The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 78
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78
APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
Jan. 1844.
28th Cong 1st Sess.
Improvement of the Western waters—Mr. Jameson.
H. of Reps.
gument repudiates the idea of change or improve-
ment. Such arguments are always at hand to up-
hold eind continue public abuses. They would sus-
tain all the evils to which the country is subject.
If they are old errors, old follies, or corruptions,
they must be continued because they are old. His
views were different. He was disposed to test the
question fairly, and determine whether a thing was
in itself right or wrong. If right, support it; if
wrong, abandon it, or correct the evil. He was con-
vinced that this bill was wrong in principle; there-
fore he opposed it.
The gentleman from Ohio had emphasized the
word "contract," used by him, (Mr. R.,) and
charged him with opposing this bill, because they
were not entitled to its provisions under the contract
of enlistment. He had told the House that it was
the pound of flesh thathe (Mr. R.) demanded—"the
bond, the bond." Sir, were not those persons who
went down in the Grampus employed by the gov-
ernment upon contract—a contract on their part to
labor for the government for a given period, and on
the part of the government to pay them in dollars
and cents for that labor? Was this a contract Did
the government agree, in case of accident, to pay to
them, or their widows, children, parents, or broth-
ers and sisters, wages never earned? There was no
such agreement; no such understanding. If the
practice is to be persisted in, it should enter into and
form a part of the contract. It should be written
down and be correctly understood. Sir, suppose one
of the crew had fallen overboard and drowned:
would any member upon this floor propose to pay
his widow or children a sum equal to his wages for
six months after that accident? Suppose half, or
even the whole ship's crew had died on board of
the ship with the scurvy, cholera, or yellow fever:
would this House have been called upon to pass
such a bill as this' He doubted it very much. It
was the magnitude of the calamity—the destruction
of the ship and all on board—that awakened the
sympathies of members upon this floor. The sighs
and tears of wives and children, parents, and broth-
ers and sisters, givo zeal and energy to the advo-
cates of this bill. It was difficult to resist the ardent
and geneious impulse in its favor; but he did not
forget that every merchant ship that went down in
the ocean, and every steamboat that was destroyed
with its passengers and crew, left widows and chil-
dren, and parents, and brothers and sisters, to mourn
their loss: the same tender ties were broken; the
same tender sympathies were excited; the same
claims upon the bounties of his government, in his
judgment, existed in the one case as the other. This
opinion, honestly entertained, the gentleman from
Ohio thinks is calling for the terms of the bond—
"the pound of flesh." That gentleman makes his
liberality a matter of pride and boasting. Sir,
whose money is he so free to give away? Not his
own. No, sir, but the people's. He is willing to
tax the labor of the Country to draw from the pock-
ets of the laboring classes the hard'earnings of their
toil in the field and the workshop, and bestow it
liberally and bountifully upon the surviving friends
and relatives of those who happen accidentally to
die while in the public service. He had no desire
to imitate that gentleman in his liberality with the
money of the people. He had rather be cluuged
by him with insisting upon the "pound of flesh." He
insisted that we are all equally liable to be cut off by
accident, upon the land and upon the water, and that
it afforded lio just ground of claim to government
favors in behalf of the friends of those who go to the
bottom of the ocean in national ships, and in prefer-
ence to those who perish in the commercial ships of
tiie nation. Why grant bounties and pensions m
time of pea'V? Wliat good can flow from such a
practicc? In his opinion, none whatever. While he
retained a seat open this floor, he would oppose c\e-
ry bill ot' the ch.imctci of the picscnt, if he stood
alone. Had the Ui jmpua perished in a contest with
an enemy's ship—had she ^one down bravely fight-
nig tile battles of her country, he would be as ready
as any man in this House to reward that bravery m
the most liberal manner, by bounties or pensions to
the widows and children. To the brave men who
are dtsabied or manned upon the land, or in the
navy, amid the horrors of war, the country should
be liberal. The warrior's arm should be nerved,
and his courage strengthened, in the hour of battle,
with the knowledge that, if he is wounded or disa-
bled, his country will provide for him a generous
support, or, if he falls, that its fostering hand will
be extended to the protection and support of those
dear to him. The object of the nation should be to
encourage and reward deeds of noble daring; to
make Americans the bravest of the brave. For this
purpose, he believed in a liberal bestowment of boun-
ties and pensions; for this object, he was willing to
be liberal with the people's money. He was willing
to tax the laboring men of the country to reward
bravery in their defence; but he was not willing to
bestow bounties earned by toil, and husbanded by
economy, to the relatives of those who, in time of
peace,perish by accidents common alike to all men,
simply because they were in the employment of the
government.
REMARKS OF MR. NEWTON,
OF VIRGINIA,
In the House of Representatives, January 25, 1844—
In reply to Messrs. Dromgoole, Gilmer, and
others, on the motion to print the arguments of
Messrs. Goggin and Gilmer.
Mr. NEWTON said, it having been intimated
by several gentleman that their suspicions were ex-
cited by what they were pleased to term an effort on
the part of the minority of the committee to sup-
press these arguments, he deemed it his duty, as a
member of the committee, and as a friend of Mr.
Goggin, (who was detained at home by indisposition,)
to make a few remarks by way of explanation and
defence. He took occasion to say, that Mr. Goggin
was a just, honorable, and candia man, and would
scorn any attempt to suppress any fact, admission,
or proper inference, that could be drawn from his ar-
gument. And his friends on this floor would be equal-
ly incapable of such an act of meanness. But, sir, sup-
press what? The argument is in possession of the
House—now lying on your table—and open to the
inspection of any gentleman who may desire to ex-
amine it. No, sir. The printing is not required to
enlighten this House, but for home consumption.
The honorable gentleman from Albemarle [Mr.
Gilmer] prides himself upon his powers as a con-
troversialist: having unhorsed the late governor of
New York, he hopes to be equally successful with
Mr. Goggin, who, on another field, has unhorsed
him. I'he gentleman designs to send these papers
to the hollows of Madison and Green, which seem
already to be covered with a perpetual mist, which
these publications will be rather calculated to thicken
than dispel. It is not, however, because the friends
of Mr. Goggin fear a comparison between the argu-
ments of Mr. Goggin ana his competitor, that they
resist this motion. In point of style and ability, the
argument of Mr. Goggin is fully equal to that of the
gentleman from Albermarlc. But what wc object
to, is this: Mr. Goggin's argument was prepared
more than a month ago, upon a state of facts upon
which he had, at that time, a right to rely implicitly,
but which, in the eoursc of subsequent inquiry, has
been found, to a considerable extent, not to exist.
To illustrate the objection: aiarge portion of the ar-
gument is directed to the fact, then supposed-to ex-
ist, that the officers of election, in the county of Mad-
ison,were not sworn. Some time after Mr.G. left there
city, I received a letter from the clerk of Madison,
addressed to me individually, certifying that alt the
officers had been sworn. This letter I deemed it
my duty to submit to the House, and, through the
House, to the committee. Another portion of the ar-
gument was founded on a certificate from the clerk
of Amherst; which certificate the clerk, upon fur-
ther investigation, found to be to some extent incor-
rect. Upon these two points, therefore, and upon
others that it is needless to enumerate, the argument
is entirely superfluous. Mr. Goggin has had no
opportunity of remodelling it; and, in its present
shape, it is not such as he would, in the existing
slate of die evidence, be willing to submit. Now,
sir, what is to be the effect of sending those argu-
ments to the country? Will not the impression be
produced, winch is certainly unjust to Mr. Goggin,
that he is note pressing upon this House his claim to
a scat, upon evidence which he cither knows, or
ought, to know, to be unfounded? it is to avoid this
injurious impression, and not to suppress-any fact,
that we oppose the printing of tins argument.
The gentleman from Albemarle charges the
friends of Mr. Goggin on this floor with doing him
injustice, and placing him in a false position before
the countiy, and insists upon extending to him that
courtesy which his friends deny him. I tell the hon-
orable gentleman, timco Danaos ct dona forenles. Mr.
Goggin will select other advocates of his interests
in this House than the gentleman from Albemarle,
and he may spare himself this solicitude on his ac-
count.
In conclusion, sir, I regard this as an act of dis-
courtesy towards Mr. Goggin, which I am unwil-
ling to believe will be perpetrated by this House. ^ 1
venture to affirm, that no instance can be found, in
any deliberative body in the civilized world, of an
argument of a gentleman being printed against his
consent. I am, however, perfectly indifferent as to
the issue. My object is attained in putting Mr.
Goggin right before this House, his district, and the
country, and in preventing an impression injurious
to him from going abroad.
SPEECH OF MR. JAMESON,
OF MISSOURI.
In the House of Representatives, January 13, 1844—
In Committee of the Whole, upon the resolution
of Mr. "Wise, to "refer so much of the President's
message as related to the improvement of the
western lakes and rivers to the Committee on
Commerce; and upon the amendment of Mr.
Thomasson, to refer the same to a select commit-
tee of nine.
Mr. JAMESON rose and addressed the commit-
tee as follows:
Mr. Chairman: I had not intended, at this stage
of the question, to occupy the attention of the com-
mittee, believing that the appropriate time for dis-
cussion would be after it had been referred to a
committee, and a report had from that committee on
its merits. But so many false and immaterial issues
have been made in the progress of the debate on this
subject, that I deem it to be my duty, as the State
which I have the honor in part to represent is deep-
ly interested in the improvement of the navigation
of the great waters of the West, to explain my views
on the subject. Unfortunately, several gentlemen
who have preceded me in this debate, instead of
confining themselves to the question before us, and.
leaving each great interest of the several sections of
the Union to stand or fall upon Us merits, have en-
tered into invidious distinctions and comparisons be-
tween the West and the East, which are well calculate
ed to excite sectional jealousy; to array one section
against the other; and, in the end, might, if persisted
in, defeat a proper and judicious expenditure for the
protection of the inland and external commerce of
both of the great divisions of the country. I trust,
therefore, that the gentlemen on each side of the
House will desist from such a suicidal course of de-
bate; for all upon this floor should consider them-
selves and the people of these-States as belonging
to one great family; all should determine to take
care of the interests of each portion of the Union;
and each portion should take care of the interests of
the whole; for it was for this purpose that our con-
stitution and this glorious Union were formed.
And if, by the unprofitable discussion alluded to,
any serious breach has been made, (and 1 trust
none has been,) it will not be my purpose, in the
remarks which I shall submit, to widen it, but to
close it so far as in my power lies; for I am aware
that the greatState of Now York, which seems to be
somewhat sensitive irt relation to this matter, on ac-
count of certain remarks which had been thrown
out by gentlemen from the West, (which I regretted
at the time,) had hith« rto given a liberal support to
western interests, and other States too, north and
east, had given them a helping hand. It is not my
object, therefore, to array the West against the in-
terests of that State, or against the interests of the
East, the South, or the North, or to make any union
of interests, for the purpose of carrying any meas
ure which has not, in itself, true merit to recom
mend it. But I say to the gentlemen from New
York, and to members from other sections of the
Union, Bring forward your measures; and if you
satisfy me that your interest—your commerce—is
suffering for the want of an appropriation; that,
by appropriating comparatively a small amount,
a much greater amount will be saved to you
and the country,—I promise to support them ,
and I venture to st.y that they will receive a
liberal support from the entire West. For I
have not been brought up in that penurious school
of false economy that teaches that it is lavish or
extravagant to expend half a million to save live
million of dollars, and besides, probably, many
lives; nor do I belong to that straight and one-sided
sect, who profess to believe that it is constitutional
to protect commerce in that part of the Union in
which they are particularly interested, but unconsti-
tutional to protect it in another part, which happens
to lie outside of their own particular interests.
This is a proposition to refer a portion of the Presw
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session, book, 1844; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2368/m1/88/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.