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SENATE.]

Admission on the Floor of the Senate-National Defence.

sent here, said Mr. M., the consideration that would induce me to move its rejection would induce me to withhold it.

Mr. M. then moved an adjournment, and
The Senate adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20.

During the transaction of the business of the morning,

Mr. CLAY, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, moved that the committee be discharged from the further consideration of such parts of the special message of the President of the United States as relate to the augmentation of the navy, and the subject of defences on our maritime frontier. He was not instructed to move the reference of these subjects to any other committee, as such motion did not seem to come within the duty of the Committee on Foreign Relations.

The committee was accordingly discharged from the further consideration of the subject.

On motion of Mr. WEBSTER, so much of the special message as relates to the augmentation of the navy was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, and so much as relates to fortifications to the Committee on Military Affairs.

ADMISSION ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE. The following resolution, offered by Mr. KING, of Alabama, was taken up and considered:

Resolved, That the resolution adopted on the 7th ultimo, admitting certain public officers of the United States, and others, to the floor of the Senate, as specta. tors, be amended by inserting "the Solicitor of the Treasury."

Mr. LINN moved to amend the resolution by adding "the paymaster general, quartermaster general, commissary general, principal of the topographical bureau, principal geologist, principal of the engineer bureau.' Mr. CLAYTON moved also to add "the clerk and the reporter of the Supreme Court."

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The amendments were agreed to, and the resolution, as amended, was adopted.

NATIONAL DEFENCE.

The resolution submitted by Mr. BENTON, for appro priating the surplus revenue to purposes of national defence, was taken up as the order of the day; when

Mr. CUTHBERT observed that the remarks he should make on the question then pending would be very few in number, and very circumscribed in their extent. The message which had just been received from the Executive, containing such important matters for the consideration of that body, rendered it the less necessary for him to enlarge on the subject, even had it been his intention to do so. He should, therefore, occupy but little of the time of the Senate on the present occasion. As all discussions of this subject must, from its peculiar character, be of a delicate nature, it was proper for him to wish to avoid giving offence by any expressions which he might use in the heat of debate. He would, therefore, express it as his opinion that there breathed not one American who was desirous of a war with the French nation; that there breathed not one American who would not avert it if in his power; that there was not one who would not consider it an unnatural conflict between two nations bound to each other by the powerful ties of interest and feeling; and that there breathed not an American who would, even for the sake of peace, with all its blessings, be willing to sacrifice the honor of his country. With these qualifi cations, he begged that no construction of an offensive nature might be put on any phrases or expressions he

[JAN. 20, 1836.

Let

might inconsiderately use in the hurry of debate. me, then, (said Mr. C.,) urge to those gentlemen who may be considered in opposition to the Government, but who, in reference to that body, solely, (the Senate,) were the Government itself, and regulated all its movements, that the part they had to act was an important one, and deeply concerned the honor and interests of their country. It was their duty to prevent any foreign nation from falling into the delusion that this might be a divided people; it was doubly their duty to do so, for they had taken it upon themselves to act as moderators in the controversy between their own Government and that of another country. If (said Mr. C.) they have thus taken it upon themselves to act as moderators, they ought to show to the foreign nation that they will preserve a proper portion of firmness with their mildness, and that, although they are anxious to conciliate, they will maintain, at all hazards, the honor and interest of their country. Was this observation a just one? It was. carry its force to every American bosom? it was with this view of the subject that he should briefly occupy the attention of the Senate.

Did it It did. And

The Senator from Massachusetts, as chairman of the Committee on Finance, on the last day of the last session, reported a bill which had been returned with amendments to the other House; which had come back with an additional amendment to the Senate; and which amendment having been rejected, and the rejection adhered to, the bill was lost. It had been made a question on this very principle, that foreign Governments were not to be deluded with the idea of any division here, whether the course of the gentleman was a correct one. He thought it was not. He had always thought that, in the defeat of the bill commonly called the "fortification bill," the course of the gentleman on the last evening of the last session was, to say the least of it, indiscreet. The gentleman declared to the Senate, and to all the world, that it was not by his means that a bill so important to the nation, and in such a doubtful posture of our foreign relations, suffered a failure. He (Mr. C.) thought otherwise. The Senator had appealed to the lateness of the hour at which the bill was brought into the Senate. Was he not as much aware then that the session was approaching its close as he was now? If so, was the tone of his remarks such as was calculated to preserve the bill, and further its passage through both Houses at that late hour? Was his course the happiest that could have been taken to facilitate the legislation of Congress on matters of such various extent and interest as were embraced in the bill? If it was his object to have saved the bill, peculiarly important to the country at that crisis, what should have been his course with regard to a measure with which his committee was peculiarly concerned?

[Here Mr. WEBSTER explained. The gentleman, he said, was mistaken in every fact he had stated since he got up. He (Mr. W.) never reported the bill. He had no more to do with it than any other member of the Senate, till he moved to reject the amendment, and the Committee on Finance had no concern with the amendments, or the disagreement between the two Houses.]

Mr. C. continued. He accepted the correction of the gentleman. Voluntarily, then, the gentleman stepped forward; voluntarily did he make those forcible remarks which accompanied his motion to reject the amendment of the other House; and voluntarily did he cause the failure of this important bill, if he did so cause it. How do I (asked Mr. C.) establish these facts? If the gentleman had been desirous of saving this bill, or preventing the loss of so many and important necessary appropriations, and of avoiding the embarrassments which that loss has occasioned, what should have been his course? He would have admonish

JAN. 20, 1836.]

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National Defence.

ed the Senate that the session was approaching its close, and he would have advised them to avoid all angry discussions and irritating topics, as calculated to cause the defeat of the bill. Was this true, or was it not? It This would have been the kind of admonition to the Senate, calculated to save the bill, and to promote objects so vitally important to the interests of the country. If there were vices in the form and manner of the bill which had been created in the representative branch of the national Legislature, which affected the gentleman's mind, what might have been expected of him if he was so desirous of facilitating the progress of the national business? That he would calmly and distinctly have pointed them out; have suggested the remedy, and aided by his influence and example in applying it, so that the bill might pass both Houses in time to become a law. Was this the course of the gentleman from Massachusetts? He thought not. He believed that there was not a member of the Senate who was not forcibly struck by the manner of the gentleman on that occasion-a manner so different from the grave and authoritative tone which usually distinguished him in that House. Abandoning the grave and authoritative manner in which he had been accustomed to address the Senate, he assumed a violence and ardor of expression new to him and to the Senate. Suddenly he gave way to an excited feeling, and seemed to be seized with suspicions of the deepest and darkest character. Nay, more. He seemed to speak as if he had taken his political opponents at an advantage, and was determined to use that advantage to the utmost. He relapsed into the habits in which his party had often indulged, of representing this people as suffering under the dominion of a terrible tyranny, which aimed at the destruction of their liberties. Then, what must have been the necessary consequence of the language accompanying such a motion as the gentleman had made? Why, to provoke debate; to make that debate an angry one; to render the contest doubtful, and endanger the passage of the bill.

Such was, and such ever must be, the consequence of a course of conduct like that pursued by the gentleman from Massachusetts. But it did not end here. The amendment made in the representative branch of our Legislature was rejected on the motion made by the gentleman-a motion made with a tone of indignant scorn which could hardly have a happy influence on the feelings of the members of the other House, including some of the gentleman's own political friends. The bill so returned to the other House; what followed? That body insisted on their amendment, and returned it to the Senate. Then was the time for the gentleman to have signalized his anxiety for the appropriation, by suggesting a mode of dispelling the difficulties which stood in the way, and of bringing the two Houses to an easy accommodation. The gentleman could have pointed out some conciliatory course of procedure, for saving a bill acknowledged by all to be so important and so necessary. What was his course? Did he recommend any mode, either formal or informal, to attain that desirable end? Did he ask the other House to go into a conference with a view to accommodate the difference between it and the Senate? No; he made that motion so harsh, so abrupt, and so uncompromising, that the Senate should adhere to its disagreement; and when he made that motion to adhere, he preserved the same tone of indignant scorn that had characterized his first motion to disagree to the amendment. Was he right there? Then, what was there in this appropriation of the House of Representatives which so deeply stirred up the ire of the gentleman? Those who heard him on that occasion, and who were not so well read in the constitution as he was, must believe that some express

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clause of that instrument had been deeply violated by the House. Was this the case? He had looked into the constitution for the purpose of finding some clause with which this appropriation might conflict, and which had been so deeply wounded; but he had looked in vain. He then supposed that the circumstance which had so deeply excited the gentleman's ire was, that the appropriation covered two distinct items of expenditure; one for the navy, and the other for the fortifications. Was it this, then, which had so greatly agitated the gentleman's love of liberty? Was it this which had created such an alarm in his breast as to induce him to believe that the constitution was endangered, and to move him from his balance and dignity? Ah! but the constitution must be saved, and the gentleman divides the appropriation, three hundred thousand for one, and five for the other, and the difficulty is surmounted. Here we have the arch-magician, who holds up the magic lamp, by whose light all darkness is dispelled, and we see the dangers that encompass us. Luckily, the magician has the talisman before whose touch all these dangers vanish.

The sagacity of the Senator had left him in no doubt as to where the battle on this question was to be fought. He alluded to his own warm expressions and his violent opposition to the appropriation, and decla▾ red that, although the foot of the foreign soldier was on our soil, though the cannon of the enemy was pointed at the Capitol, he would not make the appropriation while the danger to the constitution that he apprehended was in existence. What! because he cannot make a verbal amendment, he is willing, through the shrieks of dismay of affrighted virgins-through the burnings of our dwellings-through blood and devastation-that the enemy shall make his way to this Capitol. It appeared that, because the appropriation was not specific, because a long-established practice of the Gov. ernment (and a very proper one it was) had not been followed on that occasion, the gentleman could suggest no mild and conciliatory way to restore the ancient practice, and save the bill from a failure. Now, if any thing coming. from him could have any weight, he would venture to give some wholesome admonitions to those who were such ardent lovers of liberty as to reject an important appropriation because it was not to their view sufficiently specific. Did the gentleman believe that he would preserve liberty against the hard grasp of the Executive, by refusing to that Executive the means of defending his country? He would tell the gentleman to refer to that history with which he was so well acquainted, and he would find that, whenever a Government was so embarrassed by opposing checks that it wanted the power of defending its country from foreign aggression, the people would rally to its aid, and vest the Chief Magistrate with unbounded power. Was this proposition admitted by the gentleman? He presumed it was. Thus, then, the gentleman, in seeking to defend liberty, sacrifices liberty; thus, then, in indulging those fastidious scruples, he gives a blow to that liberty where it was the most dangerously to be assailed. This was so perfect a truism that he would not dwell on it for a moment.

The institution of Governments had generally been traced to the desire of preserving such domestic order in the conduct of individual citizens to each other as would best preserve the rights of the whole; but, truly speaking, Governments had more frequently arisen from the necessity of protecting the State against foreign aggression; for where would be the wisdom in providing for the liberty of the citizen until he was guarded against subjugation by a foreign enemy? The foreign enemy invading the country, his march traced by violation, murder, plunder, and conflagration, of what value was

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National Defence.

individual liberty, when it had not been protected against calamities like these? Thus the scruples of gentlemen might draw down upon their country a desolating and wide-spread calamity, in seeking to guard against dangers existing only in their own imaginations. Was he right or was he wrong? So firmly right, that he seemed to be trifling with the Senate in urging truths so obvious.

The Senator from South Carolina, [Mr. PRESTON,] whom he did not see in his seat, but who was probably in the chamber, pronounced the other day, in relation to this resolution, one of those speeches which always created a powerful effect. But never was there a more forcible example of how an imposing manner and fluency of language might cover the greatest absurditieshow the graces of elocution and the ornaments of style might accompany the weakest arguments, than in this instance. Had the gentleman, too, discovered a clause in the constitution which forbids the two Houses of Congress from making an appropriation without the recommendation of the President? Did he suppose that there, in that hall, where existed the censorship of the Government, (if he might use an expression of the gentleman's,) the safety of the country could not be provided for without executive recommendation? Here (said Mr. C.) is that censorship which is to stand between what is adverse and all that is valuable in our institutions, and guard them from danger. Here was the part of the Government that with reflection and contemplation provided the best means of securing all that was good, and guarding against all that was evil; and yet the Senator from South Carolina has discovered that those who constituted this censorship were not to be trusted. All at once we are (said Mr. C.) to be sunk into a state of apathy and stupor; to have eyes and not to see, to have ears and not to hear, and to have hearts and not to understand. Oh! happy condition of passive obedience to which they have arrived; and wonderful by whose means they had been brought to it. gentleman reminded him (if he might indulge in a pleasantry in a grave debate) of a termagant wife, who, finding out a new way of provoking her husband, replied to him on all occasions, "whatever is your will is my pleasure."

The

Then, there was no clause in the constitution, as he had read it, declaring that the two Houses of Congress should have no opinions as to the foreign relations of the country; none declaring that when the enemy's fleet was on our coasts, and his army on our soil, or, in the language of the gentleman from Massachusetts, when the Gaul was at the Capitol; there was no language in the constitution prohibiting Congress from providing the means of defence. Yet the gentleman from Massachusetts, if he understood him right, was for waiting for executive recommendation; that is, when his house was in flames, and his wife and children shrieking with dismay, he would not go to their rescue till his neighbor advised him to do so. The gentleman must go to the President and get his sanction, before he can provide against approaching danger.

There was but one point more that he wished to refer to. Being already exhausted with the slight effort he had made, affected peculiarly by disease, and lately disused to public speaking, he might not have made the most appropriate arrangement of the subjects he had touched on, and this might not therefore be brought out in its proper place. The Senator from South Carolina seemed to have a strong confidence, proceeding with him to certainty, that there was no possible danger of a war with France, unless it arose from our own conduct. What sort of evidence warranted the gentleman in making these predictions with such presumption? Has the course of the French (said Mr. C.) proceeded

[JAN. 20, 1836.

on such sure calculations that you cannot doubt, from what has passed, what will follow? Did any man suppose that the treaty of 1831 would not be carried into execution? There happened what had not been anticipated by any one. Was there any member of that body, was there any individual in the nation, who could have anticipated the strange condition that was attached to the fulfilment of the treaty by a member of the oppo sition in the French Chambers, and the sudden accept. ance of that condition by the French ministers? What, then, warranted the prediction of the gentleman from South Carolina, that there would be no war with France unless caused by our Government? He denied that there was any certainty in calculating on the future course of France towards this country; he denied that the movements there depended on any course of conduct that might have been pursued at a former period. There was a mass of feeling, a chaos of discordant elements, in the French Chambers, which must produce results that no human foresight could calculate on. There was the republican party, ardently desiring for their country the enjoyment of those equal rights and free institutions which they saw producing such blessings on this side of the Atlantic; there were the imperialists, burning under a sense of defeat, and looking back to the glories and triumphs of the reign of the great Emperor; there were the Carlists, anxiously longing to exalt the white flag over the tri-color; and all these embarrassed in a greater or less degree the operations of the party in power.

There was another feature in the composition of the French Chambers worth attending to. They (the Chambers) refused to appropriate the money required to fulfil the stipulations of a solemn treaty entered into by their Government, without the compliance with an extraordinary condition, thereby manifesting a want of experience in the principles of government, that they may yet attain, but which they must attain as all other Governments have, after long and laborious application. The gentleman from South Carolina referred to the friendly disposition of the King of France, Louis Philippe, towards this country. He tells us, said Mr. C., of the perfect good faith and sincerity with which the King and his ministers have entered into this treaty, of their anxiety to have its stipulations carried into effect, and of their exertions to get the necessary appropriation through the Legislative Chambers. But of what avail is the friendship of the King, without a corresponding disposition on the part of the legislative branch of his Government? We cannot rely on the good disposi tion of the French King, because he cannot control the various conflicting elements of which his own Government is composed.

In the entire want of the habit of public speaking, (Mr. C. said,) he had passed over one or two topics which could have been profitably referred to. He would, however, but briefly call the attention of the Senate to one fact, and then close his remarks. Was there a man there who did not understand one important principle in European politics, and one that had more than once been acted on by this very French na tion? It was, that, in commencing a war, it was their policy to strike the first and most decisive blow, unexpected to their enemy, and without giving him time for preparation. While consuming time here (said Mr. C.) with unnecessary scruples, and combating dangers that exist only in the imagination, your commerce may be swept from the ocean, your gallant seamen may be dispersed, and your navy, which has added so much to the nation's glory, be left unmanned when called on for action. If it occur to France, said Mr. C., that there is to be some signal advantage in striking us some decisive blow, what was to prevent her seizing this advantage,

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if the arguments of gentlemen prevail? Come what might, he (Mr. C.) did not fear the result, though he was of opinion that both honor and policy demanded that every necessary preparation should be made. There was a zeal, an energy and promptitude, in this young and growing nation, equal to any emergency, and capable of encountering and overcoming the greatest of dangers. He relied with the utmost confidence on the spirit and gallantry of the American youth, who, without experience, but stimulated by love of country, and their country's honor, could rush unprepared into the greatest dangers, and by their chivalrous daring add new renown to their country's flag. It was with the deepest interest he had read the romantic story of the gallant and youthful Blakely, who, with a crew of youthful and inexperienced seamen, proceeded to the British Channel, there cut up the British commerce, and by his victorious conflicts with the enemy furnished the brightest pages of our naval history, and shed an imperishable lustre over his early grave.

When Mr. CUTHBERT had concluded,

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and respectability which is due to the security and to the welfare of the Union.

To the aforegoing resolutions, proposed by the Senator from Missouri, the following amendment was offered by the Senator from Maryland:

To strike out all after the word "resolved," in the first line, and to insert: "That the general defence and permanent security of the country are principal objects of the national care, and therefore adequate and liberal specific appropriations from the public revenues ought regularly to be set apart and applied to these purposes." I feel no particular solicitude whether the resolutions offered by the Senator from Missouri, or the substitute offered by the Senator from Maryland, be adopted. They both look to the same object. They both contemplate the same purpose-"the general defence-the permanent security of our whole country." In the event of this Senate agreeing to the resolutions or to the amendment, it can have no other effect than to pledge this body to give their support to such legislative measures, consequent upon the adoption of the resolu tions or of the amendment, as shall have for their object the accomplishment of the great purpose in view, viz: the general defence and the permanent security of the country. Regarding the subject in this light, it is a matter of entire indifference to me whether the resolutions or the amendment be adopted. I should wish, in case the resolutions offered by the Senator from Missouri should be preferred, so to alter the terms of the first resolution as to require such a part only of the surplus revenue of the United States to be set apart for the ob

Mr. HUBBARD addressed the Chair as follows: Mr. President: The Senator from Georgia, who has just resumed his seat, has undertaken to narrate the events of the last evening of the last session of Congress as they transpired in this hall with reference to the progress and fate of the "fortification bill." He has also undertaken to inform us of the temper and spirit which characterized the debate in this hall upon that bill. I was not then a member of the Senate, and from my own knowledge can neither affirm nor disavow the correctness of the statements made by the Senator from Geor-jects in contemplation, as may be necessary, proper, and gia. I have no recollection that I visited this ball in the course of that evening. As to what took place upon the subject of the appropriation bills, from the time they were introduced here until the final action of the Senate upon them, I shall be guided by the journals of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and I hope to be able from the records to show that neither the House of Representatives, nor any committee of that body, deserve the rebuke, the censure, the blame, which has been imputed to them in the course of this debate. This is all I have to offer now, all that I have to state, before I proceed to present the precise question now submitted to the consideration of the Senate. What is that question? What are the resolutions offered by the Senator from Missouri? And what is the amendment proposed to those resolutions by the Senator from Maryland? They are as follows:

Resolved, That the surplus revenue of the United States, and the dividends of stock receivable from the Bank of the United States, ought to be set apart and applied to the general defence and permanent security of the country.

Resolved, That the President be requested to cause the Senate to be informed of-

1st. The probable amount that would be necessary for fortifying the lake, maritime, and gulf frontier of the United States, and such points of the land frontier as may require permanent fortification.

2d. The probable amount that would be necessary to construct an adequate number of armories and arsenals in the United States, and to supply the States with field artillery, (especially brass field pieces,) for their militia, and with side-arms and pistols for their cavalry.

3d. The probable amount that would be necessary to supply the United States with the ordnance, arms, and munitions of war, which a proper regard to self-defence would require to be always on hand.

4th. The probable amount that would be necessary to place the naval defences of the United States (including the increase of the navy, navy yards, dock yards, and steam floating batteries) upon the footing of strength

expedient. With such an alteration in the terms of the
first resolution, I should not hesitate to give to them my
hearty support; I should feel myself bound, by every
consideration of public policy and of public duty, not
only to vote for them, but to vote and to support any
legislative measure necessary upon their adoption.
The resolutions following the first call merely for in-
formation-information which would be in any event
desirable, if not indispensable, for the action of Congress
upon this all-important subject of general defence and
permanent security.

It was not my main purpose, in addressing the Senate
at this time, to discuss at length the resolutions offered
by the Senator from Missouri, or the amendment pro-
posed to those resolutions by the Senator from Maryland.
I had another object in view; but before I proceed
to state that other object, I must ask the indulgence of
the Senate in submitting some few general remarks upon
the propriety, the policy, the urgent necessity, of adopt-
ing, in extenso, the resolutions of the Senator from
Missouri, or the substitute offered by the Senator from
Maryland. What, sir, is intended to be accomplished
by the adoption literally of those resolutions? It is pro-
posed, in substance, that as much of the surplus revenue
of the United States as may be necessary shall be set
apart and applied to the general defence and permanent
security of the country. The amendment proposes to
appropriate adequate and liberal sums for the accom-
plishment of the same objects. The first question
which must present itself to the mind is, are appropria-
tions at this time necessary for the general defence and
permanent security of the country? On this point, I
presume there can be no difference of opinion, here or
elsewhere. The state and condition of our maritime
and inland frontiers call upon us, as the representatives
of the nation, loudly and imperatively, to provide effi-
ciently, promptly, and without delay, for the general
defence and the permanent security of the country.
well remember the untiring efforts of a distinguished
gentleman from South Carolina, no longer a member
of Congress, but who was then a member of the House

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of Representatives, and at the head of the Committee on Military Affairs, in the furtherance of these objects. He labored hard, he accomplished but little, and from that time to this the work has progressed slowly; it remains undone. Whether, Mr. President, we are to have war, or whether we are to enjoy a continuation of peace and prosperity, I would engage, forthwith, in putting our country, our whole country, in perfect defence; to place it in permanent security; every consideration of public policy demands it. It is the voice of wisdom, of experience--it is the lesson of history-that we should even in peace prepare for war. Who can bring to mind the disastrous, the disgraceful events of August, 1814, without feeling his pride as an American citizen humbled to the dust? Who can bring to mind that the very heart of our country was made accessible to the enemy; that, unobstructed and unopposed, he crossed our Hampton roads, passed up the Chesapeake and the Potomac, visited the city of Washington, laid waste our Capitol, and dined at our palace? Even at this late day, the rehearsal of that occurrence cannot fail to fill our hearts with chagrin and sorrow. But should we not take counsel from our experience? Ought we not to consider whether the "long sword of France" may not, in the same way, reach through the same city, in the event of a war with that nation? God forbid that we should ever be disgraced by the repetition of such a scene! That the fair page of American history should ever again be stained by such a record! I would then, Mr. President, with all possible despatch, make our maritime frontier impregnable to any and to every foreign enemy. I would, with all possible despatch, complete every fortification, man and arm every fortress connected with the public defence, for the permanent security of the country. I would, with all possible despatch, increase our navy, so that we could float into every sea and into every ocean a sufficient force for the protection of American commerce, and for the maintenance of American honor. I would do all this, sir, at every hazard, and under any circumstances. I would do it from the highest consideration of public policy. I would do all this from a solemn sense of public duty; a duty which we owe to ourselves as well as to posterity. I should not, therefore, be embarrassed as to the course which I should pursue, even if we had less available means than we have. But, fortunately, we shall not be called upon, in the execution of the great work of general defence, to resort to direct or to indirect taxation. We have an overflowing treasury; we possess an abundance of available means for the accomplishment of all the objects contemplated for the permanent security of the country. Then, sir, I would adopt the resolutions which have been offered; I would follow up those resolutions with such direct legislation as should effectuate, without delay, the objects contemplated.

I have said, Mr. President, that I would do this under any circumstances; so I would. But after the message of the President on the subject of our relations with France, which was communicated to this Senate very recently, (Monday,) I should consider further delay as fraught with imminent danger. I heard that communication with every feeling of pride and of patriotism. It was well worthy of its author and of the occasion, and I was surprised to hear that any Senator could have heard it with "profound regret."

In pursuance, then, of the recommendation contained in that message, I would promptly put our whole country in a state of defence; the exigency of the times demands it; our relations with France demand it; a proper respect to ourselves demands it. I was utterly astonished to hear it asserted on this floor, that, under existing circumstances, to arm would be equivalent to a declaration of war. Can it be that to prepare for the contro

[JAN. 20, 1836.

versy, if controversy must come, between us and our ancient ally, to put our beloved country in a state of safety, to arm our fortifications, to equip our public ships, would be regarded by her as the commencement of hos tilities on our part?

Such may be the sentiments of some of the members of this Senate. They are not the sentiments of my mind, and I cannot yield my assent to them.

Whether war or peace is to be the fate of this land, my voice is, be ready-be prepared-be well prepared for any and for every possible exigency. What! shall we, the freest nation on the globe, unembarrassed with debt, rich in resources, powerful in means, shall we, for fear of giving offence to his Majesty, fold our arms, and submit to every exaction which he may see fit to impose? Shall we hesitate to prepare to assert our rights-to maintain our honor? Shall we stand still, let patience have her perfect work, and whenever it shall be the gracious pleasure of his Most Christian Majesty "Louis Philippe" to pay us the debt France so justly owes us, to receive it with a submissive thankfulness, to bring it home, and to distribute it among the claimants? God save us from such a scene of humiliation. I say, then, Mr. President, let us, regardless of consequences, fearlessly do our duty, and all will be well.

My main purpose in addressing the Senate at this time was to answer some remarks which fell from the Senator from Massachusetts in relation to the proceedings of the two Houses of Congress at the last session upon the appropriation bills. In the commencement of his remarks, the Senator passed a high encomium, well merited I presume, upon the industry and punctuality of the Senate at the last session; and I cannot suppose that the gentleman intended, in doing this, to make any insinuations or cast any reproach upon the industry and punctuality of the last House of Representatives; if he does, he certainly does that House great injustice. [ was a member of that House, and by its presiding officer was placed on the Committee of Ways and Means, as well as upon the committee of conference, which has attracted so much notice, and called forth so much severity of remark, during the present discussion; and all I have to say in defence of the industry and punctu ality of that body is, that the journals will show the mass of public and of private business which was originated in that body during the last session; the dispo sition which was made of it, the number of bills which passed that body and were sent to the Senate, in addition to their proceedings upon the bills which came from the Senate. A reference to the journals of the House will satisfy the public mind on this point. I will only add that, for habits of industry, for punctuality and promptness, sure I am that it cannot suffer when put in comparison with the Senate itself.

The Senator proceeds and notices what he regards as a somewhat unparliamentary proceeding, an unusual course at least, on the part of the House, in failing to give the Senate any information in reference to certain bills which had originated in the Senate, and which had passed that body, and been sent to the House for their concurrence. It so happened that I remained in this city nearly a week after the last session of Congress, and I then felt a deep mortification in reading from one of the newspapers of this city the following editorial article, under the date of the 5th of March. It contains the same sentiments which the Senator from Massachusetts has seen fit to present to the Senate in reference to this matter. I subjoin the extract.

"Last day of the session-Unfinished business-West Point Academy-Loss of the fortification bill.-The two Houses of Congress adjourned the night before last, their functions then ceasing: and what a wreck of public business ensued!

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