The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 1: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 119
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CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
IW
No; for then every American bosom throbbed with
the warmest gratitude: there would have been no
halting, no hesitation, no holding back, such as they
there saw in relation to this money when thirty
years had rolled round. When the memory of
Gen. Jackson's services was fresh, and when every
American heart glowed with gratitude towards him,
all men and all parties would have rushed to the
White House, and they would have implored Mr.
Madison to release him from bondage.
He had heard read at the Clerk's table to-day, one
form of an amendment to the proposition before the
committee, in which there was a long list of States
that had demanded the remission of this fine. The
committee could not know with what infinite pain
he reflected on the fact that the State of Tennessee
was not to be found in that list. The subject, how-
ever, was now before the Legislature of that State;
and he had every reason to believe, that before many
days elapsed, instructions would come to the Sena-
tors in the United States Senate from Tennessee,
on that subject, and then they would find that Ten-
nessee had enrolled herself m the list of States that
had demanded this act of justice. And while speak-
ing of Tennessee, let him be permitted to call the
attention of the committee to one overwhelming
fact. His honorable colleagues had addressed the
committee; and through the whole of their argu-
ments they had carefully made known to the Com-
mittee that they meant to vote for the refunding of
this fine. He was glad to hear them say it; but
why did they do so? One of his colleagues said
that all this refunding of the money was a humbug,
but he meant to vote for it notwithstanding. He
also said that all this declamation about refunding
this fine was intended to benefit Mr. Yan Buren in
his struggle for the presidency; and yet he meant to
vote for it. Was there nothing, remarkable in his
position? He (Mr. B.) could well understand it.
His honorable colleagues were citizens, and honor-
ed citizens, of Tennessee; and in making then-
speeches they had consulted their heads, but in
casting their votes they consulted their hearts.
They had American hearts, and every pulsation
prompted them to give back this money. The fine
was enormous, even according to their own views;
and he called upon them to give it back—not as a
bounty, not as a donation—but to give it back to a
noble patriot, who had won for himself and for liis
country imperishable honors, on the plea of gratitude,
to pass the bill as an actofnational justice, requiiedby
the national honor, and give it back cheerfully and
without hesitation. And it should be done to-day.
The honorable gentleman from Ohio, who had last ad-
dressed the committee, had fixed another day; but
the right day would never come to that gentleman,
and others who entertained like views; they would
not agree to any period of time as proper at which
to surrender this money. They had got the glory
of General Jackson's achievements, and they want-
ed to keep his money too; and hence they would
not agree on a time to surrender the ill-gotten treas-
ure. But this was the day to do it—a day ren-
dered illustrious in our annals. He wished it to
be distinctly understood that he wanted the bill as
it was, without a clausc applying censure to any
one. If, however, gentlemen were so desirous to
have amendments made, he confessed that he was
ready to pronounce a censure on Judge Hall.
Mr. BELSER said, as the time allowed to him by
the rules of the House, and the resolution fixing the
hour at which this bill should be taken out of com-
mittee, was so short, he was impelled to be very
brief with the remarks which he should make on
this occasion. He came from a State, however,
many of whose citizens felt greatly alive to this sub-
ject; and if he were to allow it to pass in silence, he
should not do what his constituents would expect
from him on that floor. He was in hopes, when
this bill was first brought under the consideration of
the House by the honorable gentleman from Penn-
sylvania, [Mr. C. J. Ingersoll,] that there would
not have been one word of opposition raised against
it. It was presented in the most unobjectionable form;
and he did not think there would have been found
a single member oil that floor, whether Whig or
Democrat, that would not have been ready to perfect
that act of justice to a public benefactor by record-
ing his vote in favor of this bill. He was willing to
leave the issue between the deceased judge and the
commanding general to be determined by posterity;
and he wished it not to be said that they who acted
with him had drawn it into this debate. It had
been brought there by the amendment of the honor-
able gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Stefhens,] and
by the conduct of the gentleman from New York
[Mr. Barnard.] If they passed this bill as it Was
originally presented by the gentleman from Penn-
sylvania, [Mr. Incersoll,] they did not pretend to
determine on the correctness of the conduct of either
the judge or the commading general; they merely
restored to a public benefactor that which he had
paid into the treasury; and by doing so, they would
but be following out precedents of this Government
which had been made on numerous occasions.
What was the character of the amendment of the
honorable gentleman from Georgia? It had been
charged that they had, hyena-like, gone to the grave
and disinterred the mortal remains of the deceased
judge; but he asserted that it was the gentlemen on
the opposite side who, hyena-like—nay, worse—had
done this; for that animal sought only the mortal
part of man, while the gentlemen opposite were
endeavoring to put in issue that which was immortal.
He had heard the gentleman from N. Y. [Mr. Bar-
nard] talk of "licking this bill into shape." Such he
[Mr. Belser] did not think was the courteous lan-
guage that should be addressed to the people's rep-
resentatives on this floor. The gentleman from
New York imputed a degree of sycophancy to the
honorable members there, of which, if such lan-
guage had been used out of this hall, a different no-
tice might have been taken. He (Mr. B.) was gov-
erned by no such motive. He came there to vote
with no party on any question of this character;
and he absolved himself from all party allegiance
on those questions on that floor. He was an inde-
pendent representative, so far as his action on that
subject was concerned. An honorable gentleman
from Tennessee said they wanted to make political
capital for Mr. Van Buren. Now he (Mr. B.) did
not even know that he should vote for Mr. Van
Buren. Before he did so, that system of legalized
plunder now put upon this country must be re-
moved. Something had been said about the hickory
and misletoe, but it did not possess even the merit
of originality; for it was but a part of the declama-
tion of 1840 that was belched forth again with ad-
ditional vituperation.
. The suspension of the habeas corpus, which had
ever been recognised under all free governments as
the bulwark of liberty, could only take place in
cases of rebellion or invasion—when the public
safety absolutely required it be suspended. That
was the limitation; and it was important to con-
template another point, viz: that the Constitution
secures to every State a republican form of govern-
ment. He admitted that there were but few cases
which would authorize a commander in this coun-
try to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. But there
were such cases, and they were above all law; they
existed antecedent to the adoption of the Constitu-
tion and the formation of the Government. He
contended that the facts, as they existed in this case,
fully justified General Jackson; and the gentleman
might as well attempt to turn the course of the
Mississippi, as to endeavor to alter the public ver-
dict which had been rendered by seventeen States
of this Union in justification of General Jackson.
In regard to the doctrine of contempt of court to
which the gentleman had alluded, the charges must
be specific. A bill of discovery could not be filed,
to make a mail give evidence against himself; and
Gen. Jackson was properly supported by the law
and the Constitution when he refused to answer to
the interrogatories which were propounded to
him. Besides, General Jackson acted upon the
advice of a lawyer, and that ought to excuse him
before this House. Suppose General Jackson were
arraigned before a jury to answer the charge of
false imprisonment: was there a jury on the face of
the earth that could render a verdict against him
upon the testimony which has been adduced? A
jury could not do it.
The first great question to be decided was, did
the circumstances in which General Jackson was
placed present such an extremity as authorized the
declaration of martial law? This being the case,
Judge Hall had no right to entei within the limits
of the camp with his writ of habeas corpus. There
could be 110 contempt offered him, because he had
n o right to go there with his writ: the civil authority
had been suspended; and when frp attempted to in-
terfere with the discipline of the camp, he was an in-
truder, and should have been treated precisely as he
was treated.
With respect to the judiciary, he disclaimed any
intention of speaking lightly of that deparment oi
the Government, In his opinion, it was the right
arm of the Government? Destroy the judiciary, and
its balance would be lost.
As for himself, he would vote for the bill pre-
cisely as it was introduced by the gentleman from
Pennsylvania. He wag not prepared to say that
Judge Hall did not act from correct motives; and
he would not, therefore, vote for anything which
would serve to throw discredit on his memory.
Mr. STEENROD said he did not think it was the
design of the Democratic party in that House, as
had Been said by gentlemen on the other side, to
make of this bill political capital. He could answer
for himself, and he thought he might also answer for
the party, that they had no such motives as those at-
tributed to them. But what motives ought to be at-
tributed to those gentlemen who declared they would
vote for the bill, and yet made speeches against it'
What capital was likely to be made by the Demo-
cratic party out of this bill? The last Whig Con-
gress refused to pass the bill, because there were
amendments; and now the Democratic party were to
make capital by passing the bill without amend-
ments! If the bill should be defeated, the everlast-
ing displeasure of the people of this country would
rest upon those by whose means it was defeat-
ed; for if there was any measure which could
come before Congress, which would awaken a feel-
ing of patriotism, it was this one. General Jackson
was too nearly connected with the defence and the
glory of this country, to be treated with indignity.
He was held too high in the estimation of his coun-
trymen, to be neglected by the Representatives of the
people in that House
Mr. S. then took a view of the condition of the
city of New Orleans, the forces of the enemy that
met it, the available means at the general's disposal,
and the difficulties and dangers that he had to en-
counter, to show how imperative it was on him, in
order to meet the great responsibilities that rested on
him, to exercise the greatest firmness and vigor to
arrest treason and disaffection, and prevent it from
spreading. He showed, that at the time Louallier
was arrested, General Jackson's army had been
greatly reduced by desertions, by the expiration of
the men's service, and by the release of numbers
availing themselves of the certificates of the French
consul; and that the enemy, so far from having re-
linquished their designs on the city, had refused to
accede to a truce, and still meditated another blow,
to retrieve the disgrace of their defeat. Under these
circumstances, had General Jackson hesitated in as-
suming the responsibilities he did, his army might
have been dispersed, and the city left defenceless.
Mr. SEVERANCE briefly opposed the bill, and
declared that he did so on principle. He denied
the power of General Jackson to declare martial
law, and that, consequently, he exceeded his au-
thority ill imprisoning Louallier and Judge Hall.
He contended that Judge Hall strictly did his duty
as a just judge. He cared not whether the judge
was born m England, Ireland, or Africa; he gave a
just iudgment,, such as should have been given by
an American judge; and he (Mr. S.) should, by his
vote, show his approbation of his conduct. He
would never consent that a military commander
should assume to himself the power of suspending
the writ of habeas corpus, when the Constitution
did not even allow Congress to do it, except in
cases of rebellion or invasion.
Mr. HALE addressed the House for a few min-
utes in support of the bill, going over the g™und -
on which he stood in giving his vote on this bill,
and then expressing himself somewhat pointedly
on the difficulty of understanding what was a con-
tempt, with illustrations by the recital of punish-
ments for contempt. He made some other remarks,
and concluded with the observation, that the people
were speaking, on this subject, the spontaneous lan-
guage of the heart.
Mr. A. JOHNSON of Tennessee next addressed
the committee, and spoke until the hour of 4 o'clock,
which was fixed by the House to terminate debate.
Mr. BARNARD withdrew the amendment which
he had offered. _
Mr FRENCH then proposed to amend tne ori-
ginal bill, by adding that General Jackson m the
measures he adopted for the defence of New Or-
leans, did nothing more than his duty; but it being
decided by the Chairman to be out oi order at that
time Mr. F. withdrew the motion.
The committee then rose, and the bill was report-
ed to the House without amendment.
The question was then taken upon the following
amendment of Mr. Stephens:
That the sum of one thousand dollars, together with.ia-
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 1: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session, book, 1844; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2367/m1/143/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.