National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 48, No. 6895, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 2, 1847 Page: 1 of 4
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Vol. XLVIII
WASHINGTON: TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1847.
No. 6895;
PUBLISHED BY GALES & SEATON.
THRICE A WEEK.
SIX DOLLARS A TEAR-RATABLE IS ADVANCE.
MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1847.
THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION.
We have now reached within three days of the
close of the present Session of Congress ; and,
with the exception of adding ten regiments to the
Army, and a provision for borrowing less money
to carry on the war than the Government will want
for that purpose before Congress meets again, the
mass ot the indispensable business of the Session
is yet on the tables of the two Houses. The most
important of the depending bills relate to the exist-
ing War. The whole business of the Session has
related indeed to almost nothing else. The War has
occupied, we believe, nine-tenths of the time of both
Houses. Nothing else seems, in truth, to be thought
much worth attending to. It is one of the evils
inseparable from a state of war, in a popular Gov-
ernment especially, that, while it lasts, it generates
and nourishes a rank growth of such legislation as
overshadows and stifles the production of wise,
wholesome, and beneficent measures. The House
of Representatives has, indeed, in the same breath
in which it voted something like thirty-five millions
of dollars for the year’s expenditure for the army
alone, passed a bill appropriating a sum short of
one million of dollars for harbor improvements,
and a lesser sum for lighthouses ; but, should these
bills be even fortunate enough to pass the Senate,
it may well be doubted whether they will be per-
mitted to become laws.
The most important incident of the last week is
the decision by the House of Representatives on
Saturday evening against laying additional taxes of
any kind, to any amount, for the purpose of eking
out the revenue. The history of this bill is told in
the report of the proceedings upon it; from which
the reader will learn that no debate was allowed, and
that the same body, which only the very day before
passed by a majority of some fifty votes a provi-
sion granting to the Executive powers looking to
enlarged and more extended and expensive opera-
tions in the war against Mexico, refused by a majority
of sixty-eight votes to tax their constituents to an
amount necessary to sustain their own measures. If
this vote be considered as a test of the real sentiment
of the House—and prima facie it must be so con-
sidered—the House, though in favor of prosecuting
the war, is not sufficiently so to vote for the finan-
cial measure which the Executive has repeatedly
declared, both in Presidential Messages and Trea-
sury Reports, to be indispensably necessary to
enable it to carry on the war. The bill which has
been rejected cannot, in that or any other shape,
be reconsidered or revived, Saturday being the last
day of the Session—unless by a two-thirds vote in
both Houses—mi which a bill originating in either
House can be sent to the other.
Wednesday next is the last day of the Session;
and we sympathize, in anticipation, but most sin-
cerely, with those numerous individuals interested
in the mass of bills before one or the other House,
of which so many certainly will be defeated by the
pressure of war measures and the indispensable
appropriation bills for miscellaneous objects, the
dispatch of which will fill up nearly the whole of
the remainder of this short Session of’Congress.
It seems to be incomprehensible to some how the
President of the United States can be held amena-
ble to the constitution while an issue of open war
exists with a foreign nation. The design of the
factious portion of the President’s party has been,
from the beginning, to identify Mr. Polk with the
war in such a way as to render every one who cen-
sured him liable, as far as possible, to the imputa-
tion of pronouncing against the cause of the coun-
try. The Union’s proposal to open a “War Re-
gister” of proscribed names in every town-and vil-
lage throughout the United States—the thing we
quoted some days ago—was part and parcel of this
extraordinary project. So, also, the vituperative
habit of designating as “Mexicans” or “allies of
the Mexicans,” or as “ traitors,” all persons, mem-
bers of Congress or others, who do not happen to
believe that all the powers of Government, in rela-
tion to the war, should be given up into the hands
of the President, and who, further, do not believe
that all convictions of judgment and precepts of duty
are to be brought, either in expression or in practice,
to the standard of any party’s dictation.
These people appear to have indulged in some
very strange notions—to have labored, in fact, under
a strong hallucination, and to have ascribed to the
public mind the same infatuation by which they
were themselves possessed. To think of it! An
elaborate system of denunciation, having for its
comprehensive objects to nullify common sense and
to overawe the most ordinary freedom of sentiment,
expression, and action, in reference to political af-
fairs as connected with the war ! They seem to
have supposed that the elements of an overwhelming
and excited public opinion, made up of party furor
and warlike enthusiasm mingled together, would
lie subject to their control, to be turned in any di-
rection at will, and made to burst in terror upon
the heads of the reluctant, the hesitating, the refrac-
tory—forgetting all the time that, in a country like
this, some degree of nationality belongs to public
opinion, and some respect for rights.—Balt. Am.
ffj5- Mr. Pendleton, of Virginia, we are happy to learn,
has nearly recovered from an indisposition which has confined
him to his room for several days past. He hopes to be able
to occupy his seat in the House of Representatives the lew
remaining days of the session.
THE MAILS ACROSS ILLINOIS.
The St. Louis “ Republican” states that Messrs. Hinton &
Co., contractors for carrying the mail between St. Louis and
Vincennes and St. Louis and Terre Haute, having failed to
execute their contracts, have assigned a portion of their pro-
perty to protect individual creditors. The Postmaster at St.
Louis had entered into negotiations with the assignees for the
temporary transportation of the mail, but was met with such
exorbitant demands as to put any arrangement out of the
question ; and, consequently, that there must be a total sus-
pension of the mails on these routes until they could hear
from Washington.
Naval.—Captain Stringham, oftheship-of-the-line Ohio,
having joined his ship on Thursday, it is expected that she
will sail to-morrow, with sealed orders.
The United States ship Decatur, Commander Pinckney,
dropped down to Hampton Roads yesterday, bound for the
Gulf of Mexico.—Norfolk Herald of Saturday.
TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
SECOND SESSION.
IN SENATE.
Friday, February 26—In continuation.
REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES.
By Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Pensions :
Asking to be discharged from the further consideration of the
memorial of Mrs. Clara M. Pike, widow of Gen. Pike ; and
also from the further consideration of the petition of David
Whelply ; and that they have leave to withdraw their papers.
By Mr. ASHLEY, from the Committee on the Judiciary :
An adverse report on the memorial of Wm. Hogan, adminis-
trator of Michael Hogan, deceased.
Also, from the same committee, the bill for the relief of the
estates of Benjamin Metayer and Francis Gaiennie, deceased,
with a recommendation that it do not pass.
Also, from the same committee, an adverse report on the
memorial of Charles Stearns.
Also, to be discharged from the further consideration of the
memorial of citizens of Pennsylvania, respecting the importa-
tion of foreign paupers and criminals.
By Mr. ATCHISON, from the Committee on Indian Af-
fairs : Asking to be discharged from the further consideration
of the petition of H. H. Hildreth.
By Mr. . ASHLEY, from the Committee on the Judiciary :
House bill authorizing a term of the United States Circuit and
District Courts at Chicago, Illinois, without amendment, and
with a recommendation that it do not pass.
Saturday7, February 27, 1847.
The Senate took up House bill to increase the Marine
Corps of the United States.
Mr. YULEE moved to amend the bill by striking out the
section giving a land bounty to the marines. Agreed to.
Mr. Y. said, with a view to test the question, he should move
to lay the bill on the table. The bill proposed to increase the
corps one thousand men—-a measure, in his opinion, not call-
ed for. There were already marines enough in the service to
preserve the proper police on board of ships and for all neces-
sary uses.
Mr. FAIRFIELD would remind the Senator from Florida
that the increase was recommended by the President in his
annual message.
Mr. BADGER hoped the motion would not prevail. The
increase called lor by the bill would not be more than a proper
proportion of marines to the navy.
The question having been taken on the motion, it was de-
cided in the negative, and the bill was then read a third time
and passed.
By Mr. CAMERON, from the Committee on Naval Affairs:
House bill for the relief of John Paul Jones, with an amend-
ment.
[The amendment consisted of a slight change, such as giv-
ing to the heirs at law of the said Paul Jones a pro rata allow-
ance provided they came forward and proved their heirship
within two years from the passage of the bill.]
The amendment was concurred in, and the bill was read
a third time and passed.
By Mr. DIX, from the Committee on Commerce : A bill
to authorize the issuing of a register to the barque Canton.
Also, from the same committee, a bill to authorize the issu-
ing a register to the brig Leveret.
By Mr. YULEE, from the Committee on Private Land
Claims : A bill for the relief of Nathaniel Hoggart.
By Mr. WOODBRIDGE, from the Committee on Public
Lands : A joint resolution relating to errors and defective re-
turns in certain survey plats and field notes.
By Mr. JOHNSON, of Maryland, from the Committee on
Commerce : A bill giving the assent of Congress to an act of
the General Assembly1 of Virginia to levy tolls on James river.
On motion of Mr. J. the bill was considered by unanimous
consent, and read a third time and passed.
POST OFFICE BILL.
By Mr. EVANS, from the Committee on Finance : House
bill making appropriations for the service of the Post Office De-
partment, with an amendment striking out the third section
allowing the postmasters in the several towns to select the
papers in which the list of letters should be advertised.
The bill was then considered in Committee of the Whole,
and a brief debate ensued on the amendment.
Mr. EVANS pointed to the amendment as one proper to be
agreed to by the Senate.
Mr. CAMERON sustained the amendment as a wholesome
regulation.
Mr. ALLEN argued against it on the ground that the old
law led to more trouble and loss of time than the object was
worth.
Mr. HUNTINGTON contended that the amendment was
necessary for the public convenience, and that the paper having
the largest circulation was the one that should be selected for
the dissemination of such information.
Mr. NILES opposed the amendment and gave his own ex
perience on the subject, insisting that discretionary power
should be vested in the postmasters.
Mr. DICKINSON pointed out the difference between ac-
tual circulation and papers sold about the streets.
Mr. MANGUM regarded the whole matter as neither more
regai
nor less than a contention for a little paltry patronage over
public convenience.
The yeas and nays were demanded, and the question hav-
ing been taken the vote stood as follows
YEAS—Messrs. Badger, Berrien, Calhoun, Cameron, Cil-
ley, Corwin, Davis, Evans, Greene, Huntington, Jarnagin,
Johnson, of Maryland, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mangum, Mil-
ler, Morehead, Westcott, Woodbridge, Yulee—19.
NAYS—Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Benton,
Breese, Bright, Butler, Cass, Chalmers, D ckinson, Dix, Fair-
field, Hannegan, Houston, Niles, Rusk, Sevier, Sturgeon—19.
The VICE PRESIDENT gave the casting vote in the ne-
gative.
The bill was then reported to the Senate ; when
Mr. EVANS renewed the motion to strike out the 3d sec-
tion, on which question he asked the yeas and nays ; which
were ordered.
On this question a brief debate ensued, in which Messrs
CALHOUN, DICKINSON, HUNTINGTON, EVANS,
and others participated ; when the question was taken, and de
cided in the affirmative as follows :
YEAS—Messrs. Archer, Badger, Berrien,Calhoun, Came-
ron, Cilley, John M. Clayton, Corwin, Crittenden, Davis,
Evans, Greene, Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland,
Johnson, of Louisiana, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Pearce,
Simmons, Westcott, Woodbridge, Yulee—24.
NAYS—Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Benton,
Breese, Bright, Butler, Cass, Chalmers, Dickinson, Dix, Fair-
field, Hannegan, Houston, Mason, Niles, Rusk, Sevier, Soule,
Sturgeon—21.
The bill was then read a third time by unanimous consent
and passed.
BILLS INTRODUCED ON LEAVE.
Mr. BRIGHT, on leave, introduced a bill providing for the
surrender of certain bonds of the State of Indiana held by the
United States.
Mr. DIX, on leave, introduced a bill to amend the act en-
titled “An act to raise for a limited period an additional force
and for other purposes.
[LAND GRADUATION BILL.
Mr. BREESE hoped the Senate wrnuld indulge him by ta-
king up the bill to graduate the price of the public lands.
This was the last day on which any bill originating in the Se-
nate could be acted on by the House, and it became necessary,
therefore, that it should be disposed of. They had been in-
formed by the Secretary ot the Treasury that it would be the
means of adding somewhere near half a million to the proceeds
of the Treasury.
Mr. BENTON briefly advocated the motion of Mr.
Brf.ese.
Mr. EVANS inquired if he was to understand the Senator
from Missouri as favorable to the motion ; for, if so, he hoped
that Senator, as a member of the Committee on Finance,
would relieve him from the management of the Civil and Di-
plomatic bill.
Mr. HUNTINGTON, (from his seat,) and I hope from
those I have in charge also.
Mr. BENTON could not think of such a thing. The Civil
and Diplomatic bill was in very good hands where it was,
and he desired to keep it there, having plenty ofrpublic bu iness
of his own to attend to.
Mr. EVANS must then insist on taking up the Civil and
Diplomatic bill. There were so many amendments already
made, that it would be impossible to have them engrossed in
time. If, therefore, under the circumstances, the Senate saw
fit to take up the land bill, which must lead to discussion and
occupy the little portion that remained, before taking up the
special order, why be it so.
Mr. BREESE insisted that the bill to graduate the price of
the public lands could not lead to any debate, having already
been discussed at a prior session, and persisted in his motion.
The question having been taken, it was decided in the ne-
gative, as follows:
YEAS—Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Benton, Breese,
Bright, Calhoun, Cass, Chalmers, Dickinson, Dix, Hanne-
gan, Houston, Mason, Soule, and Westcott—17.
NAYS—Messrs. Archer, Badger, Bagby, Berrien, Came-
ron, Cilley, John M. Clayton, Corwin, Davis, Evans, Greene,
Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland, Mangum, Mil-
ler, Morehead, Niles, Pearce, Rusk, Simmons, Upham, and
Woodbridge—23.
CIVIL AND DIPLOMATIC BILL.
The Senate then proceeded to the consideration of the bill
making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of
the Government, the question pending being a motion of Mr.
Rusk to insert a clause appropriating $70,000 to the Repub-
lic of Texas, for goods forcibly taken from her custom-house by
citizens of the United States.
This led to some debate, when, on motion of Mr. BUT-
LER, it was so amended as ro reduce the appropriation to
$30,000 ; and further modified, at the suggestion of Mr.
EVANS, so as to be settled by the proper accounting officers
of the Treasury, and agreed to.
The bill was further amended, and some amendments offer-
ed rejected, when the bill was reported to the Senate as
amended, and the amendments concurred in.
Mr. J. M. CLAYTON moved a reconsideration of the vote
on the amendment ‘ ‘ that the Secretary of the Treasury be in-
structed to pay to Ritchie & Heissthe amount deducted by the
committees of the Senate and House of Representatives from
their accounts, as rendered, for printing furnished and deliver-
ed previous to the passage of the printing law now in opera-
tion ;” which motion was agreed to.
Mr. CALHOUN then moved to strike out the word “Se-
nate,” so as to leave it applicable to the House only ; and—
After a brief colloquy, in which Messrs. CALHOUN,
EVANS, HUNTINGTON, and others participated—
The question was taken, and decided as follows :
YEAS—Messrs. Archer, Badger, Benton, Berrien, Butler,
Calhoun, Cilley, Thomas Clayton, John M. Clayton, Corwin,
Davis, Evans, Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland,
Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Niles, Pearce, Upham, and
Yulee.—22.
NAYS—Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Breese,
Bright, Cameron, Cass, Chalmers, Dickinson, Dix, Fair-
field, Hannegan, Houston, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mason,
Rusk, Sevier, Soule, Sturgeon, Webster, and Westcott—22.
The VICE PRESIDENT voted in the negative.
The amendment was then concurred in, as adopted, by the
following vote :
YEAS—Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Benton,
Breese, Cameron, Cass, Chalmers, Dickinson, Dix, Fairfield,
Hannegan, Houston, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mason, Rusk,
Sevier, Soule, Sturgeon, Webster,'1 Westcott, and Wood-
bridge—23.
NAYS—Messrs. Archer, Badger, Berrien, Calhoun, Cil-
ley, Thomas Clayton, John M. Clayton, Corwin, Crittenden,
Davis, Evans, Huntington, Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland,
Mangum, Miller, Niles, Pearce, Upham, and Yulee—20.
The bill was then read a third time and passed.
Mr. CRITTENDEN moved to take up the bill to provide
some relief for the suffering people of Ireland and Scotland.
Mr. SEVIER opposed the motion, on the ground that the
hour for the special order had already passed, and that he in-
tended to press the vote on the three million bill this day.
The question on Mr. Crittenden’s motion was decided
in the negative, as follows :
YEAS—Messrs. Badger, Berrien, Thomas Clayton, John
M. Clayton, Crittenden, Evans, Greene, Huntington, Jarna-
gin, Johnson, of Maryland, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mangum,
Miller, Simmons, Upham, Webster’, Westcott, and Wood-
bridge—18.
NAYS—Messrs. Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Benton, Breese,
Bright, Butler, Calhoun, Cameron, Chalmers, Dayton, Dick-
inson, Dix, Fairfield, Houston, Mason, Niles, Rusk, Sevier,
Soule, Sturgeon, Turney, and Yulee—23.
THE THREE MILLION BILL.
The Senate having resumed the consideration of this bill—
Mr. NILES addressed the Senate at great length'in favor
of the bill.
THE RELIEF BILL.
Mr. CRITTENDEN moved to take up the bill to provide
some relief for the suffering poor of Ireland and Scotland ;
which motion was agreed to.
The bill was amended by Mr. Crittenden so as to strike
out the word “Government,” and insert “people of the Uni-
ted States.”
A long debate ensued, in which Messrs. BUTLER, BAG-
BY, CALHOUN, WEBSTER, WESTCOTT, MASON,
and others participated, which the lateness of the hour and the
exhausted state of the Reporter preclude him from giving.
Mr. MASON moved a substitute for the bill, which was, in
effect, to authorize -the President to employ public ships in
transporting, free of charge, the provisions raised by the peo-
ple of the United States.
But the motion, after some further debate by Messrs. DAY-
TON, CALHOUN. FAIRFIELD, CAMERON, and others,
was rejected—Yeas 17, nays 24.
The bill was then ordered to a third reading by a vote of
27 yeas to 13 nays, and was finally read a third time and
passed. The bill is as follows :
Be it enacted &c. That the President of the United States
be, and he hereby is, authorized to cause to be purchased such
provisions as he may deem suitable and proper, and to cause
the same to be transported and tendered, in the name of the
People of the United States, to that of Great Britain, for the
relief of the people of Ireland and Scotland, suffering from the
great calamity of scarcity and famine.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sum of $500,000
be and the same is hereby appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to carry into effect
this act.
See. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President of
the United States be and he is hereby authorized, at hisdis'
cretion, to employ any of the public ships of the United State
for the transportation of the provisions to be purchased a
aforesaid.
At a late hour the Senate proceeded to the consideration of
Executive business, and, after some time spent therein, ad
journed.
The following is a report of the remarks of the Senator
from Delaware upon the bill (proposing an appropriation op
money from the Treasury for the relief of suffering in Ireland)
which we were not able to insert in its proper place in our
last paper :
Mr. J. M. CLAYTON moved that it be read a second and
third time to-day and passed ; and continued : If I need any
apology for offering myself as an advocate for the measure
now before the Senate, I shall find it in the resolutions recent-
ly adopted by the representatives in the Legislature of the
State of Delaware, which I in part represent, declaring that
the people of that State will sanction and approve any mea-
sures which the General Government can adopt, to furnish or
forward supplies of food to the poor and destitute people of
Ireland, and requesting me, with my colleagues in Congress,
to aid in the adoption of such measures. They have also re-
solved that no better use could be made of a national vessel
than in carrying relief to suffering thousands, and that it would
be a circumstance worthy of note in the advance of Christian
charity, honorable in the sight of God and man, if the good
ship Pennsylvania, or one of our noble war steamers, should
be employed for a season in conveying to that distressed coun-
try the food which benevolence is ready to furnish in abund-
ance, but which it is unable, unless at great expense and de-
lay, to send by the ordinary means of conveyance. The rea-
son assigned in the preamble to these resolutions for their
adoption is, “ that it becomes us as a Christian people, bless-
ed with a superabundance of the necessaries of life, to extend
aid to our fellow-men, who are perishing with hunger and
want.” These resolutions, Mr. President, meet with my most
hearty concurrence, and I shall respond to the sentiments which
they express by the vote which I shall give on this bill. As
to the extent of the distress in Ireland and Scotland, we may
gather some just opinion of it, from the recent speech of the
Queen of Great Britain, and from the debates in Parliament,
as well as from the columns of the public press. I hold in
my hand some numbers of the Hull Advertiser, reciting facts
which exhibit .the extreme destitution of the inhabitants of un-
happy Ireland, as well as those of the Highlands of Scotland,
which no man whose heart is in the* right place can read with-
out emotions of pity, and even of horror. Men, women, and
children have been endeavoring to sustain nature, while sink-
ing for the want of food, by eating sea-weed and grass, de-
prived also of clothing and fire. The ravages of disease and
pestilence have followed in the train of famine, and the bodies
of men, women, and children, who have thus perished in great
numbers, have been buried without coffins. The supply of
food is daily diminishing, and all the exertions of the Govern-
ment, which seems to be straining every nerve to succor the
distressed, have been, and it is evident will continue to be, to
a great extent, unavailing. Men are now thinking, not of
future crops or of the seed time and harvest to come, but their
whole thoughts are devoted to the single subject of immediate
safety and escape from the horrors of absolute starvation.
Other countries in Europe are unable to aid the sufferers. In-
deed, many of them are scarcely able to supply themselves
with the necessary aliment of life. Scotland, as well as Eng-
land, with France, Belgium, and other nations, where the
crowded masses of mortality have been for years past increas-
ing consumption beyond their powers of supply, can render
no effective assistance to our unhappy fellow men in Ireland.
The day has arrived when Europe stretches out her hands to
America for aid in an hour of distress, which has scarcely a
parallel in the annals of modern history. On the other hand,
how stands the case with us ? Since the foundations of this
Republic were laid, there has never been a year in which the
fruits of the earth were poured forth in greater abundance from
the bosom of our soil than during that which has just passed
away. God has blessed us not only with enough for our own
consumption, but, as I verily believe, with the abundant means
to supply the immediate wants of every other living creature
whom He has made in his own image. Under these circum-
stances, it has been suggested by some that private benevo-
lence among our countrymen may prove sufficient to supply
the wants and pressing necessities of both Ireland and Scot-
land. Sir, I admit that it would be a libel on our country-
men to suppose that they are not willing, from their wealth
and resources, to supply these wants ; but the answer to those
who would throw the sufferers from starvation upon that re-
liance only, is that, from the defect of organization among
themselves—from the want of timely preparation to meet a
crisis which they never anticipated—from the want of concert
of action, and espr daily of suitable agents to carry their bene-
volent and charitable designs into execution, it will be found
difficult, if not utterly impossible, to succor the sick and the
famishing beings who ate stretching out their hands for relief,
from the pressing horrors of immediate death. Now, sir, mil-
lions may be thus given, which may never reach those for
whom they were intended, and thousands may perish before
these supplies shall arrive, delayed, as they must be, by the
causes to which I have adverted. Sir, it is a nation which
lifts up its voice crying for food, and a nation should respond
to the appeal. If there be nature in us, we must feel for those
sufferers; and I venture to say that there is not an American
bearing a heart, worthy of the name, who would not glory in
the fact that-this, the country of his birth, or his adoption,
had exhibited to the rest of the world the spectacle of one
Christian nation extending its mighty arm and its bounteous
hand for the relief of the sufferings and sorrows of another.
Tell me not of mere private and individual charity, when a
whole nation is asking for assistance. In such a case, let a
nation answer the imploration. There is no charity in the
flinty bosom of the miser, who, in the midst of all bis wealth,
refuses his contribution to such an object; but even he, com-
pelled as he is to contribute to the revenues of the nation,
can be compelled by this distribution of the national bounty,
if by no other means, to yield up some portion of his surplus
wealth to save his fellow-creatures from famine. There are
no other means by which all can alike contribute for the relief
of a nation’s sufferings and privations. To say that this Gov-
ernment is powerless for all the purposes of charity, under the
extraordinary circumstances, and in view of the unparalleled
condition of Ireland and Scotland, is to deny to the fathers of
the Republic, who made this Government, the common attri-
butes of humanity. The same power conferred upon Con-
gress by the constitution, to appropriate money from the Trea-
sury to relieve the wants and supply the necessities of the peo-
ple of Caraccas when destroyed by an earthquake, may now
with much more reason be invoked again in behalf of a nation
allied to us by the ties of blood and kindred—and endeared to
us, as Ireland will ever be, and remain, by the recollection of
all the heroic sacrifices of her sons in the great cause of hu-
man rights—by all their'patriotic struggles for liberty and in-
dependence—by all their brilliant achievements on every thea-
tre and in every field, where man has competed and struggled
with his fellow-man, for the elevation of his race, in intellect,
morals, and character. I am persuaded, sir, that there was
full power in this Government to act as it did in the case of
Lafayette, by conferring solid proofs of its gratitude, by lib-
eral appropriations of the public money and the public lands
upon a national benefactor. Measuring the services of Irish-
men in our own bloody struggles for liberty by the same stand-
ard, can we now refuse to do less for a whole nation than we then
did lor a single individual ? Pass this bill, sir, and there is not a
generous American within the limits of your mighty Republic
who will not rejoice in the deed you have done ; and when
the national ship, which shall bear the fruits of your generosi-
ty across the waters, thus testifying the affectionate regard of
one nation for another, and the sympathies of men in the New
World for the distresses of men in the Old—depend upon it,
sir, there is not an Irishman, there is not a European, there
is not a living being among the civilized nations of the world,
who will not hail her arrival at her port of destination, and re-
joice in such a manifestation of national charity. We are at
this moment exhibiting the terrible energies of our Govern-
ment in a period of war for the vindication of that which it has
claimed as a right. We have deemed it necessary to ravage
the country of an enemy, to spread death among her popula-
tion, and to flood her cities with tears and blood. Let us now
show to the world that the same Government is not powerless
for other purposes than those of war and desolation. That the
geniu’-. and essential character of our institutions lead us to the
indulgence, as a nation, of the best feelings of the human
heart, and the noblest impulses which govern and direct the
energies of man. Then if, in the providence of God, it
should ever happen that our own fair country should be strick-
en down with pestilence or famine, and we be driven to im-
plore the assistance of other nations, our prayer to the Author
of the universe will not be met by the withering rebuke de-
nounced against those who have refused to feed the hungry,
or aid in the relief of the distressed.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Friday, February 26—In continuation. *
Mr. THOMAS SMITH, by leave, presented certain reso-
lutions from the Legislature of the State of Indiana, relating
to sundry subjects, viz : To the improvement of the mail com-
munication between Toledo, Ohio, via the Wabash valley, to
New Orleans ; the claim ol Francis Vigo ; the holding a ses-
sion of the Supreme Court of the United States west of the
Alleghany mountains ; to pre-emptions on the Miami national
reservation in the State of Indiana ; to public lands in the
county of Gibson ; to the Indiana hospital for the insane, the
institution for the education of the blind, and the asylum for
the deaf and dumb ; to the extension of the Wabash and
Erie Canal from the mouth of Tippecanoe river to Terre
Haute ; to the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad ; for the re-
duction of the price of public lands to actual settlers ; on the
subject of postage ; relative to granting land to Mr. Whitney
to construct a railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific
Ocean ; on the subject of increasing the monthly pay of and
granting Sands to the volunteers in the Mexican war ; and re-
lative to the sale of intoxicating liquors by white men to the
Indians ; which resolutions were laid upon the table and or-
dered to be printed.
* NAVY PENSIONS.
On motion of Mr. McKAY, the House resolved itself into
Committee of the Whole, (Mr. Cobb in the chair,) and pro-
ceeded to consider the bill making appropriations for the pay-
ment of navy pensions for the year ending June 30, 1848.
Mr. D. P. KING moved the following amendment: “For
the payment of invalid pensioners, heretofore paid from the
privateer pension fund, for the years 1847 and 1848, $6,000.”
Mr. K. supported his amendment in a few very earnest re-
marks.
Mr. McKAY replied to Mr. King.
The question was taken, and the amendment was disagreed
to : Ayes 65, noes 70.
The bill was laid aside to be reported.
REORGANIZATION OF INDIAN DEPARTMENT.
The bill to amend an act entitled “An act to provide for
the better organization of the department of Indian affairs”
and “An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian
tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers,” approved June
30, 1834, and for other purposes, was taken up.
The bill was being read through by sections ; when—
Mr. JACOB THOMPSON moved to amend section five,
by inserting after the word “ therein,” the following: “Or,
with the consent of the tribe, be applied to such purposes as
will best promote the happiness and prosperity of the mem-
bers thereof ” Agreed to.
Mr. T. also moved as new sections the following :
“ And be it Jurther enacted, That, lor the purchse of pre-
sents for the Camanehe and other Indians of Texas and the
Southwestern prairies, promised them in 1846, and for the
same object the present year, the sum of $20,000 : Provided,
That so much of this amount, not exceeding one-half, as may
be found necessary, on a proper settlement of the account of
Messrs. Terrey & Brothers, be paid to them for presents
which they advanced in the year 1846, the War Department
not having the authority to furnish them.
“And be it Jurther enacted, That for compensation of a spe-
cial agent and two interpreters for one year to enable the War
Department to keep up such a communication with the said
Indians as may be necessary towards the preservation ot a good
understanding with them, and securing peace on the frontiers,
the sum $3,650.” Agreed to.
The bill was then laid aside.
Mr, A- D. SIMS moved to take up the Senate bill au-
thorizing the purchase of the papers of Alexander Hamilton.
Disagreed to.
The committee then rose and reported the two above bills
that they had had under consideration.
The bill making appropriations for the payment of navy
pensions was taken up, and the amendment of the Committee
of the Whole concurred in ; and the bill passed.
The bill to amend an act entitled “ An act to provide for
the better organization of the Department of Indian Affairs,”
and “An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the In-
dian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontier,” &c. was
next taken up, and the amendments of the Committee of the
Whole concurred in ; and the bill passed.
The remainder of the proceedings of this day were published
on Saturday.
REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES.
On Wednesday, the rules having been suspended for the
purpose, Reports from Committees were made as follows :
On motion of Mr. J. R. INGERSOLL, the Committee of
Ways and Means were discharged from the consideration of
the petition of citizens of Westminster, Massachusetts, for a
tax upon slaves ; and they were then laid on the table.
Mr. POLLOCK, from the Committee of Claims, reported
a bill for the relief of Noah A. Phelps ; which was read and ,
committed.
On motion of Mr. JOHN A. ROCKWELL, the Com-
mittee of Claims were discharged from the further considera-
tion of the petition of Solomon Payne ; and the said petition ’
was laid upon the table.
Mr. GRINNELL, from the Committee on Commerce, re- |
ported a bill to establish a port of entry at Saleiria, in the j
State of Texas, and for other purposes ; which was read twice
and ordered to be engrossed.
The bill being engrossed, was read a third time and passed.
Also, a bill concerning the licensing of yachts and for other
purposes ; which was engrossed, read a third time, and
passed.
Also, a bill for the erection of a fire-proof building at Nan-
tucket, to be rased as a custom-house and post office ; which
was lead twice and committed.
Mr. McCLELLAND, from the Committee on Commerce,
to which was referred the Senate bill to authorize the issuing
of a register to the brigantine Ocean Queen, reported the
same without amendment; the hill was then read a third
time and passed.
On motion of Mr. ATKINSON, the Committee on Com-
merce was discharged from the further consideration of the pe-
tition of John H. Baker; and the said petirion was I’d on
the table.
Mr. THOMAS SMITH, from the Committee on Public
Lands, to which was referred Senate bill for the relief of
George Gordon, reported the same without amendment; the
said bill being read a third time, was passed.
Mr. COLLAMER, from the Committee on Public Lands,
to which was referred the Senate bill to grant a right of pre-
emption to Philip F. Derring and Robert H. Champion to a
tract of mineral land, reported the same without amendment;
which was read a third time and passed.
Mr. BRODHEAD, from the Committee on Revolutionary
Pensions, to which was referred the joint resolution of the
Senate to correct an error in the act of June 17, 1844, for
the relief of Mary Ann Linton, repoited the same without
amendment; which resolution was read a third time and
passed.
Mr. B., from the same committee, to which was referred
the Senate bill for the relief of George Roush, reported the
same without amendment; which bill was read a third time
and passed.
Mr. GOODYEAR, from the Committee on In valid Pen
sions, to which was referred the bill from the Senate to gran
a pension to Joseph Morrison, reported the same without
amendment; which was read a third time and passed.
Mr. RATH BUN, from the Committee on the Judiciary,
to which was referred the Senate bill for the relief of James
S. Conway, reported the same without amendment; which
was read a third time and passed.
Mr. LUMPKIN moved that the Committee of the Whole
House be discharged from the consideration of the bill to
amend an act to provide for the payment of horses or other
property lost or destroyed in the service of the United States,
approved the 18th day of June, 1837 ; which motion was
agreed to.
The original bill was then read a third time and passed.
Mr. JACOB THOMPSON, from the Committee on In-
dian Affairs, to which was referred the bill from” the Senate
for the relief of Samuel W. Bell, a native ot the Cherokee
nation, reported the same without amendment, accompanied
by a written report adverse to the passage of the bill. Bill
and report laid on the table.
Mr. RATHBUN moved that the Committee of the Whole
on the state of the Union, be discharged from the considera-
tion of the bill authorizing a term of the United States circuit
court and district court at Chicago, Illinois; which motion
was agreed to.
The bill was then ordered to be engrossed and read a third
time to-day ; and being read accordingly, it was passed.
Mr. JAMES B. HUNT, from the Committee on Public
Lands, reported a joint resolution authorizing the Commis-
sioner of the General Land Office to issue a revolutionary
bounty land warrant in place of warrant No. 1628, which
was lost or destroyed ; which joint resolution was read three
times and passed.
Mr. HILLIARD, in pursuance of previous notice, intro-
duced a bill to regulate the diplomatic intercourse of the Uni-
ted States ; which bill was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr. BUFFINGTON, from the Committee on the Judi-
ciary, reported a bill for the relief of George B. Didlake ; which
bill was read twice and committed.
Mr. RATHBUN, from the same committee, reported a
bill to amend an act entitled an act to regulate the proceedings
in the circuit court of the United States and for other purposes,
passed August 8, 1846 ; which was read three times and
passed.
Mr. CHARLES J. INGERSOLL, from the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, to which was referred so much of the message
of the President of the United States of the 13th instant “as
relates to the war with Mexico,” made a report thereon. Laid
on the table.
On motion of Mr. GORDON, the Committee of Claims
was discharged from the consideration of the petition of Allan
Gorham ; and it was laid on the table.
Mr. BRODHEAD, from the Committee on Revolutionary
Pensions, made several adverse reports ; which were laid on
the table.
Mr. JENKINS, from the same committee, made adverse
reports on the cases of John Millett and of the heirs of Jehoa-
kim Van Valkenberg ; which were laid on the table.
Also, from the same committee, reported a bill for the relief
of Jonathan Brown. Read and committed.
On motion of Mr. TRUMBO, the Committee on Revolu-
tionary Pensions was discharged from the petitions of Catha-
rine Adair, Benjamin Johnson, Sarah Miles, and John Wal-
lace ;‘and they were laid on the table.
Mr. ATKINSON, from the same committee, reported a bill
for the relief of Flora Boyd, widow of James Boyd, deceased.
Read twice and committed.
On motion of Mr. GOODYEAR, the Committee on Inva
lid Pensions was discharged from the petitions of Warren Ray-
mond, Thomas Badger, Nehemiah Halliday, Susanna Pren-
tiss, Levi M. Roberts, Seth Morton, Sarah Hildreth, Stacy
Lanphier, J. W. Knipe, Asa Hall, Hannah Duboise, Carle
Dingie, Roswell Bates, Daniel Wilson, and Benj. Loomis;
and they were laid on the table.
Mr. COCKE, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions,
reported a bill for the relief of Silas Waterman. Read and
committed.
Also, from the same committee, made an adverse report on
the petition of Jesse Rose. Laid on the table.
Mr. McCLERNAND, from the Committee on the Public
Lands, reported a bill to amend an act entitled “An act to
amend an act entitled ‘ an act to carry into effect in the States
f Alabama and Mississippi the existing compacts with those
States with regard to the five per cent, and the school reser-
vations.’ ”
The bill was read three times and passed, and sent to the
Senate for concurrence.
Mr. FRIES, from the Committee on Roads and Canals,
reported a bill to improve the navigation of the Ohio river and
essen the expense thereof.
Mr. ROBERT SMITH, from the same committee, to which
was referred memorials of George Wilkes and others, urg-
ing upon Congress the construction of a national railroad from
the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, on the plan proposed
by said Wilkes; also, the memorial of D. H. Carver, on the
same subject; also, sundry memorials in favor of Asa Whit-
ney’s project for the same object, with various other papers
in reference to this subject, reported that they have had the
same under consideration, and ask to be discharged from the
further consideration of this subject at the present session of
Congress, and that they be laid on the table. Agreed to.
Mr. SYKES, from the Committee on Patents, reported a
bill for the relief of E. G. Smith. Read a first and second
time and committed.
Mr. HENLEY, from the same committee, reported a bill
for the relief of Edward Clark ; which was twice read and
committed.
Mr. STEPHEN ADAMS, from the Committee on Private
Land Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Nicholas E.
Thouron ; which was read twice and committed.
Mr. DANIEL P. KING, from the Committee on Revolu-
tionary Claims, reported a bill for the relief of the representa-
tives of Nathaniel Tracy, deceased ; which was read twice and
committed.
Mr. ST. JOHN, from the same committee, made an ad-
verse report upon the petition of the representatives of Na-
thaniel Tracy, deceased; which was read twice and com-
mitted.
Mr. JACOB THOMPSON, from the Committee on In-
dian Affairs, laid before the House communications from the
Secretary of War, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and
a report from a special Indian agent in Texas, appointed to
treat with the Camanehe and other Indians in Texas ; which
were laid on the table.
Mr. DELANO, from the Select Committee appointed on
the 2d February last, upon the subject of validity of the claim
of the States of Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, to the
three per cent, on the minimum price of the lands within their
respective limits, which have been taken to satisfy revolutionary
military land warrants, made a report 'thereon, accompanied
by a bill authorizing the payment of the per centage due to
certain States on account of lands within their limits appropri-
ated to the satisfaction of military land warrants ; which bill
was committed.
On motion of Mr. SAWYER, the Committee on Indian
Affairs was discharged from the consideration of the petition of
Conrad Ten Eyck, and the said petition was laid upon the
table.
Mr. YOST, from the Committee on Engraving, reported
the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Clerk of the House be directed to pur-
chase 500 copies of Disturnell’s Map of Mexico, and 2,000
copies of the topographical maps of the road from Missouri to
Oregon ; out of the former each member to be furnished with
five copies, of the latter with eight copies.
The House then resumed the consideration of the bill from
the Senate to amend an act entitled “ An act to regulate the
carriage of passengers in merchant vessels, and to determine
the time when the said act shall take effect.”
The bill, as amended, was then read a third time and
passed.
Saturday, February 27, 1847.
Mr. W. W. CAMPBELL moved to discharge the Com-
mittee of the Whole from the bill to carry into effect certain
provisions of the treaty between the United States and China
and the Ottoman Porte, giving certain judicial powers to Min-
isters and Consuls of the United StaU-s in those countries.
The motion was agreed to.
The bill was then ordered to be engrossed ; and, being en-
grossed, was read a third time and passed.
Mr. DANIEL P. KING, from the Committee on Accounts,
reported the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Speaker of this House be directed to
pay to S. Clintou Hastings and Shepherd Lefiier, members of
this House from the State ot Iowa, $176 each, it being their
per diem from the first day of this session to the day on which
they took their seats as members, they having attended on the
first day ol the session.
The resolution was agreed to.
And the House resolved itself into Committee of the Whole,
(Mr. Boyd in the chair.)
Mr. McKAY moved to take up the bill “ to increase the re-
venue derivable from duties on imports, also from the sale of the
public lands, to aid in the prosecution of the war with Mex-
ico.” Disagreed to : Ayes 63, noes 69.
Mr. TREDWAY moved to take up the Senate bill for the
relief of Hobson Johns. Agreed to.
The bill was then laid aside to be reported.
NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL.
Mr. McKAY moved to take up the naval appropriation hill,
with the amendments of the Senate thereto. Agreed to.
The first amendment of the Senate was read, viz : “For
pay of thirteen additional assistant surgeons, whose appoint-
ment is hereby authorized, $12,350.”
The Committee of Ways and Means recommended that this
amendment be disagreed to.
Mr. HAMLIN moved an amendment to the amendment of
the Senate, providing that all medical officers of the navy
shall hold the same assimilated rank as is provided for medical
officers of the army in an act approved March 11, 1847 :
Provided, That said assimilated rank shall authorize no right
to command : Provided further, That said assistant surgeons
shall be discharged from the public service at the close of the
war with Mexico.
Mr. HAMLIN explained his amendment, and stated that
he was directed by the Committee on Naval Affairs to move it.
Some debate ensued between Messrs. J. R. INGERSOLL,
SCHENCK, HOLMES, of South Carolina, and SEAMAN,
for which we have not room at present.
Mr. HOPKINS moved that the committee rise with a view
of moving a resolution to close the debate on the bill. Agreed to.
The committee rose and reported the bill for the relief of
Hobson Johns, and progress on the bill making appropriations
for the naval service.
The bill for the relief of Hobson Johns was then read a
third time and passed.
The committee then resumed its session, and the question
was put on Mr. Hamlin’s amendment, which was agreed to.
Ayes 89, noes 47.
Mr. McKAY moved to add to the amendment the follow-
ing : “ Provided, That said assistant surgeons shall be dis-
charged from public service at the close of the war with Mex-
ico. ” Agreed to.
The question was then put on the amendment of the Sen-
ate as amended, and it was agreed to : Ayes 67, noes 49.
The next amendment was read.
Mr. SCHENCK, by direction of the Committee on Naval
Affairs, moved to amend the second amendment of the Senate
by striking out all thereof and inserting: “ For the pay of a
naval pyrotechnist $1,800, the said officer to be appointed by
the President of the United States, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, and to receive the pay and emolu-
ments of a lieutenant commanding in the navy, and the same
amount and benefit of pension to himself or his wife or family,
in case of death or casualty, which are or may be by law al-
lowed to an officer of that grade.”
Mr. Schenck explained the necessity of the amendment;
and a short debate followed, in which Messrs. T. B. KING,
J. A. ROCKWELL, and STEWART took part.
The question was now put on Mr. Schenck’s amendment,
and it was disagreed to : Ayes 62, noes 80.
Mr. WHITE moved an amendment to the second amend-
ment of the Senate, striking out ail thereof, and inserting a
provision authorizing the employment of a pyrotechnist at an
annual salary of $1,200. Agreed to : Ayes 76, noes 40.
The question was then put on agreeing to the amendment
of the Senate as amended, and it was agreed to.
The third amendment of the Senate was read, and th6
question being put, it was disagreed to.
The 12th amendment of the Senate and the 13th, which
provided for the purchase of a lot of ground for the use of the
naval school at Fort Severn, Annapolis, Maryland, were dis-
agreed to.
The committee rose and reported accordingly.
THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE BILL.
On motion of Mr. McKAY, the House resolved itself into
Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr.
Ficklin in the Chair.)
Mr. McKAY moved to take up the bill “ to increase the
revenue derivable from duties on imports, also from the sale of
the public lands, to aid in the prosecution of the war with
Mexico;” which motion was agreed to.
The bill was read through for information, as follows :
“A BILL to increase the revenue derivable from duties on
imports, also from the sales of the public lands, to aid in the
prosecution of the war with Mexico.
“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.
That from and after the passage of this act there shall be levied,
collected, and paid a duty ot twenty per cent, ad valorem on
tea and coffee imported thereafter into the United States from
foreign countries.
“Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the
passage of this act there shall be levied, collected, and paid an
additional duty of ten per cent, ad valorem on the following
articles thereafter imported into the United States from foreign
countries, namely a loaf and other refined sugar; coal; bar iron
manufactured by rolling; pig iron, round iron, as braziers’ rods,
of three-sixteenths to ten-sixteenths ot an inch in diameter,
inclusive ; nail or spike rods, slit, rolled, or hammered ; sheet
iron, (except taggers’) hoop iron ; band or scroll iron ; case-
ment rods, slit, rolled, or hammered ; wood screws (of iron ;)
spikes, cut or wrought, and white and red lead.
“ Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That from and after the
passage of this act there shall be levied, collected, and paid
an additional duty of five per cent, ad valorem on the following
articles imported thereafter into the United States from foreign
countries, namely: manufactures of cotton, if dyed, colored,
printed, or stained, exceeding in value thirty cents the square
yard ; and manufactures of cotton not dyed, colored, printed,
or stained, exceeding in value twenty cents the square yard.
“ Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the duties imposed
by this act shall cease two years after the exchange and ratifi-
cation of a treaty of peace with Mexico : Provided, That the
duties laid by this act shall be collected on all such goods,
wares, and merchandise as shall have been imported previous
to the day on which the said duties are to cease.
“ Sec. 5. And be it Jurther enacted, Thatall lands belonging
to the United States which have been in market and subject to
entry for ten years, and not more than fifteen years, may be
entered at one dollar per acre; all lands belonging to the Uni-
ted States, and which have been in market and subject to entry
for fifteen years, and not more than twenty-five years, may be
entered at seventy-five cents per acre ; and all such lands which
have been in market and subject to entry formore than twenty-
five years, may be entered at fifty cents per acre. This sec-
tion to take effect from and after the first of May, eighteen
hundred and forty-seven, and to continue in force only during
the existing war with Mexico, and for six months after the
ratification of a treaty of peace with her.”
The bill was then taken up by sections for amendment, and
the first section being read—
Mr. COCKE said that he had not risen to make a speech;
but, believing that this war had been brought about by the
blunders of the officeholders of the General Government, an
being desirous that they should bear their just proportion o
its burdens in common with the people, whose luxuries an
necessaries of life it was proposed to tax by the presen 1 »
he had prepared an amendment for the purpose o re
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National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 48, No. 6895, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 2, 1847, newspaper, March 2, 1847; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1007802/m1/1/?rotate=0: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .