being permitted to return home. All that his friend General Mathews, Colonel Pannell, and a few others, can say of him, must be negative evidence; they may say what he has done; but what they say he has done in forwarding our business must be from his own report. They have not been visitors at our camp, where the only information founded upon facts could be had. He has not made a single observation since we came into this country, though he endeavored, after my course at the beginning of the line was furnished, one whole week without success. He is, nevertheless, by General Mathews and Colonel Pannell, declared not inferior to Newton! This is not strange; they may possibly have less scientific knowledge than he has, and the solemn air and dictatorial manner of a professional schoolmaster may have contributed much to establish his character with them. His abuse of me I disregarded, till his caballing got into the camp; the consequences then became more serious, and the measure which I took was founded upon the best of motives--the service of my country, and I have but one, added to a natural desire to live in peace with all mankind. I have but few observations to add to the depositions respecting his conduct which are forwarded with this. Mr. Robins, one of the deponents, is superintendent of the laborers, and always with them. Mr. Collins, another of the deponents, is as worthy a man as any in the United States, and assistant to Mr. Anderson; he constantly resides in the laborers’ camp. Mr. Lindsey likewise resides in the camp; he is a gentleman of veracity, and agent for the contractor. These gentlemen have been with us from the commencement of the business to the present time, and perfectly acquainted with the conduct of Mr. Freeman, and superior to his art, which he frequently exerted with them in vain. Similar depositions to those forwarded might be obtained from the gentlemen of the Spanish camp, but it appeared to me improper. You will see I have omitted taking those of Mr. Gillespie and the chain-bearers; it might be said they were interested. And, as Mr. Anderson has been equally abused with myself, on that account his has not been taken. You will see by the depositions that I rise early: it is generally before the break of day; from that time until dark I rarely sit down one hour; after candle-light I am generally engaged until 10 o’clock in writing and arranging my observations.

I hope the citizens of the United States begin by this time to be weaned from their attachment to the French nation. For my part I have experienced so much want of principle and integrity among them, and their partisans in this country, both individually and collectively, that my prejudices against the whole nation are so strong, that it is with difficulty I can guard my expressions so as not to give offence.

The arrival of General Wilkinson has created considerable alarm in the Spanish colonies below, and Governor Gayoso has directed that the militia within his Government he immediately armed. The fears and jealousies of the Spanish nation will certainly, in the course of a few years, occasion the loss of all the country on this side of the Mississippi, to the Crown of Spain.

The whole of my correspondence on various subjects, since my communication of the 29th of July last, would make a large volume, and as there is but little of it immediately interesting to the United States, I shall only refer you to Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5.

I am sensible you will perceive a great want of arrangement in this communication; but at the same time I am equally so that you will excuse it, when I assure you that the whole packet, except Mr. Clark’s letters and the correspondence with Governor Gayoso, is the work only of two nights and one day, and that in the woods, without any other table than a small instrument box, the weather cold and windy, and all my young men who used to aid me in copying many miles ahead on the line.

I am sorry that the report mentioned in the beginning of this is not forwarded; my part has been done some time, but the Spanish part is not yet ready, owing to the absence of Mr. Power. I shall write to you again from New Orleans. In the mean time, believe me to be, &c.

ANDREW ELLICOTT.

Hon. SECRETARY OF STATE.

P. S. Daniel Clark, Esq., of New Orleans, has lately spent a number of days with me in my camp; from him I have received much valuable information, which it will be unnecessary for me to detail, as he will give it to you himself in Philadelphia the ensuing winter. He intends to visit that city immediately after our interview in New Orleans.

There is not a gentleman of literature or science, and scarcely one of respectability in this country, with whom I have not been upon the most intimate footing ever since I came into it; and every attack that has been made upon me has arisen either from envy or misconception, to which I should never have paid any attention had the principles of opposition not entered our camp, and begun to embarrass our business.

A. E.

* * * * *

[Communicated to the House, February 4, 1804.]

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In my Message of January 20th, I stated that some papers forwarded by Mr. Daniel Clark of New Orleans to the Secretary of State, in 1803, had not then been found in the office of State, and that a letter had been addressed to the former chief Clerk, in the hope that he might advise where they should be sought for. By indications received from him they are now found. Among them, are two letters from the Baron de Carondelet, to an officer serving under him at a separate post, in which his views of a dismemberment of our Union are expressed. Extracts of so much of these letters as are within the scope of the resolution of the House are now communicated. With these were found the letters written by Mr. Clark to the Secretary of State, in 1803. A part of one only of these relates to this subject, and is extracted and enclosed for the information of the House. In no part of the papers communicated by Mr. Clark, which are voluminous, and in different languages, nor in his letters, have we found any intimation of the corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States from any foreign agent. As to the combinations with foreign agents for dismembering the Union, these papers and letters offer nothing which was not probably known to my predecessors, or which could call anew for inquiries, which they had not thought necessary to institute, when the facts were recent, and could be better proved. They probably believed it best to let pass into oblivion transactions which, however culpable, had commenced before this Government existed, and had been finally extinguished by the Treaty of 1795.

TH. JEFFERSON.

FEBRUARY 4, 1808.

Extract of a letter from the Baron de Carondelet, dated

NEW ORLEANS, July 10, 1796.

I suppose, sir, that you are now at the Bluffs, and in possession of a command which requires firmness, vigilance, conciliation, and prudence, as well with regard to the savages as to the Americans; for the evacuation of that important post is not yet so certain as not to admit of doubt, at least so long as the savages remain attached to us. Besides, it is proper to keep in view that the neighboring States, that is to say, Kentucky and Tennessee, are interested that it should remain in our power, for political reasons which cannot be trusted to paper. You must, of consequence, keep them in those sentiments, by treating their inhabitants, to whom the liberty of the navigation is granted, with kindness and regard. Let the friendship of the Chickasaws and the satisfaction of the Americans who navigate the river, be the basis of your conduct; as for the rest, I have not yet received any official news from the Court concerning the treaty, which we know nothing of but through the American gazettes.

All the appearances of an approaching peace in Europe have vanished; but it is probable that we shall not have war with the English. Fourteen French ships of the line, with ten thousand men, are actually to take possession of the Spanish port of St. Domingo; and France and Spain appear more united than ever. The Spanish inhabitants have lost their slaves.

Extract of a letter from the Baron de Carondelet, dated

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 12, 1796.

In answer, sir, to your private letter of the 10th of last month, I will acknowledge to you that I was under the belief that the Fort of St. Ferdinand was badly constructed, but not to the degree that you point out to me. You must, however, without augmenting the expenses which its evacuation would render useless, put it in a state to maintain yourself there until I receive new instructions from the Court. Should the Court think proper, as may very well happen, not to evacuate our posts on the Mississippi, I will despatch a courier to you in all haste, that you may change the situation of the fort, which ought to be done with all diligence, and so as that it be again sufficiently intrenched to prevent its being surprised or attacked before it is in a state of defence; for this purpose I will send immediate and secret orders to New Madrid and to St. Genevieve, that carpenters, masons, &c., should instantly be sent to you, and you may also count on a reinforcement of troops, which I will send to you by the galley Philapa, which I am causing to be rebuilt without noise; all these dispositions, I repeat to you, ought to be prompt and secret. I expect the answer of the Court in ----.

If His Majesty, on the contrary, should persist in it that the evacuation of the forts must take place, it will be done in the most simple mode, towards the commencement of January. In the mean time you must prepare the minds of the Chickasaws, and of the inhabitants of Kentucky and Tennessee, for one or the other of these events. You ought to make the latter understand that their natural interest leading them to separate at some day (un jour) from the Atlantic States, the occupation of our posts on the Mississippi by the troops of the latter could not but be disastrous to them, since they would cut off all communication between them and us, from whom alone they could, in that case, hope to receive assistance.

Extract of a letter from Daniel Clark to the Secretary of State, dated

NEW ORLEANS, March 8, 1803.

As a proof that expectations of assistance from ourselves against our own Government have been always relied on by the Spaniards, and that they have constantly looked to a division of our Western States from the General Government, I now forward you an order to receive from Washington Morton, Esq., of New York, a sealed packet which I left in his possession when I set out for Europe, and which I then mentioned I would show you at my return, not thinking, at that time, that circumstances would occur so soon as to render the disclosure a measure of immediate necessity. Among other papers of less importance in this packet, is a small part of the correspondence of the Baron de Carondelet with the officer commanding Fort St. Ferdinand, at the Chickasaw Bluffs, in which he suffers his plans and views to be clearly perceived, and which were solely aimed at our destruction; the remainder are, as well as I recollect, copies of talks and letters to and from the Chickasaw Indians; and, by the Baron de Carondelet’s letter to the officer, you will perceive that the fact I advised you respecting the annual pension of five hundred dollars to Uguluycabé cannot be disputed.

Should you think these documents of sufficient importance to require my presence in Washington to elucidate any part of them, I shall immediately sacrifice all private business of my own, and hasten there; and, in the mean time, will endeavor to collect, from undoubted sources, such other information relative to this subject as may be acceptable.

Although for four or five years past I had a perfect conviction that the intrigues of the Spaniards with the Western country were not for the time dangerous, on account of the incapacity of the Governors of this province, and their want of pecuniary means, yet, fearful of what might happen in future, should more enlightened and ambitious chiefs preside over it, I could not last year resist the temptation of hinting my suspicions of what had been formerly done in this way to the President at an interview with which he honored me, and I even went so far as to assert that a person supposed to be an agent from the State of Kentucky had been here in the end of 1795 and beginning of 1796, to negotiate on the part of that State, independent of the General Government, for the navigation of the Mississippi, before the result of the Treaty of St. Lorenzo was known, wishing that this hint might induce the President, to cause inquiry to be made into the circumstance, which he could easily find the means of investigating; but as he made no other inquiry of me respecting it than merely in what year the thing happened, it struck me that he must have had other information on the subject, and that he thought it needless to hear any thing more about it. By great accident I have lately learned something which induces me to suppose that any information he may have received respecting the measure alluded to has been incorrect, and given with the view of misleading him, and I request you will mention the subject anew to him, that you may know how far I am right in my suspicions. The information I possessed on the subject, could not, from the way in which it was obtained, be accompanied with what would be proof to convict the person concerned, or I should have openly accused him in the face of the world; but to me it amounts to a moral certainty of his guilt, and my conduct to him showed, on all occasions, how much I detested his object and his person. The same want of proof positive, sufficient to convict him, prevents me at present from naming him; but if inquiry is diligently made about the influential character from Kentucky, who at that period was so long in Natchez, and afterwards here, what his business was, and what was the idea entertained of him, enough will doubtless be discovered to put our Government on its guard against him and others of his stamp, and against all foreign machinations in that quarter in future.

Communicated to the House, April 25, 1808, by Daniel Clark.

Pursuant to the resolution of the House, calling on me for testimony relative to General Wilkinson’s receipt of money from the Spaniards, I now lay before it some original papers, corroborating the statement which I have already given:

No. 1. The first is the translation of a letter, in Spanish, from Thomas Power to D. Thomas Portell, dated at New Madrid, June 27, 1796, and containing the reasons why it was proper for Portell to deliver to Power, without an order in writing from General Wilkinson, a sum of money which had been placed for that purpose in Portell’s hands by the Spanish Government of New Orleans. The original letter is subjoined in the handwriting of Mr. Power, with which I am acquainted.

This letter explains the deposition of Derbigny, and also makes mention of the letter in cipher from General Wilkinson to Gayoso, then Governor of Natchez, of which a translation, in the handwriting of Gayoso, has heretofore been laid before the House. It may be proper to add that I am well acquainted with the handwriting of Gayoso, in which the translation is written, and that he has been dead more than eight years.

No. 2. A translation of Portell’s answer to the foregoing, dated Madrid, on the same day, June 27, 1796. The original is subjoined in the handwriting of Portell, with which I am acquainted.

The object of this correspondence seems to have been to furnish to Portell the means of explaining to his superiors his motives for delivering the money without a written order.

Nos. 3 and 4 are two original papers in the handwriting of Philip Nolan, with which I am well acquainted. Nolan was the confidential agent of Gen. Wilkinson in 1796, and has been dead several years.

These two papers are stated by Mr. Power to be secret instructions given to him by General Wilkinson, after the latter received money from Portell, mentioned in Nos. 1 and 2. The instructions, according to Mr. Power’s statement, were given in the handwriting of Nolan, as a measure of precaution against the danger of detection. The six hundred and forty dollars, of which they make mention, are stated by Mr. Power to be a part of the sum received, for Wilkinson, of Portell, which Power, after his arrival in Kentucky, was obliged to use for the expenses of his journey.

No. 5. Is the translation of a letter to the Baron de Carondelet from Mr. Power, dated at New Orleans, May 9, 1797, after his return from Kentucky. The original letter in Spanish is subjoined. It is in Mr. Power’s handwriting, with which I am acquainted. It explains the affair of the six hundred and forty dollars, mentioned in the secret instructions, Nos. 3 and 4, and refers to and quotes those instructions as the instructions of General Wilkinson.

No. 6. Is the translation of the Baron de Carondelet’s answer to this letter. The answer is in Spanish, and in the handwriting of Don Andres Armesto, Secretary to the Government, which I know. It is signed by the Baron de Carondelet, with whose signature I am acquainted.

DANIEL CLARK.

No. 1.

Translation of a letter from Thomas Power to Don Thomas Portell, Commandant of New Madrid, dated

NEW MADRID, June 26, 1797.

Having received verbal instructions from Mr. James Wilkinson, the American General, to take charge of the money, which, by a letter, he received from the Secretary of the Government, Don Andres Armesto, under date of 7th or 8th of March last, of which I was bearer, he has advice, is deposited in this post, and being informed by the official letter which you have received on this business from the Governor General of the Province, of which you will be pleased to furnish me a copy, that said money is not to be delivered without an express order from the said Mr. Wilkinson, I find myself forced to relate circumstantially some particulars to smooth and remove the difficulty which the want of a written order on the part of the aforesaid General Wilkinson presents. Although this relation may appear an abuse of the confidence with which the Governor General of the Province and the Governor of Natchez, and particularly General Wilkinson, have honored me, I am persuaded that the urgency of the case which offers will serve me as an excuse and justification.

You are not ignorant of the fact, that Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos being here in the month of September, of the year last past, he intrusted to me some despatches of the greatest importance for General Wilkinson, which I carried to Cincinnati, and I returned with the answers in the month of November. By order of the said Don Manuel Gayoso, I made immediately another journey to the Ohio, and I ascended it to Red Bank in search of Sebastian, who came with me to the mouth of the Ohio, where we met with the Governor of Natchez. At the end of December, I accompanied this gentleman to Natchez, and I went thence to New Orleans.

The principal object of my going down was to take charge, by order of General Wilkinson, of the money which you have now in deposit for him, which is shown by the letters which he wrote to the governors of this province and of Natchez; but, at my arrival, the money had been already sent off in one of His Majesty’s galleys, for this place, which I learned from the Baron de Carondelet, the Intendant, and Don Andres de Armesto. I repeatedly treated on this business with the two last of these persons, urging forcibly the necessity of sending sugar, coffee, and powder, to New Madrid, to form a cargo to take to Kentucky with Wilkinson’s money, hiding, by this means, the true intention of the voyage, and giving it the appearance of a commercial speculation. All this Wilkinson had before represented as indispensable for many reasons, particularly in order to avoid a misfortune similar to that which had already occurred. At last the Secretary told me that the barge in which Mr. Aaron Gregg, the American officer, was to go up, was destined for this service, and that as for the crew, he would permit me to choose among the Creoles, residents in this post, those who might appear to me most worthy of confidence, so that I left New Orleans with the belief that at my return to this post I should find every thing disposed conformable to what I have just related. On arrival at Greenville, informed General Wilkinson of the steps which had no doubt had been taken, from whence has resulted, that he, like myself, was impressed with the belief that all the measures for executing this service with success had been taken. I cannot communicate all the motives why Wilkinson has not given me an order in writing; but one of them was, that he did not know the sum of money which you had to deliver to his order, the Governors not having written a word to him on the subject, the Secretary only saying that his money was deposited in New Madrid, without expressing the sum. In the letters in cipher, from General Wilkinson for the governors, which are here enclosed, he tells them that he has sent me to bring the aforesaid money, informing you that the No. 1 is for the Governor General of the Province, and the No. 2 for Don Manuel Gayoso. I will add that General Wilkinson, when I represented to him that on presenting myself without his order in writing, some difficulty might arise, authorized me, if the case required it, to write an order that you should deliver his money, specifying the sum there might be, signing it in his name, and giving you a receipt therefor. I cannot omit that the commission of General Wilkinson was so sudden, so urgent, that it was extended even to limiting my return to my destination by the first of August, of which I advise you that you may endeavor not to delay the service. I believe that the Governor General is not ignorant of the embarrassments of General Wilkinson, nor can he be ignorant that, for a long time past, he has been expecting this money, the delay of which has been the cause of much trouble to him, involving him in great difficulties; and I can assure you, confidently, that he will be very much disgusted with any delays in the expedition, which might be productive of serious injury. As for the mode of carrying the money, it is evident that to take it openly would be too scandalous a thing, if I were not to say that it would be madness. The unhappy result of the expedition of the unfortunate Henry Owen ought to serve as a beacon in order not to lose ourselves on the same rock, and to make us take another course less dangerous. I would wish you to put a bag of one thousand dollars in a barrel of coffee or sugar, so that although the difference of the respective gravity, between silver, sugar, and coffee be very great, the quantity being so small, it will not be easily known. It will likewise be prudent to carry some barrels without money in order to sell them before arriving at Cincinnati, if it should so happen that any one should offer to buy these goods, because not to sell them when it might be done to advantage would excite suspicion; and to complete the disguise it would be well to take a certain quantity of powder and rum. If these dispositions should appear defective, I beg you to make such changes as may be to your mind. God preserve you many years.

No. 2.

Translation of a letter from Don Thomas Portell to Mr. Thomas Power, dated

NEW MADRID, June 29, 1796.

Having well considered the contents of your letter of this day, I mention that I agree in every thing to the whole of the reflections you place before me; although at first sight it appears that I ought to wait the decision of the Governor General, as he prescribes to me in his official letter of the 20th of January of the present year, and of which I enclose you a copy, which you request of me. The circumstances which you expose are such, that they leave me nothing more to do than to tell you to forward me a memorandum of the number of pounds of coffee, sugar, barrels in which to fill the powder and rum you desire for your expedition, because, as soon as I receive it, I will get it ready as you desire, informing you that for the merchandise you must sign me an acknowledgment of having received it, and for the money a receipt as attorney of General Wilkinson.

In order that the barge may be ready, and as you may want it, I have written an official letter to the Lieutenant-colonel Vincente Folch, that he may send it as soon as possible, because as nothing was said to me of what you have now mentioned respecting it, Mr. Francis Langlois asked it of me for an affair of service, and took it loaded with corn to the Fort of San Fernando, and it has not been returned, although I have required it, thinking it might be wanted here; Don Vincente Folch having answered me, that if I had not orders to keep it, there were none to return it.

The two letters in cipher remain in my hands, which I shall forward by the first safe opportunity, with the distinction you point out, No. 1 to the Governor General, and No. 2 to the Governor of Natchez.

As for packing the money and arranging the barrels, as soon as they are ready, between you and myself, all this may be done without any one else acquiring a knowledge of it. God preserve you many years.

No. 3.

Instructions from Gen. Wilkinson to Thomas Power.

To proceed to Galliopolis: to make application and propositions to the leading characters there to induce them to move to New Madrid, with all the French of that settlement; to urge this point in such measure as to attract the attention of the public officers there, whose report to the Executive will immediately follow, and will account for his frequent missions to that place: to return as rapidly as possible; to load with flour and proceed without a moment’s delay to New Orleans; in the route to see Newman, and to enter on the subject of his desertion; to inform him of the facts which have transpired, and the opinions prevalent; to urge his return, as the request of all his friends; to assure him of safety, and of such reward as he may demand; also that being pardoned for the imputed offence, no further process can lie against him for the same; that the oath which he was suborned to take, being made while in duress, is in itself a nullity, and cannot be offered in crimation of him; it will be necessary that he should take down his examination, founded on the interrogations furnished him; and if they prove material to the crimination of Wane and his associates, then he must embark N----n under a fictitious name at New Orleans for Philadelphia; and having arrived there, must lodge him in some retired place, and call upon me, under cover of the night, for further advice. You will hear of me at ----. If N----n cannot be prevailed upon to return under dispositions favorable to my views, then let his declaration on oath be circumstantially taken to all the points enumerated in the interrogations, in the presence of Dr. Flowers, Colonel Bruin, Daniel Clark, or any three or four of the most notorious, and of the most respectable Americans of the Natchez district. Let these gentlemen certify to two copies, and to the original, and let them be transmitted to me through different channels. P. to take charge of the original. Mr. P. must take with him credentials from the Government of Louisiana, acquitting him of any political connection or agency injurious or hostile to the interests of the United States. He must carry to Philadelphia testimonials of his family and character, addressed to as many of the native respectable merchants of that city as possible: these may be readily procured from New Orleans and the Havana.

It is indispensable that P. should meet me in Philadelphia; for the rest let him rely on my friendship and address. To collect from Bradford every information respecting the Pittsburg insurrection, which may be employed, should it be found necessary, to disgrace certain persons: to bear no paper about him which carries my name upon it.

No. 4.

Employ the six hundred and forty dollars, avec le cargaison, to pay expenses and lay in a cargo of best flour pour la ville, where it will help to reimburse. In making your settlement, take care to secure me the six hundred and forty dollars advanced, and bring them with you. I have urged peremptorily the necessity of your presence at the metropolis. Bring me N----n, if, upon examination, you find his presence of more consequence than his deposition, when taken as directed. I believe he was caused to desert by O’Hara: probe him to that point. You are to bring me papers, but my name is not to be written or spoken. You must do the needful below to detect and expose past treachery or indiscretion, and to prevent either in future. I have referred particularly on this head. I shall expect you impatiently. Should I continue where I am I shall wish you near me. If I cross the water, you are to accompany: bring every credential of family and fortune to repulse the insinuations of ----. Trust something to my address, and put faith in my honor and affections to the grave.

No. 5.

Letter from Thomas Power to the Baron de Carondelet, dated

NEW ORLEANS, May 9, 1797.

Enclosed your Excellency will receive the documents relative to my last confidential expedition, made by your Excellency’s order, on the Ohio, of which I have already given you a narrative, as well verbal as in writing. The remarks which follow will serve for its elucidation.

I left New Madrid with ten oarsmen and a patron; the provisions which were delivered to the crew were, biscuit for a month; meat for a month; rum for fifteen days.

To disguise, as far as possible, the true object of the expedition, we had hired the people under the same conditions as are common in commercial voyages, so that the monthly rations allowed by the King did not even last fifteen days. The reason why I issued to the crew two extraordinary allowances of liquor daily, counting from the day we left Red Bank until our arrival at the falls of Ohio, was to encourage them to row with vigor, that Lieutenant Steel, whom I thought in pursuit of me, might not again take me, because, had I fallen into his hands a second time, I was lost. As respects the one hundred and fifty dollars, for the horse which I bought to make the journey from Frankfort to Cincinnati, and the expenses which accrued on this journey, they were indispensable for a double motive: to carry my complaint against Steel, for having offered so great an insult to our flag, and to give advice of my arrival to the American General, Mr. James Wilkinson, that he might take the necessary measures. I have to add that, the motive which has induced me to dispose of the merchandise which I received of J. and A. Hunt, in exchange for the coffee and sugar, was to give credit to the opinion which I myself had raised, that I had come to purchase horses to take to Natchez, in order to better the breed in that district. Besides this, as the occurrence with Steel had awakened suspicions, excited apprehensions, and attracted the attention of the inhabitants of the Western country, all had their eyes directed on me, so that I found myself obliged to do something which should please them, that it might serve me as a safe conduct to quit those parts, which by the this means I happily effected. The mare, of which statement No. 1 makes mention, was lost on my arrival at New Madrid in the woods, where she died of thirst, the excessive frosts having entirely frozen up the waters. The stud-horse I delivered on going down to Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, but he returned him to me a short time since, and I have him carefully kept until your Excellency is pleased to make some disposition respecting him. Of the sum of $9,640, which I was to deliver to Mr. James Wilkinson, I have only delivered him nine thousand, having retained the six hundred and forty dollars to avoid the unfortunate result with which I was threatened, and likewise to provide what was necessary for the crew during the voyage. The following are the documents which are enclosed:

No. 1. The account sale of the merchandise, laden, &c.

No. 2. Account of the expenses for the crew.

No. 3. Account and expenditure of the six hundred and forty dollars.

No. 4. Statement which shows in what manner the merchandise has been made use of.

No. 5. Statement which shows what is due to me.

No. 6. Invoice of J. and A. Hunt.

All which are accompanied with the obligation of Mr. N. Welch for one hundred and five dollars, and the two receipts of Mr. Boyd, the one for four hundred and sixty-six dollars and two-thirds, for the value of a horse; the other for two hundred dollars, for the value of a mare. The balance which appears in my favor, according to the statements Nos. 3 and 4, as well as the account of my monthly pay for fourteen months, I beg your Excellency will be pleased to direct that it should be remitted to me, or delivered to Mr. Philip Nolan, to whom I have given advice on the subject.

Mr. James Wilkinson, in the instructions which he has given me, directs that I should present to your Excellency the account of the expenses to which the six hundred and forty dollars have been applied, (and I have done so in the statement No. 3,) that he may be reimbursed said amount. The instruction says, “in making your settlement take care to secure me the six hundred and forty dollars advanced, and bring them with you.” Although he charged me to take them to him to the United States, I am of opinion that no one is better suited to remit them than Mr. Philip Nolan, as your Excellency has now resolved that I should remain in this province; your Excellency will please to suffer me to assure you that in every particular I have acted with prudence, with honor, and the disinterestedness of an honest man, as well as with the zeal and fidelity which the King’s service requires, and with the vigilance and activity, [here there is a line unintelligible.] I deserve nothing and expect nothing for having fulfilled the obligations of a good subject to His Majesty, unless your Excellency will be pleased to procure me opportunities of displaying the inclination I feel of sacrificing myself for the prosperity of my country and glory of my Sovereign.

God preserve your Excellency many years.

THOMAS POWER.

No. 6.

Answer to the foregoing, dated

NEW ORLEANS, May 28, 1797.

There remain in my hands the six documents relative to the account of the last expedition which you made on the Ohio, and which you enclosed to me in your official letter of the 9th instant, and they are as follows:

No. 1. Account sales of the effects laden at New Madrid.

No. 2. Another of the expenses of the crew.

No. 3. Account of the expenditure of the six hundred and forty dollars.

No. 4. Statement which shows how the merchandise has been employed.

No. 5. Statement which shows the balances due to you, &c.

No. 6. Original invoice of J. & A. Hunt.

On account of it there will be delivered to you one thousand dollars, that you may make preparations for your journey in the new commission which I intrust to your care.

It is necessary to see how you can get rid of the horse with the least possible loss, as well as to recover the debt of Nicholas Welch, or have it recovered, for which purpose I enclose you his obligation; and likewise the proceeds of the merchandise, which, to the amount of three hundred and fifty-three dollars, you delivered to Don Pedro Derbigny, in order to give an account to the Court without these balances, which cause trouble and appear speculations, when they are no more than the effect of necessity, and the difficulty which these commissions cause in places where there are no resources, when you have to deceive the vigilance of spies.

As you finish these matters, and as soon as your present commission is fulfilled, you will give me advice.

God preserve you many years.

BARON DE CARONDELET.

To THOMAS POWER.

THURSDAY, January 28.

Mr. SOUTHARD, one of the members for the State of New Jersey, informed the House of the death of his colleague, Mr. EZRA DARBY, late one of the members of this House: Whereupon, the House came to the following resolutions:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to take order for superintending the funeral of EZRA DARBY, Esq., late a Representative from the State of New Jersey.

Resolved, unanimously, That the members of this House will testify their respect for the memory of EZRA DARBY, Esq., late one of their body, by wearing crape on the left arm for one month.

Resolved, unanimously, That the members of this House will attend the funeral of EZRA DARBY, Esq., on to-morrow at twelve o’clock.

Resolved, unanimously, That a message be sent to the Senate, to notify them of the death of EZRA DARBY, late a member of this House, and that his funeral will take place on to-morrow, at twelve o’clock; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.

Ordered, That Mr. SOUTHARD, Mr. MASTERS, Mr. PORTER, Mr. HELMS, Mr. NEWBOLD, and Mr. LAMBERT, be appointed a committee, pursuant to the first resolution.

SATURDAY, January 30.

Removal of Federal Judges on the Address of Congress.

Mr. G. W. CAMPBELL.--It has always been my opinion that in a free Government like ours, every department ought to be responsible for its conduct. The Constitution of the United States was evidently framed on this principle, and the preservation and security of the rights and liberties of the citizens and the due execution of the laws will be found to rest, in a great degree, on rendering public agents sufficiently and practically responsible for their conduct to the nation. That this is not the case with the Judiciary of the United States has been proved by experience. Your judges once appointed are independent of the Executive, the Legislature, and the people, and may be said to hold their offices for life. They are removable only on conviction by impeachment of high crimes and misdemeanors, and this mode of proceeding has been found in practice totally inefficient, and not to answer the purpose for which it was intended--that of rendering your judges duly responsible for their conduct. They may therefore be considered as independent of the rest of the nation, (and they seem to think so themselves,) as if this provision in the constitution, relative to impeachment, did not exist. No matter how erroneous their opinions--how dangerous to the public weal--how subversive of the interest of the people--how directly opposed to the laws of your country; yet, as it is neither a high crime nor misdemeanor to hold erroneous opinions, which they seem conscientiously to believe, they cannot be removed by impeachment--they are independent of the rest of the nation.

This subject has attracted the attention of the people in most of the States. The Legislatures of several States have passed resolutions declaring the necessity of amending the Federal Constitution, so as to render the judges, in practice as well as in theory, responsible for their conduct. The most numerous branch of the Legislature of the State which I have the honor to represent in part, have declared their opinion in favor of such amendment. In order, therefore, to bring this subject before the House, that the sense of the National Legislature may be ascertained thereon, I submit the following resolution:

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring therein, That the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, which, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the said States, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said constitution: The Judges of both the Supreme and Superior Courts of the United States shall, after the ---- day of ----, be removed from office by the President of the United States, on the joint address of both Houses of Congress requesting the same, three-fifths of each House concurring in such address.

This resolution was referred to a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

MONDAY, February 1.

Another member, to wit, GEORGE CLINTON, junior, from New York, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

MONDAY, February 22.

Captain Pike.

Mr. J. MONTGOMERY observed, that to Captains Lewis and Clarke, who had explored the Western country, a compensation had been made; he held in his hand a similar resolution for remunerating Captain Pike for the important services he had rendered on an almost similar expedition, which he proposed, as follows:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire what compensation ought to be made to Captain Pike and his companions for their services in exploring the Mississippi River, and in their late expedition to the sources of the Osage, Arkansas, and La Platte Rivers, together with their tour through New Spain; and that they have leave to report by bill or otherwise.

Mr. MARION objected to the phraseology of the resolution, as sanctioning a general principle, to which he was not prepared to assent. The resolution did not go to inquire if any compensation, but what compensation, should be given; thus taking it for granted that some remuneration should be made. Mr. M. wished it to be so modified as to inquire “if any, and, if any, what,” compensation should be granted.

Mr. MONTGOMERY acceding to this alteration, the resolution was adopted.

WEDNESDAY, February 24.

Removal of Judges upon Address from Congress.

Mr. WHITEHILL presented the resolutions of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, requesting their members in Congress to use their endeavors to procure an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, so that the Judges of the United States should hold their offices for a term of years, and be liable to removal by the President, on the joint address of a majority of both Houses of Congress; and that, on trials by impeachment, a majority of the Senate should be competent to conviction.

Mr. BARD moved to refer the resolutions to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

Mr. DANA opposed the motion. The resolutions were only instructions to the Pennsylvania delegation. This House had nothing to do with them.

After a debate of about two hours, the question was taken and carried--yeas 82, nays 27.

MONDAY, April 4.

A new member, to wit, ADAM BOYD, returned to serve in this House as a Representative for the State of New Jersey, in the room of EZRA DARBY, deceased, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat in the House.

TUESDAY, April 12.

Frauds in Land Warrants.

Mr. RANDOLPH rose to give notice that he meant to bring forward a motion on a subject of considerable public interest, and in which in his opinion the honor of the Government of the United States was materially implicated. He held in his hand an application from a veteran soldier on the subject of his bounty land, and who had sent him a power of attorney to act for him--a man of unimpeachable character, and who had not been at the seat of Government since it was established--his name William Bryan. I found, said Mr. R., that his warrant, No. 9--, has been drawn and fraudulently located; I say fraudulently, because I am well assured that the party has not received any advantage from the warrant, and there is the strongest evidence of fraud. His warrant has been drawn and located, by whom I cannot discover; my researches were completely baffled by the memorable fire, which it is presumable owed its origin to a desire to cover frauds of this nature. I was referred from the War Office to the Treasury Office; for the only chance of finding out who had acted as attorney in fact for this old man, was, that the warrant ought to have been returned and on file there. On going there I found that the space on the record which the warrant ought to have occupied, was blank; and that no such warrant exists on the Treasury files. I believe this is far from being a solitary case, but that the cases are numerous, and many of those who have honestly earned a title to public land have been in this way defrauded, and the land sold to speculators who have reaped the benefit of it. I therefore give notice that I shall at a future day move for an inquiry into this subject.

Suspension of the Embargo.

The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, 55 to 20, on the resolution offered by Mr. G. W. CAMPBELL, declaring that the President of the United States ought, in the event of certain contingencies occurring during the recess of Congress, to be authorized to suspend the operation of the embargo.

Mr. G. W. CAMPBELL said he would state to the House, in a very brief manner, some of the reasons which induced him to bring forward this resolution.

It will be recollected, said he, that the causes which induced the passage of the law, imposing an embargo, were the orders of council by Great Britain, and the decrees by France, which went in a great degree to cut off and destroy the whole commerce of the United States. In case those causes should be removed, I presume it will be thought necessary that there should be a power vested somewhere to withdraw the embargo occasioned by those orders and decrees. As therefore it is believed that we shall not be much longer in session, and it is at least possible that these orders and decrees may be removed, that Great Britain may revoke her orders of council or change them so as not to affect our commerce, and that France may revoke her decrees or change them so as to render our commerce secure, it is all-important that a power should be vested somewhere to give the people such relief as would be justified by this state of things. Suppose it were the case that any alteration should take place when Congress were not in session, some weeks, nay, some months must pass before Congress could be in session and a law pass for removing the embargo; the consequence of which would be that the country would suffer the pressure of the embargo for weeks or months longer than would be necessary; and I presume no member of the House will say that it would be proper to continue longer than necessary the pressure which the embargo must make upon them. There is I presume at least some reason to believe that the belligerent powers themselves are beginning to see their own interests injured. We see, by the latest accounts from Great Britain, that propositions are made in Parliament for revoking her orders. Should this take place, it is presumable that we also should revoke our regulations. This measure would also have a good effect in turning the attention of the people to the real source whence their present inconveniences flow; they will be taught to look to those circumstances which produced the embargo, a change of which would justify its removal. This would be a consideration of some importance. The mind of the public would be kept alive by the expectation that every day may bring the news which would induce Government to revoke the embargo, which no doubt bears hard upon the agricultural as well as commercial interests of the country.

The resolution as it now stands seems to me to embrace the principal grounds upon which we ought to authorize the Executive to suspend the operation of the law in question. If a general peace or suspension of hostilities take place in Europe, it would seem that there would be no danger from a suspension of the interdiction of our own vessels from sailing; but if no such event takes place, in the event of such alterations as shall exclude American commerce from the operation of the orders and decrees of the belligerents, it will be proper that the embargo should be suspended, they being the grounds on which the measure was adopted. You must vest a power somewhere to ascertain whether such change take place or not. You cannot precisely determine the fact which shall authorize suspension; for were you to say that in case of a revocation of the decrees of France or England the embargo shall cease, you give a vast advantage to those nations--for they may revoke them to-day and reinstate them to-morrow, as their interests may dictate. It is therefore necessary to vest a power somewhere to ascertain not only the revocation, but a reasonable assurance that they will not be renewed. For this purpose it is essentially necessary that the President should be authorized to determine the changes which shall render our commerce safe, by the assurances which may be given that they will not again resort to similar measures. This I mention only as my general object; as to the expressions in the resolution I am not tenacious of them; and in any modification of them which shall promote the public good I shall certainly acquiesce. I have no object but one; that the public may see that we have not left our posts till we had done every thing in our power to relieve them from the distress of measures adopted by us and rendered necessary by the conduct of other nations.

I conceive this to be more important to the people on the seacoasts than to the people in the Western country. To the Western country a few weeks or months protraction of the interdiction, in the fall of the year, could not be of much importance; yet it would seem to me that in the commercial cities and towns, in the Atlantic States, a few days or weeks, much more so a few months’ which might occur before Congress could convene, would be very important; and they would feel much uneasiness if, knowing such changes had taken place as would warrant the removal of the embargo, they were compelled to lie under its pressure until Congress could meet to revoke it. It cannot be expected, after the President shall determine to call Congress, that they can be convened here in less than three months. Such a resolution as this therefore would be beneficial to the commercial interest.

WEDNESDAY, April 13.

Suspension of the Embargo.

The House then went into a Committee of the Whole on the resolution.

Mr. LOVE said, to a proposition having for its object the removal of the embargo, at the first moment the public interests would permit, he had presumed there would have been no objection made either on that floor or by any man in the nation. In this presumption, said Mr. L., I am extremely sorry to be disappointed, and more especially so as the mode of opposition calls for a reply from those who have been the advocates of the system of policy pursued by the Government, during the embarrassing crisis it has been compelled to encounter.

The proposition before the committee is so familiar to those who have been long in the habits of legislation, from the frequent exercise of the general principle on which it rests, that nothing not already obvious to the minds of the greater part of this honorable body, I am sure, can be said in support of it. In the observations therefore, sir, which I shall trouble the committee with, it will not be necessary to say more than shall be proper in answer, only, to the objections which have been made at this time, to the exercise of the power contemplated by the resolution.

I have heard no argument yet urged against the right of delegating in any situation, or under any circumstances, the exercise of special powers which are acknowledged to be vested in a more general view essentially in the Legislature. The argument, if urged to such an extent, would evidently defeat itself, and go to destroy the operations of this or any other Government deriving the source of its authority from a Legislature. Our constitution has enjoined many duties on Congress, which without a delegation of the powers thus vested in it, could never be effected. An objection to the resolution under discussion on so broad a ground, would have been too obviously untenable. The question has not been thus directly met; but in opposition to the constitutionality of the delegation of power contemplated, a distinction has been taken between the authority which should be given to suspend a law, already in operation, and one which has not yet commenced its operation.

I listened, sir, with every possible attention to the argument made on this distinction. I am obliged to say there was no reason intelligible to my mind, offered in support of it. I will content myself therefore with expressing the opinion that the circumstance of a postponed or present operation, cannot make a difference in the principle. In both cases the authority which delegates the agency is the same, it is the act of every branch of the Legislature, and there can be no distinction which would not apply to one equally with the other. It may in the manner of its exercise be assimilated to the powers of a Legislature to repeal a law already in existence, in contradistinction to the power of repealing one, the operation of which had been suspended. If such a position could be sustained (as a proper inference from our constitution) it would be vain; for if the Legislature have the right of repealing a law, they might in the same breath that they would repeal this, enact another which should provide in a manner so far in conformity with the practice acknowledged to be correct, as to be entirely exempt from the objection urged on the ground of this distinction.

When I compare the limited nature of the power now proposed to be delegated, with those almost unbounded trusts which it has been the constant practice of the Legislature to confide in the Executive Department, I cannot help feeling at a loss to account for the present opposition on any grounds of consistency. Those delegations of authority have not been confined in practice to either of the political parties which have at different times given a tone to the Government. The gentleman from Tennessee, who has introduced the resolution, has mentioned several instances in which this has been done; permit me to add others, in which it appears to me the principle has been carried further than in the present case.

By the constitution, the power of borrowing money is in express terms exclusively vested in Congress. Yet this has been only exercised by a delegation of it, from the commencement of the Government till the time has ceased when it was necessary to exercise it. I hope, sir, it may never be necessary to do it again; but if it should, I ask gentlemen how it will be effected but by the intervention of an agency, although the words of the constitution permit Congress only “to borrow money on the credit of the United States.”

Other powers of great importance, solely confided to Congress, have been delegated, and not as now contemplated, in a restricted and limited degree, but in terms of the broadest and most absolute discretion; many instances have occurred of this in constant succession ever since the revolution, in political opinion, which has taken place in the Legislature of the Union; for scarcely were the Republicans warm in their seats before they made a delegation of the power to the President, more unlimited in principle and more dangerous in practice than that now advocated, for suspending the operation of the embargo law. In 1802 he was authorized to organize a military corps. In February, 1803, he was authorized to cause to be built several vessels of war, if the exigencies of the service should require it. In 1804 the same powers were repeated, and many others, equally dangerous and equally necessary, were delegated both these years. In March, 1805, he was authorized to permit or interdict at pleasure foreign vessels from coming into our ports. Compare the discretion either in extent or importance vested by those laws, with that now contemplated, and on the ground of precedent we are more than justified; even in the present session we have delegated the power of suspending or continuing a law, now certainly in operation, by authorizing the President to build and equip, or not, at his discretion, a number of gunboats, or he may, under the influence of the like discretion, for ever desist from the execution of it.

If this body is supposed to act under the regular impulse of any political principles, it appears to me, sir, that the numerous precedents to be found in our statutory code ought to have an effect. In those which I have mentioned, and many others which have been enumerated by the gentleman from Tennessee, the President was vested with the right, ad libitum, to continue, suspend, or terminate the operation of a law. In the present one the discretion is limited to the contingencies of peace in Europe, a suspension of hostilities, or such conduct and assurances on the part of the belligerents who have invaded our commercial rights, as will enable our vessels to pass with our produce in safety to a foreign market.

Let us now examine, sir, the other constitutional objection made by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. RANDOLPH,) that Congress have not the power to lay an embargo. If indeed this novel position be correct, the question is at an end, and the people of the United States would be justified in the resistance the argument invites. I had indeed understood the gentleman, as others near me did, to found his idea of the unconstitutionality of this embargo, on the circumstance of the laws imposing it being unlimited as to time. He defined an embargo to mean an inhibition for a limited time, and this unlimited nature of the present embargo was dwelt on by him with peculiar emphasis; but when a gentleman from Kentucky, (Mr. JOHNSON,) who followed him, had ably exposed the fallacy of this distinction, and completely sent the argument home to its author, the distinction was abandoned by explanation. I understand the explanation of the gentleman; but as the object in pressing the unlimited quality of this embargo on the sensibility of the nation, cannot be mistaken, I have too, sir, for reasons alike obvious, thought it proper to mention it.

But, sir, as to the power to lay an embargo. The first motives for a union of the States, imply this as indispensable. It would be enough to show it to be a measure of general defence and protection, to give Congress a right to act on the subject; as such, sir, it expressly ranks among the provisions assigned as the great causes for the adoption of the Federal Constitution; for in the preamble to this instrument, the people say, they have adopted it in order “to provide for the common defence and general welfare.”

In the first paragraph of the eighth section of the first article, the same words are repeated; common defence and common protection to the external interest of the United States, are then the peculiar objects of its Government. An embargo under some circumstances is not only a proper but a necessary and indispensable means of common defence and protection; I might say that the present crisis is a strong illustration of such necessity. But if the right to lay an embargo is controverted, I would ask by what means is the Government in time of war, or expected war, under the authority of law to secure the property of its citizens, which it is the business of all Governments to do, towards all who claim under it the protection of their rights? Where is the power lodged, if not in the National Legislature, which shall prohibit your own, or even your enemies’ vessels from leaving your ports, after a declaration of war? Are the States vested with, or do they generally retain the right to lay an embargo? No, sir, they cannot so far enter into the collisions of interests which would follow among each other by preventing the vessels from sailing from the ports of any of them. The effect of doing so would be too obviously an invasion of the general powers of commercial regulation solely intrusted to Congress. Can any man of rational mind suppose, then, that the Government of this country is really so defective in what is not only to common sense an obvious reason, but one of the express objects of its institution?

But to lay an embargo is unconstitutional, because Congress cannot lay an export duty! And it is argued by the same gentleman that the lesser power being thus provided against, the exercise of the greater must of course be included in the prohibition; the minor forming an objection, the major is, a fortiori, inadmissible. How easily, sir, is this argument of inference retorted on the gentleman; for, according to a familiar and certainly plain course of reasoning, it would seem, that if the subjects are the same as is said, when the framers of our constitution made an exception of the lesser power, if they had intended also to except the greater, they would not have forgotten it.

The reasons which influenced the framers of that instrument to provide against the power of laying an export duty, were obvious; the provision was adopted in that spirit of mutual accommodation, which was so necessary to the harmony of the whole. It would be difficult, it was easily foreseen, to devise an export duty, which would not bear harder on some of the States than others; it was better therefore not to resort at all to a mode of taxation which would afford so fruitless a source of contention. The policy too of taxing exports was perhaps radically inadmissible; yet I cannot, for my life, discern how an export duty has been drawn into analogy with an embargo.

That the embargo was a curse, and continues to be a most calamitous one to us all, I have heard no one deny; but until now, I have not heard the assertion advanced that our Government, by its conduct, was the author of that curse. Yes, sir, many evils which the injustice of other nations has inflicted on the peace and honor of the United States are acknowledged to be curses of the most irritating and affecting nature; but the gentleman has said more for England and France, than either of them has before said for itself, when he attributes to his own Government the misconduct which has produced those evils. It was scarcely to be expected that any state of internal division or any views of whatever description would have produced on this floor an assertion which has thus put a new argument in the hands of our enemies in justification of their aggressions on us; it is more than our enemies have asserted. We have heard indeed from France and England that their decrees and orders, which make the present voluntary retirement from the seas necessary on our part, were the effect of an unjustifiable attack, which each has attributed in the first instance to the other. Each criminates the other, and not America, with being the author of the peculiar mode of warfare which has proved so destructive to the rights of neutrals. The very language of their orders and decrees assumes this position, and they are all prefaced with the declaration, that their orders are enacted in the spirit of retaliation on each other, and not, sir, for any offence which our Government has been the author of, as the gentleman now tells the American people; for what purpose let the nation judge.

I may surely be permitted to express my surprise and astonishment at this assertion, sir, as it has never before been insinuated, on this floor at least; and as it forms so strong a contrast with the declarations which have been before made by the same gentleman, permit me to recall the gentleman’s attention to his arguments in conclave, and to notice, if it will not be out of order, (which I presume it will not, as all which then took place has since been directed to be published,) the grounds of his opposition to the embargo at that time.

It is recollected by us all that the honor of presenting a resolution in conformity to the policy recommended by the President, in his Message of the 18th of December last, was an object of emulation between the gentleman from Virginia and one from Massachusetts, (Mr. CROWNINSHIELD,) whose absence from the House the nation has so much cause to deplore, and we all so sensibly feel. I thought it then, and still think it an honorable emulation, arising from a patriotic sense of duty. The gentleman from Virginia finally succeeded, and became the author of the resolution in this House for laying the embargo; scarcely had he, however, presented the resolution, the necessity of which he at the same time took occasion to observe he had long foreseen, and, for two years at least, before the period when it was recommended, (and, of course, sir, prior to the rejection of this noted London Treaty of December, 1806, now so much eulogized,) scarcely had he thus expressed his approbation of the embargo, till he again doubted its policy, and soon after denounced its justice, not yet, indeed, for any of the reasons we now hear, respecting the rejection of the treaty, but because it was a measure said, or insinuated, to be dictated by France; and that it was to have an injurious operation solely on England. It was in vain that the friends of the embargo urged the probable existence of the very grounds that measure now more strongly rests on; that the hostile determination of France to enforce her decree of November 21, 1806, would probably be followed by orders as harsh on the part of Great Britain; that this was the course of policy the adoption of which England had already announced, and its execution might, therefore, be fairly anticipated; that the King’s proclamation of the 16th of October, 1807, a copy of which accompanied the President’s Message, was an evidence of the determination of that Government to offer no satisfactory accommodation of our differences, and of its determined usurpation of our maritime rights; to these arguments nothing was replied, but the repetitions in lengthened speeches of the same charges. The opinions then avowed, sir, by the advocates of the embargo, have met with support from the events which have since been developed, while the unjustifiable grounds of opposition are abandoned, even by their authors. But, sir, if there is any gentleman, who, with his eyes open to the situation of the commerce of the world, will say that the embargo ought to be removed, and that the policy is unsound, let me ask him to tell us what, in the embarrassing state in which we are placed by the efforts of France and England to involve us in their conflicts, we are to do? The gentleman from Virginia has hinted at arming our merchantmen! War, then, is the substitute; it is, indeed, the only one, I agree. To arm our merchantmen, leads to war--nay, sir, it is war, according to the interpretation nations have a right to put on such an act of a Government; it will be opposed by open war and undisguised hostility. If we are to have war, let it be in the direct tone and unequivocal language of a nation indignant at the insults it has received, not in the indirect manner of arming a few trading vessels, the masters of whom would choose for the nation its enemy, or involve us with both the belligerents at once, as their particular animosities might dictate; if we are to go to war, it might be well to fight one at a time at least. But, sir, I cannot but hope if our strong, but pacific policy is adhered to, cursed as it is said to be, it may yet preserve us from the conflicts of Europe. It is a curse, indeed, sir, under which we are compelled to labor, but what is the alternative? I have thought much, sir, on the subject; it has been my duty as well as that of every other gentleman to weigh it well. We hear its effects are severely felt, and we hear, too, what are the exertions of our opponents to seize the favorite opportunity which it is so well calculated to produce, to excite the sensibility of the people through the medium of their immediate interests. But remove the embargo, and we must arm our vessels, and war is at once declared. I have heard no one deny that this must be the alternative. Compare the evils, both of great extent. I admit, by the embargo, we lose half the value of the products of our country, or the receipt of it is suspended; by war, to admit the effect in this particular, no worse, at least it could be no better; but have we counted the costs of the armies we are to raise, and to pay, of the supplies we are to furnish, of the loss of our blood, and the diminution of our strength, of the reduction of the profits of agriculture itself, by calling men from their domestic occupations, and lessening the number of hands for tillage--have we calculated the thousand other evils which follow in the train of war? To plunge into war, sir, to escape the curse of the embargo, would be truly fulfilling the adage of old--“out of the frying-pan into the fire.” I do not hesitate to say that, if we have patriotism enough to pursue our own interests, better would it be for this country to remain under the truly calamitous curse of the embargo for years, than at once to launch itself into war. But if we must at length, after all our efforts to prevent it, have war, let it be a war dependent on national sentiment, and arising from no doubtful necessity, which must be produced by the conflicts of our vessels at sea. We all know, and have felt that it has required the exertion of an unparalleled fortitude, to resist the emotions which have impelled us to acts of vengeance and redress for our injuries; let us not, then, seek for new causes, of doubtful necessity, to place us at once at war, as would be the case by arming our vessels. No, sir, let it be a cause which, in spite of our divisions, so earnestly of late fomented, must unite us in one spirit of opposition, in one sentiment of indignation against the enemy who shall attack us, with the spirit of unanimity with which a sense of injury will inspire us. I do not too highly estimate our strength, or, I trust, our patriotism, when I say, that no army which Europe combined could transport across the Atlantic, could long withstand the American arms. That we have had ample cause, of war, wanton, unprovoked cause, I had not, till now, supposed had been doubted; we are now, indeed, informed that our Government is to blame, and that the insults and injuries to which we have been subjected, are, in a great measure, attributable to its misconduct. What the object is, in making these assertions, let the nation judge; believing them groundless, I do not fear to be able to prove them so. The non-importation law has been mentioned as one of the subjects of just umbrage to England, and as having had an embarrassing effect on the state of our negotiations there. The gentleman has certainly but little attended to the documents which have lately been read in this House; if he had, he would there have found, under the sanction of authority which he is not presumed to doubt, that it was a measure one of our Ministers in London has given his most unequivocal approbation to.

It was said that our Ministers were suppliants at a foreign Court--our Government must place an efficient instrument in their hands; and a coercive system of policy is recommended, with a direct allusion to the enaction of the non-importation law before the rising of the Congress then in session.

We are told, too, that a principal cause of our embarrassments is the rejection of the treaty concluded by our Ministers in London on the 31st of December, 1806. This assertion has been made here, sir, with such earnestness that it requires examination. The treaty which has been rejected by our Government has been eulogized, and a month’s discussion of it has been challenged; not, it is true, wholly on its intrinsic worth, or positive merits, but because the circumstances, also, under which it was concluded, made its provisions proper, and its adoption necessary. The Treaty of 1794, commonly called Jay’s Treaty, I understood the gentleman also to say, would under the existing circumstances of December, 1806, have been proper for our adoption. This was, indeed, sir, a necessary preface to his defence of the rejected treaty, for it is certainly susceptible of easy demonstration, that it is, in its features and provisions, far more objectionable and defective than the Treaty of 1794; and, whether we take it on the ground of peculiarity in the circumstances of the contracting parties, or on its intrinsic merits, it has less claim to our assent.

In the first place, let us examine the circumstances under which those two treaties were made, and then compare their respective provisions. From the retrospect I am at this time able to take of our situations at those different periods, I cannot hesitate to believe that the circumstances under which the Treaty of 1794 was made, were more unfavorable for negotiation on the part of the United States at that time, both as they respected England and America, than they were in December, 1806. As they respected England, her situation was at the former period infinitely more commanding. By her combinations with the great powers of Europe, as early as 1792, or perhaps antecedent to that year, she was perfectly secure against any annoyance from France, her only enemy in 1794. The Treaties of Pavia and Pilnitz, to which, it is believed, England early in 1792 acceded, and which certainly laid the groundwork of the conventions and coalitions of the spring of 1793, had produced the effect of uniting in concert with her against France, the powers of Russia, Germany, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and many of the minor States of Europe. England, then, felt no apprehensions for her own safety, none for the abridgment of her commerce, and seemed to be but little sensible to her interests in cultivating a good understanding with America: her single enemy was confined to his own territories, and threatened even with famine. The United States, in 1794, had not long commenced their existence as a nation, and their new Government might be said to be scarcely more than in a state of experiment. The debts which had been created by the Revolutionary war, we had undertaken the honorable discharge of, and we were then laboring under the immense load; our resources were comparatively small, our embarrassments great, our burdens by no means in a course of alleviation, and our situation totally defenceless; the savages who bordered on our frontiers were numerous, strong, and fierce, and our armies had but recently suffered a dreadful carnage and terrible defeat; we were destitute of manufactories which could supply us with arms, or the means of filling our arsenals; a civilized nation of Europe, then great and powerful, bordered her colonies on our Southern frontier, and disputed with us the navigation of our rivers. Sir, if circumstances could ever sanction a dereliction of right, and a compromitment of interest, those circumstances, then, might be said to exist. Then, indeed, there might have been a semblance of apology, in our infant and crippled state, for leaning, in some measure, on the strength of a nation which was supposed to stand firm. I confess, sir, I would rather, even at that time, have had no treaty, than such a one as was then made; it has set a bad example. But what was our situation in December, 1806--adverting again to circumstances, which are made the test in this case, when the treaty, since rejected, was signed in London? Our strength and population increased to a most envious and flattering degree; our foreign debts discharged, and our domestic one, which we had honorably assumed the payment of, reduced--our credit established abroad, our Treasury overflowing, and our resources flourishing; manufactories of arms were every where reared, and had furnished the nation with the best means of defence; the savages on our frontiers were subdued, or civilized; our Southern frontier was extended and had grown strong: England, instead of her prosperity and powerful combinations of 1793, was left almost single-handed; the subordinate powers of Europe had become a part of France, the great nations were either under her control, or struggling in their last efforts of disastrous conflict: France, instead of being confined to the defence of her own dominion, was carrying on offensive war, and England had been made to tremble for her own existence. What then are the circumstances alleged, to palliate the evils of such a treaty as was offered us? Was England about to be suddenly relieved in an instant from her embarrassments and burdens? How? We are told, indeed, that France had pushed her conquests too far, that her Emperor had so far stretched his arm of conquest, as to leave himself exposed to the most imminent danger at home; was it therefore that England elevated her hopes, and carried her demands? Stuff, sir, fit only for the cook-shops and coffee-houses of London; I should never have expected it to find its way into the semi-official letter which has been read to us, from a character who has deservedly stood high in the rank of politicians. But our own internal situation, threatened with conspiracy, the extent and magnitude of which was unknown, was another reason it has been suggested for hastening the execution of this treaty. How, in December, 1806, accounts so alarming could have reached England of the extent of Burr’s conspiracy, I cannot but be at a loss to conjecture. The alarm at that time here, was not I believe very serious; not such, at least, as would have been a reason with any man in this country to have thrown ourselves into the lap of a foreign nation, or to have made a treaty which compromitted our rights, and left our interests unprovided for. I must say I think too much alarm was felt on this subject, and that it would at least have been as honorable a sentiment towards the people and Government of America, to have entertained an entire confidence in them, that without any great or dangerous effort they were capable of quelling the conspiracies which might be engendered against their peace. I assert that independent of circumstances which I have endeavored to show were more unfavorable as they regarded the United States, and far more favorable as they regarded England in 1794, than in December, 1806, the treaty of the latter date is worse than that of the former. The former did provide redress in some sort for previous injuries. That of the latter date contains no provisions for any kind of redress or compensation, which was due to us, for the very many spoliations which had been committed on our commerce--it offers no alleviation to the evils of the former--is silent as to the injuries and insults which we had sustained in our waters; totally, sir, although these were subjects of special instruction from our Government, and although we were told by our embassy that a treaty was concluded on the different points of commercial interest. Was it forgotten, sir, to what an immense amount America had suffered under the different orders of the King in council, even from the very date of the former agreement for reparation? Were not our losses under the orders particularly of 1798, which gave rise to so much of the havoc our neutral commerce had groaned under, and which placed the nations of Europe in a better situation than the United States in the conveyance of colonial produce, known to our Ministers? It must have been recollected, for it was enforced in their instructions, how our vessels had been incessantly sent into the ports of Britain and her colonies for adjudication, and the unjust condemnations which had taken place, under the construction of those orders. It must have been recollected how far in the first instance the orders themselves had gone towards the subversion of the laws of nations. The time was, indeed, when a great jurist, Lord Mansfield, had declared, that neither the orders of the King in council nor even an act of Parliament which contravened the law of nations was binding on any one; this was said in the case of the Silesia loan, but those days were past. Sir William Scott has since told us, that the text of the instructions are his guide, and King George the Third is thus, by his single voice, to make and expound the law, which is adjudged to be paramount in modern times to the laws of nations. The adjudications, it is a well-known fact, have been in conformity to the Royal will, stimulated alone by the shipping interests of England; principles of adjudication have been established in the British Courts of Admiralty, which had on the most unjust pretensions wrested from our citizens many millions of their property. Why by this treaty give up our claims to reparation, as they were most emphatically, by signing a treaty which yielded no redress for them while the claims were still unsatisfied; by making a compact which wholly pretermitted them? It is said, sir, that the disputes respecting the colonial trade are adjusted by this treaty. How--by agreeing to a duty on exports? Where was our constitution, now so strongly pressed in discussion, when this stipulation was made; when it was solemnly covenanted, that we should directly invade one of its provisions by laying an export duty? And that, in addition to the deduction on drawbacks allowed by law, an export duty of one, two, or three per cent. should be imposed on colonial articles? Why make the extraordinary and vain stipulation too, contained in the fifth article, that we should have a right to lay the same export duty which England should have a right to impose, if we could lay none by our constitution?

The subject of blockades also, sir, was one on which some stipulation was made absolutely necessary, by the novel doctrines lately asserted, and insisted on by the nations of Europe; it was important that their extent should in some way have been defined, their nature described, when a blockade should be said to exist, and that it should not be a question left entirely to the discretion or interest of a belligerent, or the caprice of her officers. This single question had already led us at different times to the very brink of war with England. In June, 1793, she asserted all France to be in a state of blockade, and ordered our vessels to be captured which should attempt to enter any of her ports with our produce. France had in May of the same year issued an inhibitory order against our trade, of a nature but little less hostile, in consequence, as it was said, of the Russian convention made in London, I think in March of the same year. In the fall of 1793, the British had issued secret orders on the same principle of blockade, which entrapped our West India commerce, to an immense amount, before they were known by us to be in existence; this it was said was a principal reason for the proposition contained in a bill for prohibiting all intercourse with England, which had in the early part of 1794 received the sanction of the House of Representatives, and was rejected in the Senate but by the majority of one vote, and which was succeeded by Mr. Jay’s mission. To the same class, too, may be assigned the British orders of May 1795, against our vessels laden with provisions, which brought President WASHINGTON to a stand on the British Treaty, and caused him, it is said, to demand a previous explanation, which was at that time I presume, satisfactorily made, but which has been since in innumerable instances violated, and the same vague and undefined principles of blockade enforced; at one time by declaring a blockade to exist from Brest to the river Elbe, at others by proclamations of blockade equally extravagant, and more than once by the declaration of the British naval commanders, that a whole kingdom should be cut off, at a stroke of the pen, from all the trade of neutral nations. But, sir, if the general and extensive evils which the new doctrine of blockades had superinduced, were not of sufficient importance to claim a stipulation against their exercise in future, there was one species of injury which seemed really to merit, and to claim indispensably, some notice either by redress or stipulation against its future practice. I know not how to class it; it may be assimilated to a modern blockade, inasmuch as it assumes a jurisdiction wholly ideal; I mean that which was a particular subject of complaint, from the assumption made of a right by a British naval officer in the port of New York, in claiming jurisdiction and the exercise of the right of impressment, and of course every one less inimical to natural right, within the distance of the buoys from his ship. To this assertion of authority I see no disclaimer in this applauded treaty, or any hint at redress for the injury inflicted by the particular occasion on which it was exercised. If this new claim of naval sovereignty is insisted on, or thus tacitly permitted, it is time it should be so understood; for with the same propriety with which the British commander in New York claimed jurisdiction within his buoys, another might claim British jurisdiction from Boston to Charleston, if he could so far stretch a cable.

I come now, sir, to say something on the question of impressment, wholly omitted in the treaty, and which the gentleman from Virginia has said was informally and satisfactorily arranged by the note of the British Commissioners on that subject. He has said that their note contained a stipulation, “that they would order their naval commanders to abstain from the practice of impressments on board American vessels.” I confess I was astonished at the declaration. It is true the printed document has not been furnished till just now. I presume the note of the 8th of November, 1806, to have been alluded to, because something like the same defence on this subject has been used by one of the American Commissioners in his late letter to the Secretary of State, (although, indeed, until I heard that defence read, I had not understood that any improper dereliction of the American interests had been imputed to our Ministers; I had always understood, and, except in the letter alluded to, and the arguments of the gentleman, I have yet understood from every source of information open to me, that it was not expected by our Ministers that the treaty could be ratified by the American Government, but that it was the best they could obtain;) I could not think the quotation of the gentleman correct as to the language of that note. I mentioned then, sir, to those who sat near me, that I had understood it to convey no promise to abstain from the practice of impressment, but a vague and unsatisfactory declaration that the British naval commanders should be instructed to use caution in the impressments they made; as it was said they had been always before instructed; by that means, sir, placing ourselves, if we choose to recognize this informal stipulation, in a worse situation than before, inasmuch as it was an unequivocal acknowledgment of the right of impressment, when exercised under the caution of a British officer. And what, sir, is the language of this same note of November 8th--we have it now before us: “His Majesty’s Ministers give to Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinckney the most positive assurances, that instructions have been given and shall be repeated and enforced for the observance of the greatest caution in the impressing of British seamen, and that the strictest care shall be taken to preserve the citizens of the United States from any molestation or injury; and that immediate and prompt redress shall be afforded upon any representation of injury sustained by them.” How, sir, let me ask, have those officers conducted themselves under these repeated instructions? To say nothing of the continued violations committed on our merchant vessels, we have indeed had a most notable example of the extreme caution which her naval officers had no doubt been instructed, and were determined to observe, in the mode of impressments, in that excessively cautious plan adopted by Admiral Berkeley, to effect his honorable and loyal purposes, in the memorable attack upon the Chesapeake. Then, sir, I must admit, that in pursuance of what I now believe were his orders, the most cool and deliberate caution was used. Our frigate, on an outward voyage, on the very day she left her port, in the usual unprepared state in which I am told vessels of war sail in time of peace, is with the utmost caution pursued by the British ship of superior force, in sight of several others. The American frigate is overtaken; her men, proved to be American citizens, are demanded of her, as of right being the subjects of the King. They are refused, and indeed, sir, I must acknowledge, with peculiar caution, before it was possible for our frigate to prepare for action and the defence of the honor of her flag, the British commander fires three broadsides into her, and commits the murder of fifteen or twenty other American citizens, and no doubt most cautiously compels the United States frigate to strike her colors, goes on board, and takes off three of the native citizens of our country, none of whom have to this day been returned!

But, sir, if this treaty, with its appendages, had contained in it provisions and stipulations which were responsive to our injuries, and which comported with our rights, is there a man in this nation, who consults the dignity and honor of his country, who could have wished its assent to it, subject to the condition dictated by the King of England, and transmitted by a note of the British commissioners annexed to it? The gentleman from Virginia has spoken of the insult conveyed by the letter of Champagny of the 15th of January, 1808, to our Minister in Paris; its terms have been grammatically scanned. Sir, there was no need for this; we are at no loss for subjects of humiliation and insult, whether we look to France or to England. As early as 1793, attempts of the most unjustifiable nature were made to involve us in war by both these powers. Lord Grenville, so early as that time, expressly told our Minister, without disguise, that the British orders of November in that year were intended to have an internal effect upon the affairs of this country. Such has ever since been the conduct of the belligerents, constantly and undeviatingly pursued in the most disrespectful manner, towards us; such was certainly the object of the British Cabinet, in annexing the note of the 31st of December, 1806, to the treaty of that date; and certainly, sir, if a direct attempt to force us into war, is considered an insult to our independence, and an encroachment upon our rights of self-government, such was the language of that note, which, in open and unreserved terms, made it an indispensable condition to the ratification of the treaty, “that the Government of the United States, by its conduct or assurances, will have given security to his Majesty, that it will not submit to such innovations in the established system of maritime law,” as the French decree therein alluded to contained--his Majesty thus most graciously taking upon himself the right of determining for us what course of conduct we should pursue towards his enemy! I do not say, sir, that the letter of Champagny, which has been repeatedly mentioned with such asperity by the gentleman, is such a one as consists with the respect due to us; by some gentlemen its language has been construed to mean a proposition originating in a disposition of friendship, and to convey nothing more than an offer, founded on a supposition of the actual existence of war between Great Britain and the United States, and in that event, to take care of such of our property as should be exposed to capture, until there should be an opportunity of restoration; but to me, sir, I confess the language is not satisfactory. We have a right to expect from all nations something more, or something less than equivocal language. Our Government speaks in terms of friendship, and in the plain language which neither conveys a doubt as to its hostility or friendship; we have a right to expect the same frankness in others. But why, sir, should gentlemen who profess to feel, and I hope do feel only as Americans, suffer their sensibilities to transport them to battle with the Gallic Cock, while under heavier insults they seem disposed to succumb to the British Lion? Why is the letter of the British Minister of the 23d of February wholly forgotten, when we are undergoing the humiliating revival of insults and threats? Is it less awakening to our national sensibility, and to the alarms of honor or interest, to be told, as we are by that letter, that his Majesty the King of England is disappointed in his just expectation that we should have gone to war with France, than to be told through our Minister at the Court of France that the Emperor of that nation expected we were at war with England? If insult was intended by either, it seems to have been measured by the same equal standard with which they have by their hostile orders measured their injuries to our commerce; perfectly in the spirit of retaliation, sir.

My astonishment, sir, has indeed been excited more than on any former occasion, when I have heard a gentleman condemn our Government for the rejection of a treaty, which provided no redress for former injuries, no security against future ones, and which, by the conditions annexed to it, would have infallibly, by stipulating resistance against a belligerent, directly have involved us in war; and that not a war of self-defence, but a war of alliance with one of the powers, for the purpose of resistance and offence against the other. War, sir, I hope will be avoided, notwithstanding the bold attempts to involve us in it, and which have been so steadily pursued by the contending nations. It will I hope be avoided, unless our self-defence shall render it indispensably necessary. Attack or invasion from France cannot be rationally contemplated. War with England, we must all agree, rests on more uncertain grounds; if any thing will prevent it, I believe it to be the course pursued by our Government. The resolution under discussion explicitly avows the terms on which we will consent again to renew our intercourse with Europe. If Great Britain is induced to relax, France must and will pursue the same policy. I think, sir, we have a right to believe, from the best information from England, that this relaxation will take place. I am aware of that disposition in the ruling party in England to go to war with us. I have no right to doubt the truth of the declaration of Mr. Monroe, that there is a party in that country strong and active indeed, as he has described it to be, who are disposed to hostility with us, and who are at all hazards determined to support the maritime supremacy of Great Britain; they are described to be the navy interest, the East India chartered companies, the West India traders, and the shipping interest--strong and active indeed, sir; they sit at the elbow of Majesty, and influence his ready will; but their temptations to war are removed by the embargo, and I hope will continue to be so, until they rescind those orders which have cut us off from the commerce of the world.

But the power contemplated by the resolution, of meeting any friendly disposition on the part of the European powers, is to be withheld, because it would add too much to the already overgrown popularity of the President, who, like Julius Cæsar, has been offered the honor of a Crown! It is true, sir, the demonstrations of confidence in the present Chief Magistrate are general and sincere in many parts of the Union. At the time the only address of this kind was proposed, which I have ever understood originated in Virginia, I had the honor of a seat in her Legislature. It was introduced and supported by the description of politicians there denominated the Republican minority; in what spirit of sincerity I leave others to judge at this day. But, thank God, it was not permitted to progress; and thus the person to whom it was intended to be presented was saved the suffusion of a blush, which the evidence of such adulation from his own State would for its sake have infallibly produced.

On this occasion an attempt is made to alarm us, by the assertion that the administration of the Government is assimilating itself to that of a monarchy; and it is said that the power of the President is more dangerous than that of a British King. Has the gentleman weighed the extent of this assertion, or contemplated the powers of a British King? In power, unrestrained as he is by their constitution, (if constitution that can be called, which consists of unsettled and undefined practices, most of them originating, no one knows where, and founded on principles which cannot be traced to any rational ground--a constitution which, notwithstanding their declarations of rights, is perfectly incapable of restraint upon the Executive arm; which subjects the Parliament to the King; which makes it completely his Parliament, and deludes the people with the show of liberty, while they are governed by the single voice of a monarch--yes, sir, it is his Parliament,) has he committed any great act of outrage on the nations of the earth? He feels the pulse of his Parliament before he permits them to convene. His Parliament, I may again emphatically call it; for it is he who orders it into existence, and he who suspends its functions or dissolves it at will. If its pulse does not beat responsively to his wishes, he either dissolves it or postpones its meeting from time to time, as has been the policy with the present Parliament, which, if it had met at the time first appointed, scarcely less than a revolution might have been apprehended, from the general ferment the execrable conduct of England towards Denmark had excited, and the head of our old master might have atoned for that unprecedented act of criminality; for, as such, it had been contemplated with abhorrence by a magnanimous people--a people who felt for the character of Englishmen in the commission of it. There are men there, sir, I acknowledge, who do honor to human nature. When we read the speeches of Erskine, and other great men in the present opposition, we may yet hope that there may be found enough of integrity in the nation to redeem its character from the stains of murder and robbery, which the conduct of its monarch has marked it with. Yet this is the King to whose power that of a President of the United States is said to be assimilating itself. By what instance, let me ask, does it appear that we are verging to the practice of a corrupt monarchy? Is it in the proposition involved in this resolution? No, certainly; for I have before proved that the same powers, and much more extensive and unqualified, have been delegated at every period of our Government, from its commencement to the present session. Is it from any other general assumption of power? No; for it is acknowledged by all that the present Administration has acted in perfect consonance with the powers of the constitution, and I will add, (what its enemies have before allowed,) with the most strict and unceasing regard to the interests and happiness of the people.

Why are we warned, sir, on this floor, against authorizing the President to do an act which may enhance his popularity so much as the removal of the embargo, and that it is another mode of adding to that influence already so overbearing? If, indeed, the embargo operates most distressingly, (as we all know it does, on every part of the community,) it is he who in the first instance, from the strong sense of duty, assumed on himself the responsibility (the odium, the gentleman would call it) of the measure. It is but fair, then, however ludicrous the charge in itself, that he should be left to regain the popular favor he is supposed to have lost. It will only leave him where he was.

But, sir, seriously, let me ask gentlemen to tell the nation, before we separate, what they will do. Is there any one so desperate, inconsiderate, or so wild in his opinion, as to say the embargo ought at the present time to be removed, while the hostile Orders of France and England are both enforced with the utmost rigor against us, and when they have multiplied, and been extended in their effects since the expediency of the embargo was fully decided on? What is the obvious alternative? Either authorize its removal, when our safety will permit, or continue in session to wait that event. But why, sir, sit here, at the daily expense of many hundred dollars to the community, when we shall have transacted the business of the nation, merely because some gentlemen are now doubtful of the right or the policy of delegating to the President a power which has, in much stronger and more general terms, been before intrusted to him, and all who have preceded him? But, if any thing better than this can be devised, let it be submitted. For my own part, I promise to give it the attention its importance may merit. But, at the least, let us unite in the adoption of some measures for the safety and interest of our country, at this time so imminently jeopardized by the powers of Europe.

Mr. MASTERS.--Mr. Chairman, I shall not undertake to say that the rejected treaty is so advantageous as we had a right to expect. I do not hesitate to declare that, or even Jay’s Treaty, is preferable to the present state of our affairs. If we take into our view all the relative circumstances of the British nation with France, Russia, and the other belligerent powers, and pay proper attention to the unprotected and defenceless situation of our country and our commerce, in forming our ideas of what we ought to expect from that nation whose navy commands the seas, can we then expect she will sacrifice that navy, or any part of her power, by conceding the point of search for her seamen on board of neutral vessels? It is inconsistent with their interest, and it is inconsistent with their superiority. This right of search for her own subjects, Mr. M. considered as the main block in the way of negotiation, which sound policy and interest require we should clear away. The British and American Commissioners had informally put this point on as good footing as he expected. Although the resolution under consideration is not properly limited and defined, he should not vote against it. His wish was to raise the embargo and arm our vessels. The nation could not bear the pressure. The embargo virtually inhibits all intercourse with foreign nations; the effects are and will be pernicious to the agricultural productions of this country, and produce will fall to the lowest ebb, and enforce the most unparalleled distress on the community. Commerce ought always to be left to the merchant, unshackled and unembarrassed, as much as possible. Our commercial intercourse is the principal resource, both of revenue and commercial opulence. The embargo will tear up by the roots and annihilate the commerce of this country. And the effects will be heavy taxes, an exhausted Treasury, a diminished and ruined revenue. It weakens your own power, fetters your operations, and deludes your citizens; it devours not only the fruits but the seeds of industry. It will sink down and depress the nation to an absence of hope and a want of resources; it will be felt by the nation as a calamity, without deciding the general question of dispute. Prove to me the embargo is consistent with common sense, and will be the means of adjusting our differences with the belligerent powers, and I will then be an advocate for it. Though we have the constitutional right to lay an embargo, it is a matter which requires great consideration, whether the measure will have the effect to which it was seemingly intended. It may be good in theory; he esteemed it chimerical in practice, a mere speculative proposition. Wisdom is to be gained in politics, not by one rigid principle, but by looking attentively at causes and the effects they have or will produce; not by adopting that false philosophy, which seeks perfection out of that which, in its nature, is imperfect; which refers every thing to theory, and nothing to practice; which substitutes visionary schemes for solid tests of experiment, and bewilders the human mind in a chaos of opinions. Search all the histories of the world, and you will not find eleven hundred thousand tons of shipping, of one of the greatest commercial nations, embargoed for an unlimited time.

Mr. Chairman, the season of our severe trial is not at an end, nor are we yet relieved from the dejection and gloom which hangs over our heads; doubts and uncertainty mingle with the hopes and expectations of the people. If you bring our commerce into the situation of the Chinese, you will end in the wild state of nature, that mocks the name of liberty, and the human character will be degraded, instead of being free.

If you entertain a sense of the many blessings which you have enjoyed; if you value a continuance of that commerce which is the source of so much opulence; if you wish to preserve that high state of prosperity by which the country has, for some years past, been so eminently blessed, you lose all these advantages by continuing the embargo and neglecting to arm your vessels. Restore, then, confidence and vigor to commerce. You are at war with your own interest and every idea of policy; instead of protecting commerce you destroy it.

In whatever view the embargo presents itself, it appears to me to be fraught with impolicy; it was laid at midnight; that miserable scene was closed under the darkness which suits with it, and under the secret shelter of our own walls. If we are to go to war, you have, instead of warlike preparations and exerting every sinew of national ability, laid an embargo, and obtained just nothing.

The policy of France, as regards Great Britain, is to make a warlike non-intercourse, and we have, by a side-wind, fallen into the measure, adopted and sanctified it; we have abandoned the great highway of nations: our dispute with Great Britain is about commercial rights; we have given them up.

Is this country at that crisis when we shall surrender all those rights her citizens hold most dear? God forbid! I have contemplated upon the embargo, which is hazardous and impolitic, with great pain and anxiety, and I turn my face from it with horror. If there are any who improperly foster and countenance the threatening storm, whatever consequences may follow, they are answerable to their country and their God.

All the advocates of the embargo on this floor have admitted that it was oppressive and a curse. Take away this curse and arm your vessels. It does not follow, as the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. LOVE) supposes, that arming will involve us in a war. When Great Britain finds we resist the French decrees, she will revoke her orders of council. When France sees she cannot bring us into her views, she will revoke her decrees.

Mr. FISK wished to say a few words on this subject. I am very much surprised, said he, at the expressions of the gentleman last up, and the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. RANDOLPH,) yesterday. They expressed sentiments which, if they once take root in this nation, will prostrate your liberties and rights at the feet of foreign Governments. The gentleman who just took his seat has observed, that the subject of impressment was the main block in the way of negotiation. Very true, it was, sir; it goes to the personal liberty and security of your citizens; and if you surrender that right, what do you expect those citizens will say to you? Do you expect they will greet you with, “well done, thou good and faithful servant?” What can the gentleman think when he recollects the sensation displayed at New York on the death of Pierce, in consequence of the exercise by Britain of the right of impressment? Were those tears and lamentations feigned, or were they the sincere effusions of citizens feeling the injury done them, and burning with indignation at seeing their fellow-citizens murdered almost before their face? If we could believe what the gentleman now suggests, we should suppose that the liberties and lives of our citizens were of no value compared with commerce. Why do gentlemen tell us these things? Are they sincere? They cannot weigh life or liberty in the scales with sordid pelf; it is impossible.

It has been observed by the gentleman from Virginia, and it seems to have been intimated by the gentleman from New York to-day, that the question of impressment was by the rejected treaty placed on better ground than ever was expected; that something like security was afforded to the United States; something on which we could rely: and this assertion is brought in with no other view than as a defence of British measures and a crimination of our own. Let us see the language of the British Minister, in order to ascertain the fact. In the letter from Mr. Canning, dated October 22, he says, in answer to our Minister’s pressing this same question for some security, “no engagements were entered into on the part of His Majesty, as connected with the treaty, except such as appear upon the face of it. Whatever encouragement may have been given by His Majesty’s Commissioners to the hope expressed by the Commissioners of the United States, that discussions might hereafter be entertained, with respect to the impressment of British seamen from merchant vessels, must be understood to have had in view the renewal of such discussions, not as forming any part of the treaty then signed, (as the American Commissioners appear to have been instructed to assume,) but separately, and at some subsequent period more favorable to their successful termination.” It would seem, however, from what was observed yesterday, that this was left, though informal, on such a settled basis, that it might have been satisfactory.

If my memory serves me, the Secretary of State says these vexations are greater than ever. The British Government was never serious in making any settlement against this practice. We find, in the first place, that the British Ministers never yielded that right. We find that Mr. Canning, in answer to our Ministers, tells them they were not to consider the late proclamation respecting impressments as any new regulation on the subject; that the proclamation was not considered in that light, but merely as conveying instructions to the British commanders who might be at a loss how to act; that the proclamation had been framed for nearly three months, but never issued until that time. If it had been in existence for three months, it must have been framed at the very time that the attack on the Chesapeake was in view; that was to try the sentiments of this country, and they meant to steer their course by them. Therefore, it is not an instruction given to naval commanders, lest they should mistake their duty from the late incidents, because it was framed before the attack on the Chesapeake took place. It unfortunately happens that the British Government has not, in this case, covered its object.

I am a little surprised to hear gentlemen telling us that arming our merchant vessels would not produce war. Why arm, if they are not to defend themselves? If the belligerents defend their proceedings, will they not resist our vessels arming against their orders? Could it be done without being met by a declaration of war? But the gentleman from New York has told us that if we suffer our merchants to arm, the British would consider it a sufficient token of our resistance to the French decrees, and remove their orders of council. You have seen all the decrees and orders which make innovations on the law of nations, and subject our commerce to plunder. Are those of France the most hostile? Is the aspect of that nation the most hostile? Compare the letter of Champagny, which declares that our vessels shall be held in sequestration depending the measures of this Government, with the note of Canning, as well as the communications from Mr. Erskine, and what was the result? Look at the treaty which our Government is on this floor condemned for not signing, with the note annexed, declaring that if we submit to the decrees of France, His Britannic Majesty would consider himself bound not to observe the treaty. This note contained a threat; but it was nothing to what Mr. Canning, in observing to our Ministers on this subject, says: “His Majesty cannot profess himself to be satisfied that the American Government has taken any such effectual steps with respect to the decree of France, by which the whole of His Majesty’s dominions are declared in a state of blockade, as to do away the ground of that reservation which was contained in the note delivered His Majesty’s Commissioners at the time of the signature of the treaty; but that, reserving to himself the right of taking, in consequence of that decree and of the omission on the part of neutral nations to obtain its revocation, such measures of retaliation as His Majesty might judge expedient, it was, nevertheless, the desire and determination of His Majesty, if the treaty had been sanctioned by the ratification of the President of the United States, to have ratified it on His Majesty’s part, and to have given the fullest extent to all its stipulations.”

With regard to this treaty, I have no idea of entering into its merits. The gentleman from Virginia, yesterday, seemed to be extremely anxious to justify the treaty. He might have postponed its defence until it was before us, or at least until it was assailed. I will observe that, whatever might have been the intention of our Ministers, they placed the United States in a very disagreeable situation, obliging them to declare that they had no right to negotiate such a treaty. It has given occasion to Mr. Canning to say, “some of the considerations upon which the refusal of the President of the United States to ratify the treaty is founded, are such as can be matter of discussion only between the American Government and its Commissioners; since it is not for His Majesty to inquire whether, in the conduct of this negotiation, the Commissioners of the United States have failed to conform themselves in any respect to the instructions of their Government.” He then goes on to animadvert on the conduct of the American Ministers. Had they kept within the real limits of their own instructions, they never would have given occasion for this reflection on them.

On the score of informal negotiation it will be recollected that from the earliest days of the Government to the present time, the subject of impressment has been pressed upon the British Government, not only in times of war, but in times of peace. If there were in reality any foundation for the charge on our Government, of having sacrificed the interest of, or lost a security to, our seamen, by a rejection of this informal article, it will be only necessary to recur to the correspondence between our Ministers and the British Commissioners, and it will be found that not only formal, but informal articles were such as we ought not to have accepted; that reasonable concessions on our part were offered for the sake of accommodation and refused; that the Treaty of 1794 was, in some measure, proposed as the basis, but was not accepted by the British Ministry. Let me ask the gentleman for a single moment what were the terms offered in this treaty, which he regrets that the Government did not accept? Independent of its exceptionable provisions, it was accompanied by a note which contains a reservation to the British Government to regulate its own proceedings, and leaves us but two alternatives--either to declare war against France, or suffer the British Ministers to rule us. What do they offer us now? If we will trade as they please, and pay them a duty on all our exports, we may carry on our commerce. Is it possible that any man who professes himself an American could accede to this? The spirit of 1776, refusing to pay a duty of two per cent. on tea, would certainly not now yield that for which they then contended, and become again tributary to the British Government. This is not all. Even this admired treaty, which the gentleman from Virginia so much regrets, allows us to trade to the colonies if we will pay tribute. Was it not easily discoverable that two, three, four, or five per cent. would be laid upon the trade, and virtually prohibit us from carrying on this commerce altogether? It was better than prohibition: but if we would not tax it, they would prohibit it altogether. What right had they to demand this? Certainly none, and yet gentlemen wish to raise the embargo, to embrace these regulations, open all our ports to this fettered commerce, and will not place it in the power of the Executive to suspend the embargo. I am a little astonished that gentlemen who consider the embargo as the heaviest curse which could befall this nation, should be against any measure for removing its pressure. But so it is. Here permit me to say that I admire the flexibility of the gentleman’s sentiments. It must be well known to every gentleman in the House, that a gentleman from Virginia, in combating measures which were then carried into effect, as the non-importation law, said, that if we take measures at all, they should be strong measures; none of your milk-and-water measures, but an embargo; which would be an efficient measure. This same gentleman, at the present session, exclaims against the Executive influence which produced the embargo. At this very session we cannot forget the scramble between him and another gentleman in this House, (Mr. CROWNINSHIELD,) as to who should have the honor first to propose the measure; he even urged expedition in the measure, as he had a bill ready prepared. In the course of deliberation on the subject, he urged it as the only thing which could promote the national interests; and persisted in this, till one of his colleagues informed us of the effect which it would have upon Britain. He then rose and told us that he had done with the measure; that the measure was partial--not unconstitutional--that it was a new invention; that it was expressly aimed at Great Britain, and this was the great objection. But now we are told that the British Government will ask nothing better of us than giving up the carrying trade. But, unless the gentleman can prove that they are the carriers for their enemy and for us, he will find it difficult to prove that it favors England. Really I am at a loss to see the difference between the proposed measure and that which the gentleman so long since supported for authorizing the President of the United States to suspend the non-importation law. But the gentleman disclaims the influence of precedents. The gentleman has another objection--that it proceeds from a recommendation from the Executive. The gentleman took the liberty to pay a compliment to the President of the United States for declining a re-election; but he expressed great resentment against those States which solicited him to retain his station. I consider this as the highest mark of respect for the course pursued by the present Administration. But it seems, although totally irrelevant to the subject under discussion, the gentleman from Virginia has undertaken to question the motives of all who have joined in the request. The man who has the vanity and arrogance to suppose that he is superior to all mankind, may boast of his republicanism, but he possesses none. I envy him not his sensations. It will be recollected that the constitution has not denied the right of a President, for two successive terms, again to be elected. The legislatures, then, did not travel out of their constitutional course, and it would have been as modest in the gentleman from Virginia--to say no more of it--to have let the subject alone.

In regard to the constitutionality of this measure, which has been questioned, the bill supported by the gentleman from Virginia two years ago, was to enable the President to do a thing at a distant day, if he should think it expedient. What is the object of the present resolution? To put the whole commercial interest at the discretion of the President? Certainly not. If certain events take place, the President is to be authorized to suspend the operation of the embargo law. We command; he obeys. He is the agent, we the principal. The law, giving power to suspend the non-importation law, was more vague than this resolution. In that he had a perfect discretion, there was no landmark laid down in the law. Here there is. The distinction taken by the gentleman from Virginia is a distinction without a difference. The principles of both are the same. The powers given, and the consequences of the exercise of those powers, are the same.

But it seems that the gentleman from Virginia has undertaken to arraign all the measures of Government taken for some time past. A few days ago he was violently opposed to the raising a military force. At the present moment he draws consolation from the circumstance that both Great Britain and France are hostile to us. If he really feels a satisfaction in the hostile attitude of both powers, he ought certainly not to complain of the acts which he says have placed us in that situation. I cannot conceive how a man can with propriety arraign the conduct of an Administration, when he says their measures have produced the very effect for which he is so gratified. We learned from his observations the other day, and it was insinuated again yesterday, that the raising of an army was against the interest of the country. In 1805 and 1806, he was in favor of strong measures against Spain, for he said in the same proportion as we took measures against Spain, Great Britain would respect our rights; because France and Spain being one and the same, measures taken against one were also against the other. But the effects of strong measures seem now to be viewed in a different light. If it was just then to raise an army against France or Spain to make them respect our rights, it is certainly proper now to take strong measures against both France and England, except the gentleman show that the dispositions of nations as well as of men have changed since that time. At the present time the military spirit is a horrid thing; at that time, it was a very pleasant thing.

For a single moment let us consider the embargo. The gentleman says it is unconstitutional. That the constitution having prohibited the power of laying a duty on exports, denies the power to prohibit exportation altogether. There is no difference in this respect between the non-importation law and the embargo. If the argument be true, you must allow trade at all times, whether it furnish a means of annoyance against yourselves or not. Is it not a well-known fact, that Great Britain is in the utmost want of supplies for that navy which murders your citizens and blocks up your ports; and, therefore, you partially disarm them. However gentlemen please themselves and amuse the people--for that will be its only effect--with the idea that the embargo is a pleasant thing to Great Britain, we find that, even by the debates in their Parliament, their orders are considered as measures so hostile, that they expect a declaration of war. How happens it that we become their apologists? that their conduct strikes gentlemen on this floor in a more favorable light than it does the Britons themselves? They consider them as too strong. These members of Parliament must be much mistaken if some gentlemen in this House are correct.

To return to the embargo. I believe most religiously, that had it not been for sentiments expressed in this country so favorable to Great Britain; had it not been for insinuations that it was impossible for us to maintain this measure, before this time we should have been treated with respect by Great Britain. I cannot, while up, but notice what must be obvious to all--that not only in this House, but abroad, every attempt has been made to show that this measure is improper, unjust, and injurious. The table of this House has been loaded with petitions against the embargo; it is known from what source. Another circumstance attends them, that, though they come from different quarters, they owe their existence to one parent, and come from one land. It is very easy to sow the seeds of discord and discontent, if persons industriously and insidiously apply themselves to that object. Whenever a measure has been attempted against Great Britain, we have found what rancorous opposition it has met with. We are now asked to raise the embargo. What encouragement have we to do it? The Treaty of 1794 sacrificed our most important rights. Did it conciliate that Government? Did she even then respect your rights? From that moment to the present, your flag and citizens have been constantly violated. More than three, four, or five thousand seamen, have been impressed into their service. Is it possible that gentlemen can criminate the Government of the United States for not accepting a treaty which gave no security against this? Certainly not. The gentleman told us yesterday that we were contending with a great commercial nation, and had very little to offer in exchange for what we ask. Was it necessary to make this apology for Great Britain? I have thought very differently. Was our commerce of so many millions “nothing?”

Let us now consider the other point which is taken, that the circumstances attending the treaty alter the aspect of it--for this treaty is, to say the best of it, no better than Jay’s, which the gentleman says he so much abhorred. When Jay negotiated his treaty, almost all Europe was in arms against France; Spain, and Italy, then independent nations. When this new treaty was formed, Italy, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, &c., were at the feet of France; and that war which was engendered at the Court of St. James between Prussia and France was decided. Prussia was overwhelmed, and the knowledge of it reached our Ministers before signing this treaty. Germany was at peace. In this situation, was the attitude of Great Britain so imposing as to justify greater sacrifices than were made in 1794? It was not. It was believed and said in this country, that the arms of Bonaparte would conquer the world. Why, then, make this sacrifice? Had we any assurances, if that treaty was ratified, it would be held sacred? On the contrary, doubts were expressed and conditions annexed to it. Has not her conduct since justified a refusal of more than informal stipulations? At the moment when she attacked Copenhagen, she had a treaty with Denmark. She first attacked the town, and then offered terms of accommodation, which were of course refused. What can be said in justification of that outrage? There was, as we were told the other day, some supposition that the fleet was about to be delivered up to France. It was no such thing, sir; it was justified on the supposition that the Treaty of Tilsit contained some secret articles, and the British Government did not know what they were. When she had taken the Danish fleet and burnt the city, she asked the mediation of Russia to secure a peace between them. Can we believe her sincere in these things? If she really believed there were such secret articles, is it natural to believe that she would ask this mediation to restore friendship between her and the injured nation? If we could not see a treachery through this mist, we must be blind. But I would not have noticed the subject, except that a disposition has been manifested to criminate our Government, and prejudice the minds of the nation, instead of looking to the real cause.

I should have supposed, after what has been communicated to us, no one would have accused this Government of a want of justice in its negotiations with foreign powers. Whoever has read the instructions of the Secretary of State to our Ministers, must be convinced to the contrary. Even on the subject of impressments, they were instructed to press it in such a manner as not even to irritate the feelings of Great Britain. A peculiar solicitude has been displayed in all our proceedings to maintain friendship. It has been all in vain. We have been driven to the last alternative, either to shut up our ports for a while, or to fight. What do gentlemen now ask? That we should open our ports to Great Britain alone; for that would be the effect of raising the embargo. Has it been in the power of our Government to make a settlement? No. Are gentlemen willing to put up with what has happened? The terms which Great Britain has offered, it would have disgraced any people to accept. After she has attacked your national ship, shed the blood of your citizens, and obliged you to exclude ships of war from your ports, she requires that you rescind your proclamation before she will even tell you what satisfaction she is willing to make. She says, I have abused you; humble yourself, succumb to me, and I will make such satisfaction as I think fit. This is the nation for whom you are to lift the embargo, and these the favors you are to receive in return. I had rather see this nation again tributary to them than sacrifice so great a proportion of their independence, than acknowledge that all we have done is wrong, and all they have done is right. I consider that whenever this nation is reduced to such a state of apathy as to endure these things, our independence is not worth a straw. You have certain rights--first principles. Recede from them, and you open yourself to perpetual violation; if persisted in, they will prostrate your independence. With these sentiments I cannot consent to repeal the embargo, and the opposition to this resolution seems to be founded in a wish to do that.

Mr. KEY.--I rise on this occasion with great embarrassment, because in no instance of my political life, has any measure called on me to act, in which the interests of my country were more deeply involved. In common with my fellow-citizens of Maryland, I feel a total aversion to the continuance of the embargo, and I am confident I speak the almost unanimous sense of my constituents in calling for its repeal. However proper some of them might have considered it in the first instance, as an experiment from which good might result, yet all now are satisfied that nothing short of its immediate repeal will save them from great distress, and that a long continuance of it will induce bankruptcy and ruin. I am willing, sir, to admit, that those who advocated the embargo were actuated by the purest motives, and had the best interests of their country at heart--that they adopted it as a measure from which great permanent good would result; but time, which tests the correctness of political measures, has sufficiently elapsed to convince them of their error--at least it has impressed on my mind a conviction, that we deeply suffer, whilst those it was intended to operate on, lightly feel its effects. I was originally opposed to the measure--I still am opposed to it; although I anxiously wish its immediate repeal, yet I am compelled to vote against the present resolution, because in my heart and judgment I believe it is so worded as to violate, if adopted, the Constitution of the United States--and that I am unwilling to let the repeal of this law depend on contingencies, not known or designated and which are to grow out of the acts of foreign Governments.

An honorable gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. LOVE,) who originally voted for the measure, has this day admitted it to be a curse. I concur with him, as I hope he will now with me, in a vote and prayer for its speedy removal. I believe the embargo to be partial in its operation, oppressive, and, if persisted in, ruinous to the country. These are strong terms, but if gentlemen will lend a patient ear, I will endeavor to convince them of their truth, and I will use as much brevity as is consistent with perspicuity. The view I take of this subject is extensive, but I hope not diffusive.

The resolution proposes to vest the President with power, on the happening of certain European events, to suspend the embargo law. I am against it, because I want an immediate repeal, because it is unconstitutional to vest the President with power to suspend a law, and because it is partial in its operation, oppressive, and ruinous.

It is partial in its operation in two respects--first as it regards the persons on whom it operates, and secondly, as it respects the product operated on.

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