If a parcel of kegs, in those days, alarmed them so much, what will Fulton's torpedoes do now?
Mr. McKim said, that what had fallen from the gentleman from Connecticut had operated powerfully on his mind to satisfy him of the propriety of the appropriation. He says, observed Mr. McK., that he has no doubt they will produce the desired effect. Now, sir, when I am informed, from so respectable a source, of their effect when properly placed under the ship, I am induced to vote for this appropriation. If one of these machines in a hundred should take effect, the object would be perfectly gained. If we could only blow up one or two in a squadron, we should not hereafter be disturbed by British squadrons in our waters. I have listened with great pleasure to the lecture of the gentleman on pneumatics, hydraulics, &c., for I know not where I could have derived so much information as from that gentleman, and I take the opportunity of returning my thanks to him.
Mr. Fisk said he was against the bill, but from different reasons than other gentlemen were. I do believe, said he, that in some cases, the anchored torpedoes may be effectual; but I do not believe that any thing to result from this bill will be of service to the country. I do not entertain any doubt that a vessel may be blown up. The explosion will take place, the wreck will be left in the bed of the river, and it may cost $5,000 to raise it, or it may remain as an obstacle to the invasion of the capital. If Congress are at this time seriously to resort to the torpedo system of defence, let us do it in a more serious manner; let us make a respectable provision to purchase torpedo munition, and create a torpedo corps under certain regulations. We have got military and naval armaments; let us make a torpedo armament. At the same time, it was but justice to the inventor to say, that he considered the anchored torpedo as a very useful invention. Mr. F. moved to recommit the bill, to inquire into the propriety of appropriating such a sum of money as the Secretary of the Navy should deem adequate to the object, for the sum proposed certainly was not.
Mr. Quincy said he agreed with the gentleman from New York in his opposition to the bill, because, if a fair experiment was intended, the appropriation was totally insufficient. This morning, in a conversation with the Secretary of the Navy, I understood that this sum will not enable a vessel to be placed in that situation which will give a fair experiment. If we pass this bill, it will be utterly useless to the purpose proposed. If the object be to have gentlemen who never saw such a thing gratified with an explosion, that object will be attained, but no other. Let us have an estimate from the Secretary of the Navy of the probable expense, or the whole sum appropriated may be lost, and the law will prove utterly disgraceful to those who passed it.
Mr. Holland said he had understood from the torpedo inventor himself, that $5,000 would be amply sufficient.
Mr. Dana said he had no belief that any vessel could be purchased for five thousand dollars, on which a sufficient experiment could be made. He conceived that the experiment could only be made in hostile operations. We are told that these torpedoes would destroy the navy in the British channel. Do we doubt the inveteracy of the French hatred of the British navy when it has existed so many years? If this invention would command the British Channel—and millions are but dust in the balance for this object—to enable Bonaparte to strike at the British soil, why has not the invention been patronized by France? It has been rejected by France, and rejected by England after an expense of hundreds of thousands of dollars—and now are we to take it up? It is as a stationary resistance to be made to a naval force where there are fortresses also, that the torpedo may be made use of, if they can be used at all; where chains, or chevaux-de-frises are made use of, it may be made use of as auxiliary to other aids in terrifying the enemy. As to setting these machines afloat, firing harpoons into vessels, calculating the chance of boats getting away when a single shot may send them to the bottom, I have no opinion of it at all.
Mr. Lyon said he would not vote for recommitment, not that he had not rather that ten thousand dollars were appropriated than five thousand; but the House had the Senate's opinion on that point before them. He agreed with gentlemen entirely, that there never could be a complete experiment until time of war. But that was no reason why we should not, before war came, be in a fair state to try the experiment in war.
Mr. Fisk said he had not seen the experiment which had been made in New York, but he had conversed with hundreds who had. He had no doubt but the invention might be useful, but how was its utility to be ascertained, unless in the vessel to be attacked, there was a crew prepared to resist the approach of the boats, or prevent the operation of the torpedo? The nation would be no more convinced of their utility after an expenditure of five thousand dollars than they now are. It is because I have confidence in the effect of anchored torpedoes, that I am for recommitting the bill. By passing the bill as it is, we shall demonstrate nothing but the expenditure of money. I am for making an actual experiment on an enemy's vessel. To attack a well-manned frigate, is a very different thing from attacking an old hulk, perfectly at the disposal of the projectors. If we were to pass a bill constructing a torpedo corps, and offering a bounty on every ship blown up, it would be much better calculated to make an impression of our seriousness than this bill.
Mr. Tallmadge said, that having been absent from the House at the time this bill was first introduced, he knew not what arguments had been offered in favor of it. He said he was always ready to encourage inventions, &c., but when a measure was presented which had no novelty in it, he could not be satisfied to give a silent vote on the bill for encouraging it.
My honorable colleague stated fairly the principles on which the submarine boat was constructed; and I believe, said Mr. T., that there is no gentleman in this House who doubts the power of gunpowder, placed under the bottom of a vessel, to destroy it. I have seen it tried during the war in a great variety of ways. I became perfectly satisfied that the principle was just; the only difficulty was to place the magazine in such a situation that it should have the greatest possible effect.
I well recollect that, in 1777, when Bushnell was called on to make an experiment on a British brig of thirty-two guns, lying in North river, a detachment of troops was directed to proceed down the river to enable him to make the experiment free from interruption. I had the honor to command the detachment, and continued there one month. The object of the troops under my immediate command was to keep off all hostile persons, whether of the enemy or persons unfriendly to the invention, that he might have every opportunity to make his experiment with success. His object was at ebb tide to get into the river a boat constructed for the purpose, and pass down the river, and, if possible, fix his magazine of powder to the bottom of the enemy's vessel. He tried it over and over again. Sometimes he would entirely miss the vessel; sometimes he would come so near that he would get intimidated and retire again; till, sir, I became so heartily sick of the business, and of that sort of duty, that I wished the boat and men were both at the bottom of the ocean. I state this to show the difficulty, danger, and what I myself conceive to be the impossibility of placing the magazine under the vessel. So much for this; and I take Mr. Fulton's machine to be bottomed precisely on the same principle, the difference only being in the mode of application.
I have no idea of laughing the subject out of the House; but how can gentlemen see the least probability of success in the invention? Suppose a frigate at anchor, and a few boats endeavoring to harpoon this vessel. Do gentlemen suppose that boats can approach without the most imminent danger? And, granting that the harpoon strikes, where is all the nautical skill of the men when they see this, if they do not prevent it from taking effect. Suppose a perfectly sure shot, and that the harpoon should be fastened in the bow, is it possible that the rope to which the torpedo is attached would not be cut, and the torpedo left to float below perfectly harmless? Do gentlemen consider harpooning a vessel to be like harpooning a whale, which has no men on board of it to take out the harpoon? I cannot bring myself to believe it possible that a crew on board a ship could see all around her, and yet permit a torpedo to be attached to her and place her in such a condition as to be liable to be totally destroyed with every person on board.
It does seem to me that this sort of philosophical experiment ought not to be gone into by this House. If it be necessary to employ anything it would be vastly preferable that we should not go through all this solemn farce of passing a law for the purpose of exhibiting a sort of playful experiment, and there is probably a day of our time to be devoted to it, when, in truth, no solid advantages can accrue from it. I am unwilling on another ground, because the thing itself would expose the Government to a sort of ridicule. If we pass this bill, and the experiment be made; if a brig be bought for this money and totally destroyed, there will still be as much proof wanting to demonstrate that this is an experiment on which we can rely, as there was before. I am against it on another ground: that if we trust to this kind of doubtful defence, we shall get into the habit of giving up the more substantial defence of the country. This is my solid reason for voting against this bill. No one ever yet found any way of getting along in solid defence but by solid preparation. I should rather come into honorable combat than fight with this underhand explosion, when especially there is so much doubt in it. If an experiment could be made, however, without all this solemn farce, I do not, know that I should have any objection to it.
The motion for recommitment was lost—50 to 45.
The question on the passage of the bill was then taken by yeas and nays, and decided in the affirmative—yeas 65, nays 53.
First Meridian.
Mr. Pitkin, from the committee to whom was referred, on the 25th of January last, the memorial of William Lambert, made the following report thereon:
That the memorialist states that, for the purpose of laying a foundation for the establishment of a first meridian for the United States of America, at the seat of Government, he has made calculations to determine the longitude of the Capitol, in the City of Washington, from Greenwich Observatory, in England; and that he submits the same, together with the data and elements on which his calculations are made, to the consideration and patronage of the National Legislature.
The committee have deemed the subject worthy the attention of Congress, and would, therefore, beg leave to observe, that the necessity of the establishment of a first meridian, or meridian which should pass through some particular place on the globe, from which geographers and navigators could compute or reckon longitude, is too obvious to need elucidation.
The ancient Greek geographers placed their first meridian to pass through one of the islands, which were by them called the Fortunate Islands, since called the Canaries. Those islands were situated as far west as any lands that had then been discovered, or were known by ancient navigators in that part of the world.
They reckoned their longitude east, from Heria or Junonia, one of these islands supposed to be the present Island of Teneriffe.
The Arabians, it is said, fixed their first meridian at the most westerly part of the continent of Africa. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when Europe was emerging from the dark ages, and a spirit of enterprise and discovery had arisen in the South of Europe, and various plans were formed, and attempts made to find a new route to the East Indies, geographers and navigators continued to calculate longitude from Ferro, one of the same islands, though some of them extended their first meridian as far west as the Azores or Western islands.
In more modern times, however, most of the European nations, and particularly England and France, have established a first meridian to pass through the capital, or some place in their respective countries, and to which they have lately adapted their charts and astronomical tables.
It would perhaps have been fortunate for the science of geography and navigation, that all nations had agreed upon a first meridian, from which all geographers and navigators might have calculated longitude; but as this has not been done, and in all probability never will take place, the committee are of opinion that, situated as we are in this Western hemisphere, more than three thousand miles from any fixed or known meridian, it would be proper, in a national point of view, to establish a first meridian for ourselves; and that measures should be taken for the eventual establishment of such a meridian in the United States.
In examining the maps and charts of the United States, and the particular States, or their seacoasts, which have been published in this country, the committee find that the publishers have assumed different places in the United States, as first meridians.
This creates confusion, and renders it difficult, without considerable calculation, to ascertain the relative situation of places in this country. This difficulty is also increased, by the circumstance that, in Louisiana, our newly-acquired territory, longitude has heretofore been reckoned from Paris the capital of the French Empire.
The exact longitude of any place in the United States being ascertained from the meridian of the observatory at Greenwich, in England, a meridian with which we have been conversant, it would not be difficult to adapt all our maps, charts, and astronomical tables, to the meridian of such a place. And no place, perhaps, is more proper than the seat of Government.
It appears by the papers submitted to the consideration of the committee, that Mr. Lambert has calculated the longitude of the Capitol in the City of Washington, from the Royal observatory at Greenwich, by one of the most approved methods now in use for that purpose, viz: an occultation of a known fixed star by the moon.
His calculations are founded on an occultation of η pleiadum, (Alcyone,) one of the seven stars, on the night of the 20th of October, 1804. By these calculations it appears, that the longitude of the Capitol, in the city of Washington, as reduced according to the true figure of the earth, (being that of an oblate spheroid,) is 76° 53´ 6".920 degrees west. The committee would observe, that Mr. Lambert appears to be well acquainted with astronomical calculations; and that, so far as the committee have had time to examine them, they appear to be correct. In a question, however, of so much nicety, the correct decision of which depends so much on the accuracy of the observations made, and the goodness of the instruments used, and when the smallest error in the data will necessarily produce an erroneous result, full reliance ought not to be placed on calculations made from a single observation.
Indeed, in order to be certain of a correct result, it may be proper that more than one of the various methods of ascertaining longitude should be used; that calculations should be made from observations of the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, of solar eclipses, of the angular distances between the sun and moon, or the moon and a fixed star, or other methods, as well as from observations on occultations of fixed stars.
The committee are, therefore, of opinion that, in order to lay a foundation for the establishment of a first meridian in this Western hemisphere, the President of the United States should be authorized to cause the longitude of the city of Washington, from the observatory at Greenwich, in England, to be ascertained with the greatest possible degree of accuracy; and that he also be authorized, for that purpose, to procure the necessary astronomical instruments.
They, therefore, beg leave to submit to the consideration of the House, the following resolution:
Resolved, That it is expedient to make provision, by law, authorizing the President of the United States to cause the longitude of the city of Washington from the observatory at Greenwich, in England, to be ascertained with the greatest degree of accuracy; and also authorizing him, for that purpose, to procure the necessary astronomical instruments.
In presenting the above report, Mr. Pitkin observed that the object of the committee was to have a first meridian established for the United States, from which computations of longitude might be generally made, that maps, charts, and nautical tables, might not, as heretofore, be calculated from the observatory at Greenwich, or from the varying points of Philadelphia, New York, Washington, or Charleston. Mr. P. dilated upon the advantages of such a measure. Congress would fix upon the place most proper for a first meridian; and, perhaps, as Washington was the seat of Government, it would be as proper a place as any. As the longitude must be taken very exactly, various instruments would be necessary for the purpose of making astronomical observations. As he was desirous that a bill should pass on the subject at this session, he did not move a reference of the report to a Committee of the Whole, but moved that it lie on the table, to give gentlemen time to consider it before he asked a decision on it.
The report was accordingly ordered to lie on the table.
Batture at New Orleans.
The House resumed the consideration of the bill providing the means to ascertain the title to the batture near New Orleans.
Mr. Bibb's motion yet under consideration, and a division of the question being called for,
The question on striking out the sections of the present bill (providing for a judicial decision) was taken, and carried—yeas 95, nays 22.
The question now recurred on Mr. Bibb's amendment, to insert, in lieu of those stricken out, several new sections.
[Mr. Bibb's amendment proposes that the right of the United States shall be vested in the Corporation of New Orleans, so as to enable them to defend any suit which may be instituted for the recovery of the batture, and that the batture shall be used and enjoyed as a public highway and landing place, &c.; as well by citizens of the United States as by the inhabitants of New Orleans.]
This motion was decided by yeas and nays and lost—yeas 36, nays 84.
The Batture at New Orleans.
The House resumed the consideration of the unfinished business of yesterday, on the bill providing the means to ascertain the title to the batture in front of the suburb St. Mary, in the city of New Orleans.
The question having recurred on the amendment of Mr. Pitkin, the said amendment was withdrawn by the mover.
The question was then taken on concurring with the Committee of the Whole in their first amendment to the said bill, and carried in the affirmative.
The question then recurred on concurring with the Committee of the Whole House in their second amendment to the said bill, amended in the House to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized, at any time within one year, to make and execute such compromise with the parties, or any of them, who were removed from the said batture on the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eight, by order of the President of the United States, and to procure a cession of their claims thereto, or to any part thereof, for the use of the public, or to any body politic or corporate, on such terms as may be agreed on with the said parties, and deemed advisable by the President, and to stipulate for a compensation, either in money or public lands, in the city of New Orleans, or its territories, as he may think proper."
Messrs. Nelson, Smilie, Holland, and Bibb, opposed the amendment; and Messrs. Sheffey, Key, and Lyon, supported it.
The question being taken, it was determined in the negative—yeas 62, nays 55.
Apportionment of Representation.
Mr. Fisk said he rose to offer a resolution, which he had for some time wished to present for the consideration of this House. It is to provide for fixing the apportionment of the Representatives of the several States according to the third census. The last ratio was one Representative for every thirty-three thousand souls; which, gave one hundred and forty-two members to this House—a number as large as may be considered necessary for the despatch of legislation, or to preserve the liberties of the people. It is estimated that the next census will give seven millions two hundred thousand souls, which, according to the present ratio of representation, would give to this House two hundred and eighteen members—a greater number than could be accommodated within these walls, and a greater body of men than could progress with the business of the House.
After the census shall be taken, the amount in each State ascertained, and the fractional numbers known, it will be much more difficult to fix the ratio than at this time. I therefore beg leave to submit the following resolution. And as it embraces a subject of great importance, I have no objection that it lay on the table a few days for the consideration of the members:
Resolved, That the apportionment of Representatives amongst the several States, according to the third enumeration of the people, ought to be in the ratio of one Representative for every forty-five thousand persons in each State, and that a committee be appointed to bring in a bill accordingly.
A motion was made that the resolution lie on the table.
A motion was also made to postpone it for a week.
Mr. Pickman moved to postpone the further consideration of the resolution indefinitely. He thought the question could be decided to much greater advantage in the two first months of the next session of Congress than in the two weeks remaining of the present session.
Mr. Macon was against indefinite postponement. Every one, on reflection, must be satisfied that it would be better to decide the ratio of apportionment now than after the result of the census was known. He thought the resolution had better have been in blank as to the ratio. The ratio might be settled either by fixing the number of Representatives of whom the House should consist after the next census, or by fixing the number of souls which should entitle a district to a Representative.
Mr. Gold said, however desirable it might be at this time to fix the ratio, he doubted very much whether a decision would now settle the question. If a law were now to be passed, and there should be several large fractions on any given ratio, there would be a strong disposition to alter the ratio at the next session. He thought it would be expedient also to postpone the apportionment, because it might be affected by the proportion in which the population of the United States may have increased since the last census, which could not be ascertained till after the census.
Mr. Quincy said he understood the object of the resolution to be to settle a principle before the facts were ascertained. Now it was his opinion that the House should know the facts first and settle the principle afterwards. Suppose the principle to be adopted—perhaps one or two States might be entitled to but one Representative, which, had the ratio been fixed at forty thousand, might have been entitled to two. This would appear to operate unjustly. The House must know the facts in order fairly to apportion representation. The apportionment ought to be made not merely in relation to population, but to the weight of the different States in the Union—and these considerations could not have their due weight till after the relative numbers were ascertained.
Mr. W. Alston was in favor of deciding on the subject at this session. He had no fear of difficulty resulting from fractions remaining unrepresented. It would be recollected that at the last apportionment, Delaware had a fraction of thirty-one thousand left, and Carolina twenty-nine thousand. The small States could not object to the course proposed; for if this question was postponed till after the census, and a particular ratio should appear to suit the returns of the three large States, they would support it and carry it too, notwithstanding the large fractions it might leave to smaller States. A disadvantage would therefore result to the small States from postponement rather than from a decision now.
Mr. Fisk said there was one other reason why an apportionment should be made at this session, viz: that it would enable the State Legislatures at their ordinary winter sessions to divide the States into districts, and not subject them to the necessity of an extra session for the purpose.
Mr. Livermore was against indefinite postponement, because he was inclined to the opinion that the subject ought to be acted on at this session, but wished the resolution to lie on the table a day or two. He said he was convinced, from his experience in the manner of doing business in this House, that it would take nearly the whole of the next session of Congress to make the apportionment, if it was postponed till after the census was taken. He had rather the resolution had been blank as to the ratio.
Mr. Fisk modified his motion, so as to leave it blank as to the ratio.
Mr. Burwell thought that the present was the proper time to fix the proportion; because, after the respective numbers of each State were received, it would be in the power of the larger States to fix the ratio as they pleased, and at present none of the State jealousies could be brought into action, which would, when the returns were actually made. To get over the difficulty said to exist in settling a principle before the facts were known, it was only necessary to say that so many members should compose the House. If the population was smaller than expected, there would still be the number deemed proper to constitute the House; and if it was larger there would be no great increase of members, to the detriment of public business. Mr. B. said he was fully impressed with the necessity of acting on the subject at the present session. If postponed till the result of the census was known, and the particular interest of each member of the House became implicated in the decision of it, there would be extreme difficulty in coming to a decision.
Mr. Smilie said he could not conceive any objection to passing the resolution in its present shape. In this question there was an inconvenience on one side and evil on the other. It was an inconvenience that the House could not with precision ascertain the population of the United States; but, from the increase in times past, the increase for the last ten years might be estimated. The evil of postponement on the other hand was great. Mr. S. said he had been in Congress when the ratio of representation had been settled heretofore, and he had never seen a more difficult question—and it ended at last in a bargain between the members of the different States; and from these bargains no good could arise. He much preferred deciding on the subject at the present session.
Mr. Rhea of Tennessee was anxious that the subject should lie on the table a day or two, the more especially as there was such a disagreement of opinion as to the operation of the measure of fixing the ratio beforehand. Coming from a small State himself, he feared lest the principle should operate to the injury of the small States. He said he had been much surprised at the declaration of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, that the question would be decided eventually (if postponed) by individual interest. If on such a question the House was to be governed by individual interests, what was the nation to expect from them? This suggestion was another reason in his mind for the resolution's lying on the table.
Mr. Smilie had spoken of human nature as he found it, even in the gentleman from Tennessee as well as all others—a degree of self-concern always influenced individual conduct. Whoever had assisted at settling the representation of a State would conceive the difficulty of deciding these questions.
The motion for indefinite postponement was negatived, ayes 23. The motion to postpone to Monday shared the same fate, ayes 33. The motion to lie on the table was carried—53 to 41.
Colonel Washington.
Mr. Randolph said that the House was already apprised of the death of Colonel William Washington, in whom our country had lost one of her most illustrious sons. It is very far from my intention, sir, said he, by any amplification of mine to lessen the impression of that merit which the bare mention of his name is calculated to make on the mind of every man who hears me. It is not the least unequivocal proof of that worth that it was not extinguished by the effulgence of his great kinsman's glory, with which it was daily brought into comparison. The reputation which can stand such an ordeal as this, is far beyond the praise or blame of an humble individual like me. If, to the proposition which I am about to offer, an objection should arise in the breast of any man who hears me on the score of the rank which that gentleman bore in the late American army, permit me to suggest that it is a testimony to valor and not to rank. It is not a mere respect to rank which I wish the House to pay. It is not in rank to add to the infamy of an Arnold, or to the glory of a Washington. I will, therefore, move the following resolution:
Resolved, That the members of this House do wear crape on the left arm during the remainder of the session, as a testimony of respect for the memory of William Washington, late a Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary army.
Mr. Smilie said he hoped there was no man who felt more respect or gratitude to those men who served their country during the Revolutionary war than he did, but this resolution appeared to be improper on several grounds. I agree, said Mr. S., with the gentleman from Virginia, that rank should have no effect on the opinions of the members of this House on such a subject as this. But, is it not singular that as to the many heroes who have served us during the Revolution, who have now gone to their long home, no notice has been taken of their merits by us, nor any step taken to confer upon them the honor now proposed to be conferred on this officer, whom I acknowledge to be meritorious? We have seen a Greene die, and certainly no man exceeded him in rank or merit, the General-in-chief excepted. We have seen a Wayne also die; and I do not recollect that such a tribute was proposed to any man who served us during the Revolution. Shall we, then, by passing this resolution, sanction an idea that Lieutenant-Colonel Washington was entitled to more respect than others? Would not the passage of this resolution be considered as an indirect censure on the other Revolutionary characters who have gone from us? When the other heroes fall that are still existing, we must, if we pass this resolution, pay the same respect to their merits, or suppose them to have been inferior. This would introduce into the Legislature invidious comparisons, and, instead of legislating, we shall be sitting as judges upon character. In every respect, I think the resolution objectionable.
The question was taken on the resolution without further debate, and passed in the negative—yeas 30.
The Convoy System.
Mr. Eppes said that, some time ago, a bill had been reported by him to the House, authorizing the President of the United States to employ the public armed vessels to convoy the lawful commerce of the United States. The motion to adjourn, which had been agreed to, would leave but a small portion of the time of the House for the discussion of the several subjects before them. As he was compelled by ill health to leave the city at an early day, having already obtained leave of absence, he was anxious to obtain a vote on this before he departed, and therefore asked to discharge the Committee of the Whole from the further consideration of the bill, in order to take the sense of the House whether it should go to a third reading or lie on the table for the present.
This motion was opposed by Messrs. Macon, Taylor, Pickman, Randolph, Livermore, and Wilson, on the ground of its being out of the usual course of proceedings; and it was objected to the more especially as this was a subject involving very important principles, and one which, of all others, ought to be discussed in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. Eppes expressed his willingness to take a silent vote on the subject, and thought a vote might be obtained on the bill without much debate.
Mr. Johnson expressed great anxiety to vote on the bill.
Mr. Livermore intimated that he was strongly against the bill, and, if it took every hour in the session, he was determined to expose what he believed to be its injurious features.
On the question, Mr. Eppes' motion was negatived—yeas 50, nays 61, as follows:
Yeas.—Willis Alston, jr., William Anderson, Ezekiel Bacon, David Bard, Adam Boyd, John Brown, Robert Brown, William A. Burwell, William Butler, Joseph Calhoun, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, Howell Cobb, James Cox, William Crawford, John Dawson, Joseph Desha, John W. Eppes, William Findlay, Meshack Franklin, David S. Garland, Thomas Gholson, Peterson Goodwyn, James Holland, Benjamin Howard, Jacob Hufty, Richard M. Johnson, Walter Jones, Aaron Lyle, Samuel McKee, Nicholas R. Moore, Jeremiah Morrow, Gurdon S. Mumford, Roger Nelson, John Porter, John Roane, Erastus Root, Ebenezer Sage, Thomas Sammons, Ebenezer Seaver, Adam Seybert, Samuel Shaw, Dennis Smelt, George Smith, John Smith, Henry Southard, Robert Weakley, Robert Whitehall, Robert Witherspoon, and Richard Wynn.
Nays.—William W. Bibb, Daniel Blaisdell, James Breckenridge, William Chamberlin, Epaphroditus Champion, James Cochran, Richard Cutts, John Davenport, junior, William Ely, James Emott, Jonathan Fisk, Barzillai Gannett, Thos. R. Gold, William Hale, Daniel Heister, Jonathan H. Hubbard, Richard Jackson, jr., Robert Jenkins, William Kennedy, Herman Knickerbacker, Joseph Lewis, jun., Edward St. Loe Livermore, Matthew Lyon, Nathaniel Macon, Robt. Marion, Vincent Matthews, Archibald McBryde, Pleasant M. Miller, William Milnor, Thomas Moore, Jonathan O. Mosely, Joseph Pearson, Benjamin Pickman, jun., Timothy Pitkin, jun., Elisha R. Potter, Josiah Quincy, John Randolph, John Rea of Pennsylvania, John Rhea of Tennessee, Matthias Richards, Daniel Sheffey, John Smilie, Samuel Smith, Richard Stanford, John Stanley, James Stephenson, Jacob Swoope, Samuel Taggart, John Taylor, John Thompson, Uri Tracy, George M. Troup, Charles Turner, jr., Jabez Upham, Nicholas Van Dyke, Archibald Van Horne, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Laban Wheaton, Ezekiel Whitman, and James Wilson.
Colonel Washington.
Mr. Quincy rose to move a resolution. He said he very deeply regretted the situation in which this House had been placed in relation to the memory of that distinguished officer of the Revolution, General William Washington, in consequence of the resolution moved on the 11th instant. He thought that the impression exhibited on the journals was not such as either did justice to that individual or to the feelings of every member of the House. He hoped that to the resolution which he was about to offer, and which had for its object an explanation of the grounds on which he knew a majority of the House had voted, would not find an objection. It would take away the appearance that this House had not that deep sense of the merits and services of that officer which he knew they possessed. He then read the following resolution:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives are deeply sensible of the loss this nation has sustained in the death of General William Washington, late Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army of the Revolution, and that the rejection of the resolution offered on the 11th instant, in relation to that distinguished officer, having been produced wholly by considerations of a general nature, cannot be deemed to derogate from the high sense which this House, in common with their fellow-citizens, entertain of his civil and military virtues and services.
The House agreed to consider the resolution—58 to 13.
The resolution passed—ayes 63; about seventy-five members were present.
General Wilkinson.
The Speaker laid before the House the following letter, which was read:
Washington, April 19, 1810.
Sir: After a tedious passage from New Orleans I arrived at Baltimore on the 16th instant, and reached this city the next day. My absence has been necessarily protracted by the selection of papers, from a mass of twenty years' accumulation, for the establishment of facts, to refute the multifarious and diversified calumnies by which I have been assailed.
I now present myself to the Representative body of the nation, the guardians of the public weal and the protectors of individual rights, to express my earnest desire that they may constitute some impartial tribunal, which may be governed with strictness by the principles of the constitution and the laws of evidence, to investigate the conduct of my whole life, civil and military, whereby justice may be done, and my unexampled persecution be terminated.
I aver my innocence of the foul offences which are imputed to me, and declare my ability to support it before any unprejudiced court. Through you, sir, I appeal to my country, and I claim that right which is not refused to the most profligate—the right of confronting my accusers. The Representatives of the people will not, I am persuaded, suffer a fellow-citizen who has been devoted to the public service more than twenty-five years, and has nothing left him but conscious fidelity and attachment to his native country, to sue in vain for justice.
The enclosed letter to the Secretary of War was written anterior to the receipt of my notification of recall from the command on the Mississippi, and will evince my readiness and my desire for a full investigation of my conduct.
With perfect respect, I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
JAMES WILKINSON.
Hon. J. B. Varnum, Speaker, &c.
Naval Establishment.
Mr. Randolph, from the committee to whom was referred the resolution respecting the reduction of the Naval Establishment, reported the following bill; which was twice read, and referred to a Committee of the Whole:
[Here follows the Bill.]
Loan Bill.
The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill authorizing a loan for a sum of money not exceeding the amount of the principal of the public debt reimbursable during the year 1810.
[In the discussion which took place on this bill, there was no objection to the principle of it. Every gentleman who spoke assented to the propriety of placing at the disposal of the Government a sum of money fully adequate to meet the appropriations authorized by law for the present year.]
Mr. Dana wished to ascertain the precise amount of the principal of the debt reimbursable during the year 1810, with a view to inserting the sum in the body of the bill.
Some difference of opinion appeared to exist as to the exact amount of principal reimbursable. The sum annually applicable to the payment of the public debt is eight millions of dollars. The sum left, after paying the interest of it for the year, is annually applicable to the extinguishment of the principal. The exact amount of interest payable on the public debt during this year not being known, there was a difficulty in ascertaining the exact amount of principal reimbursable.
The sum of $4,800,000 was mentioned.
Mr. Dana moved to amend the bill so as to authorize a loan "not exceeding $4,800,000, being the amount of the principal reimbursable," &c. This motion was supported by the mover, and Messrs. Gold, Sheffey, Quincy, Upham, Tallmadge, and Pickman, and opposed by Messrs. Bacon, W. Alston, and Montgomery.
The arguments in favor of the motion were, generally, that it was improper to attempt to disguise any thing by giving to it a specious name; that borrowing money should not be called paying the public debt; that all authority given to borrow money should be express and specific as to the sum. It was said in reply, that there could be no objection that the truth should appear on the face of a bill; that this sum not being wanted to defray the ordinary expenses of the Government, but to pay debts heretofore contracted, the phraseology was perfectly correct; that it was as specific in fact as if expressed in so many figures.
Mr. Dana varied his motion, after debate, on account of the uncertainty which appeared to exist as to the sum reimbursable, and of course as to the sum to be loaned. He moved to amend the bill so as to give authority to borrow a sum of money "not exceeding four millions of dollars."
This motion was supported and opposed by the same gentlemen who debated the former motion. In support of the motion it was said, that this sum was all that the Secretary of the Treasury had asked for, and was therefore as much as ought to be given. The advocates of the amendment also said that they were averse to legislating blindfold, to voting millions without knowing for what, or to surrendering up their judgments to Executive discretion, under an idea that the President would not borrow more than was necessary.
In reply it was said, that since the Secretary of the Treasury had made the estimate in question, other expenses had been incurred; that it was impossible to tell the precise amount which was wanted until Congress should adjourn, as it was impossible to tell on one day what appropriations they would make the next day; that, if not necessary, the authority to borrow would not be used; as in the case of the loan authorized at the last session of Congress, not a cent of which had been actually borrowed. That law had granted an authority nearly similar to this in nearly the same language.
Mr. Dana's motion was negatived—52 to 29.
Mr. Quincy observed that he felt but one difficulty on this subject. He could not agree to borrow an amount greater than the Secretary of the Treasury had said was necessary. He, therefore, moved to amend the bill by adding to it the following proviso: