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f gtoltttcaL Executive Administration, Mr. WISE rose and offered the following I resolution. - ? Resolved, That so much of the President’s message as relates to the condition ot the vai i ous Executive Departments, the ability and in tegrity with which they have been conducted, tho vigilant and fiitbfu! discharge of the public business in all of them, and the causes of com plaint from any quarter, at the manner in which they have fulfilled the objects of their creation, be referred to a select committee, to consist of nine members, with power to send foi persons find papers, and with instructions to iiMpiire in to the condition of the various Executive De partments, the ability and integrity with which they have been conducted, into the manner in which the public busiues has been discharged •in all of them, and into all cruses of complaint, from any quarter, at the manner in which said Departments, or their business, or offices, or any of their officers or agents, of every de scription whatever, directly or indirectly con nected with them in any manner, officially or unofficially, in duties pertaining to the public interest, have fulfilled, or failed to accomplish, ■ the objects of their creation, or have violated their duties, or have injured or impaired the public service and interest. And that said committee, in its inquiries, may refer to such periods of time as to them may seem expedient and proper. Mr. Wise then addressed the House as fol lows: Mr. Chairman: In sub nitting the resolution of reference which 1 have sent to the Chair, I deem it my duty to offer some reflections to the House and to the country. Sir, this paper is the last annual message of Andrew Jackson. The contemplation of it as such is deeply affecting to the sincere .’over of him, and solemnly mournful to the honest lover of his country. What should the 1 ist annual message of Andrew Jackson have been? Whc is he, what has he been! The answer to this question ought to determine what this last act of its , kind of his should have been. A man of humble but respectable origin, he was born in the times of his country’s travail for independence. His precocious spirit of resistance to oppression marked his infant bo dy with the scars of the Revolution. After the times which tried men’s souls had passed away; after the blessings of freedom had been secured by all the muniments of the institutions of our fathers, the fruits of peace, and virtue, and wis dom, and jealous patriotism; after varied and chequered scenes of private and public life, under a destiny adverse only so far as it was full of dangers, in games not Olympic, in con tests not heroic, we find him in the midst of his country’s second troubles, a citizen soldier, a Major-General of the Army of ihe Republic. He “was ambitious of fame; and as long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their ben efactors, the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characters.” A bold, energetic, and dauntless commander, he carried conquest, in spite of all dangers and difficulties, into the wilderness ofthe sav age tribes of the Southern frontier; was the daring but successful and justified invader of a neutral territory, and finally “filled the mea sure of his country’s glory” in defence of Or leans, where he assumed to be the arbiter of martial law, the judge advocate of men’s alle giance—where he conquered the conquerors of Napoleon—where he professed and practis ed submission to the civil authority, and where he acquired the title of Hero. And there created, 1 will not say “a dear-bought debt of gratitude” from his country. “Hail, second Saviour! ’ was shouted from the lips ofeveiy grateful heart, and echoed from every hill any valley; his name was em blazoned high on the rolls of imperishable mil itary fame, and peace was quick to hallow his victory. With peace bis warlike occupations were gone, but civil honors were showered and thickened around him. From the camp he rose to a seat in the Senate chamber—for then the Senate chamber was higher than the camp. He bore or seemed to bear, his hon ors patiently; but all that had been done or could be done, it seemed was not enough for him in the estimation of a generous people. He was nominated forthe first place on earth —the Presidency of these united, sovereign, and independent States of America; tor then these States were united, sovereign, and inde pendent. Civilians and statesmen, of proud, est names and stations, were his competitors, but he was the peoples candidate against men in office, against tlie powers that were, against their intrigues their patronage and their cau cuses; and in consideration thereof, and ot his just appellation of Hero, he was most popular and strongest in the plurality of votes. He was defeated —defeated here, in this Hall, in the House of Representatives, by men such as we are—and what we, the Rrepsentatives of the People, are. I will not name—by means I will not describe. It is sufficient to say that the manner ol his defeat was not only e nough to ensure his subsequent triumph, but to rivet him immoveably, right or wrong, in the hearts of his countrymen forever. He be came the champion of popular rights and the elective franchise, against office-holders and office-seekers —the favorite pet of the people, who was to scourge bribery and corruption, whose name was to be a terror to all evil-doers whose policy was to be retrenchment and re for ik, by whom the independence ot Congress of Executive patronage was to be maintained, by whom that patronage uas to be maintained, harmlessness, and in whom the line ot “safe precedents” was to be broken and destroyed. Ho was swept and rushed along on the roaring tide of an overwhelming popularity high up into office, on the second flood, and that popu larity lias never deserted him—no fickleness in it, it has never retired for a moment: notwith standing strong winds which have blown from every point of the compass, and opposing cur rents in every direction, it has continued to •well and swell, until it has become a flood — I will not say which threatens the dry land. He etime into power professing smd proclaim ing the most severe, ay, stoical democratic principles, the people confided iu him, were bound to him the closer, and have never yet wavered in their confidence —I will not say, though he has tried it to the uttermost. Un fortunately for him, when he was crowned with the reward of his military services, and ■was inducted into office, he not only found “competitors to be removed, enemies to be pun ished,” but he was beset \>y friends from whom he should have put up prayers to be saved. I will not say that he was lacking m those mag nanimous qualifications of a truly great man. which alone could rid him and guard him from these misfortunes —for man, poor feeble man, is weak under the most ordinary temptations, and his virtue must be strong who presides in a palace —but misfortunes they were. So it was, he was buoyed up in the affec tions of the sovereign people. Has he done wrong? He was popular. Had he done worse than wroug? He was popular, and he was the President who could do no wrong, in whom p .pularity was joined with power and patron, awe. Has ruthless proscription for opinion’s sake turned faithful public servants out of their employment, and snatched from the mouths of their families their bread? We are | told the I i esident ordered the removalsand the people had sanctioned proscription! Has fa voritism filled the vacancies which proscrip tion has made with the servile tools ot party to do the bidding of power? We are told that the President had need of his own friends, and that the people have sanctioned the maxim, •‘that to tlie victors belong the spoils!” Have the highest and richest offices, worth more than half of a million, been bestowed as re wards upon members of Congress, and has “corruption become the order of the day?” we are told that the President was the best judge ot the selection ot high functionaries, and that the people have sanctioned the “order ot the I day!” As “til! the reign of Severus, the virtue and even the good sense of the Emperors had ! been distinguished by their zeal or affected [ reverence for the Roman Senate, and by a ten- I der regard to the nice frame of civil policy in ' stituted by Augustus,” so had the virtue and even the good sense of preceding Presidents, till the reign of Andrew Jackson, been distin guished by their zeal and reverence for the American Senate, and by a tender regard for the nice frame of civil policy instituted by the fathers of our Republic!—Had “his youth” like that of Severus, “been trained in the im plicit obedience of camps, and his riper years spent in the despotism of military command! could not his haughty and inflexible spirit dis cover, or would he not acknowledge the ad j vantage of preserving an intermediate power, however imaginary, between the Emperor and the army?” As in the reign of Severus was the Senate filled with polished and eloquent slaves from the eastern (and I may add South ern) provinces, who justified personal flattery by speculative principles of servitude!” Have the Lawyers of his reign, whom I will not call Papinians or Paulusses, or Ulpians, “concur red in teaching that the imperial authority was j held not by the delegated commission, but by : the irrevocablb resignation of the Senate? and | that the Emperor might destroy vested rights I and the incorporations of law by his sic void! We are told that the aristocratic Senate had dared to offend the majesty of the President, and the people have santioned the word “can pungcl” Has the independence of Congress been totally destroyed by corrupt bribes and the power of appointing members to office? We are told that the representatives of the people are selected to do the will oi the Presi dent, and that the people have sanctioned the creed that there can be no treason to the coun try so long as there is fidelity to "the party.’ Has tho President “assumed the responsibility,” siezed the custody and the control of the pub lic money in defiance of all law and precedent, and placed them in the hands of a traitor, and a perjured knave? We are told that the mon ster bank was his enemy, and that the people have sanctioned the “union of the purse and the sword.” Has he assumed to himselfjudi cial powers and the prerogative to administer the laws and the Constitution according to his own interpretation and his own irresponsible will. We are told that the President’s con science alone is concerned in their execution, and that the people have sanctioned in him the power of Imperial Magistrate. As Imperial Magistrate has he “assumed the conduct and style of a sovereign and conqueror, and exer cised, without disguise, the whole legislative as well as executive power?” We are told that the President is ‘-the Government,” and ♦hat the people have sanctioned the pretention that all offices and their powers are his! Have the expenditures of his administration increas ed and grown enormously beyond all example, to 38 millions from 15 millions, without a cent of public debt to be paid? We are told that the President is the best judge of the wants ot the country, and that the people have sanc tioned wasteful and profligate extravagance! Have thousands and hundreds of thousands been expended on east rooms and gravel walks, and all the regalia of a palace in fact, for a re publican officer in form? We are told that the President’s Court should be as splendid as any King’s, and that the people have sanctioned royalty! Has the patronage of the Federal Government been tremendously increased and exerted in conflict with the ireecom of elec tions? We are told that the reign of the Presi dent should be perpetuated, and that the peo ple have sanctioned the interference ot the of fice-holders with the elective franchise! Has the currency of the country been totally de ranged,and is there danger of an universal crash in trade and finance? We are told that the Presidents golden experiment must be fully tested to our hearts’s content, and that the pco pie have sanctioned the “inverted pyramid” of local bank paper rags, which threatens to tot ter over our heads! Has “the fine theory of a republic insensibly vanished, and made way for the more natural and substantial feelings of a monarchy?” We are told that the Presi dent may be a King by the will of the people, and that the people have already consented to the change! Has the President been “freed from the restraint of civil laws can he com mand by his arbitrary will the lives and for tunes of his subjects, and,” finally, “has he dis posed of the empire as of his private patrimo ny” by nominating and electing his successor! We are told that the President was entitled to his right of elections as well as other men, and that the People have sanctioned and submitted to his dictation! Sir, let me not be misunderstood. Let no one infer that I am indulging in any tirade a gainst the President, or that I am venting any spleen whatever. No, sir; no. Far, far be it from me now, now when it is too late, if ever it was right and proper to indulge in stronger invective against a Chief Magistrate than truth and patriotism required. He of whom I speak is. 1 deeply regret, now lying on th j couch of human suffering, the last I fear, from what 1 am told, of his sufferings in this world of sorrow. I too have served him with more than half the zeal I ever served a more omnip. otent master. He w ill, if he lives, soon retire from the palace of power, and resign all the pomp and circumstance of state and station in to other hands, which are to reign after him. God grant, sir, that his retirement may be that peaceful and calm and blessed retirement from the harrassing cares of office, which belongs to wisdom, virtue, and the consciousness of being a public benefactor-r-such as was illus trated in the examples of a Washington and a Madison. My prayer fervently is, that he may yet live long at his beloved Hermitage, in the holy retreat of his own private sanctu ary, and spend the decline of his days in sol emn reflections upon the scenes and events ot a long life, most actively spent in deeds big with the fate of a country he has defended, and of its institutions “hallowed by the wisdom of sages, and consecrated by the blood ot he roes.” May he live long to witness the ef fects of his errors, if errors he has committed, to acknowledge and repent of them; and in like manner to enjoy the blessings ot his ad ministration, if of any blessings it has been fruitful. No, sir; my meaning is not now to condemn the President, but to defend the peo ple. This is the sole object of the questions 1 have put. Ido not mean to accuse the Presi dent of all these enormities against civil liberty, of which I have asked— is he guilty? Nor do I admit, if he is guilty of them, that the People have sanctioned all or any which 1 have enu merated. But, sir, I merely state the fact, that the party who claim to hold him in keep ing, and to hold on to his power after him, claim and tell us that the People have yielded every thing worth preserving, and have sane- I tioned all these enormities, and more, and | worse. What their object maybe in admit ting these encroachments.and in claiming that i the people have sanctioned and approved them, I know not, unless they mean hereafter to rely I upon most “unsafe precedents!” Ihe fact is j alarminglv so, that these claims are now set up, . going so far as to asperse the People whom they affect so much to reverence with approv- I ing and sanctioning proscription, corm phon. \ arbitrary power, the destruction of the checks | and balances of the Government, profligate er- : travagance in its administration, Executive die- I tation, royalty itself and a caucus succession . in an elective monarchy ! In advance, I warn , them that 1 now deny the fact that the People , have sanctioned or approved of anv such u:i- ! pardonable sins against them or their only b d- . warks of safetv. If this people have yielded already what “ the party” claim, they womd I have yielded all for which their fathers fought; , and those fathers would rise, it the mighty I dead could rise from their very graves to re proach their d'based degeneracy, and their j cruel injustice alike to th an and all posterity. | - I have done no wrong to Jackson, then, as ; all candid minds will bear me witness; 1 have j given him credit fir “every captive he has j brought to Rome.” At the same time, I do : not mea.ii to say he has not committed many i grievous errors. For many of them I can well ■ account, though I cannot pardon. We an? j taught in history that suspicious princes often ! promote the last of mankind from the vain per- i suasion, that those who have no dependence, except on their favor, will have no attachment, ; except to the person of then’ benefactor. — Thus were the I’erenmses and Cleanders pro- | inoted bv a Commodus. and such ministers I were well qualified to drive from the esteem j of such a prince the “faithful counsellors t" i whom a Marcus hid recommended his son.’ > The one “a servile and ambitious minister, 1 who had obtained his post, oy the murder of his predecessor, but wh<» possessed a coaside- | rabie share of vigor ami ability;” the other j “ was a Phrygian by birth, of a nation over j whose stubbor • b it servile temper blows only could prevail. He had been sent from his na tive country to Rome in the capacity of a slave. As a slave he entered the imperial pa lace, rendered himself useful to his master’s passions, and rapidly ascended to the most ex alted station which a subject could enjoy. His influence over the mind of Commodus was J much greater than that of ins predecessor. | Avarice was the reigning passion of his soul, { and the great, principle of his administration. The rank of consul, of patrician, of senator, was exposed to public sale. In the lucrative provincial employments, the. minister shared with the governor the spoils of the people. The execution of the law i was venal and ar- ' bitrary.” Is it astonishing that, with mii.istcrs like those of Commodus, tempted as they were by the public money in deposite, and by ihe viis: public domain of this nation, stretching over rivers and lakes, and prairies of unbounded ‘ extent and inexhaustible fertility, Jackson was j duped, and the public deposit.es were removed | within reach of I’erennis and Cleander? A- j gain, sir, an incident in the history ot this | same Emperor, very similar to the one in the j history of our own Piesident, accounts for his ' hostility to the Roman Senate. One evening. ! as the Emperor was returning to the palace < through a dark and narrow portico, in the am- \ phitheatre, an assassin, who waited his passage rushed upon him with a drawn sword, loudlv exclaiming, “The Senate sends you this.”! The conspiracy was proved to have been form- i ed ribt in the*Senate, lout within the walls of the palace. But “the words of tire assassin , sunk deep into the mind of Commodus, anil • left an indelible impression ot tear and hatred ! against the whole body of the Senate. The ! Delators, a race of men discouraged, and al-) most extinguished under the former reigns, a- ■ gain became formidable as soo i as they disco- 1 vered that the Emperor was desirous of find ing disaffetion and treason in the Senate.” Sir, we all know that in the snapping of a per cussion cap tho President heard distinctly tire words, “Tire Senate sends you this’—that that detestable race of men called Delators : were ready to swear that the conspiracy was j formed in the Senate ; and, it there was not a | better reason, perhaps to the act ot a madman j now confined in prison might be ascribed tire I President’s past hostility to the Senate. But j there is a better reason. “By declaring them- J selves the protectors of the People, Marius I and Ciesar subverted the Constitution ot their | country.” And, perhaps, in the histories ot ! Marius and Caesar our modern Cleaiiders learn ed that an “humble and. disarmed” Senate is j always “ found a tractable and useful instru-j ment of dominion.” Inacertain event, if the election of Presi dent had filled in this House, an “ humbled and disarmed Senate” have been found —a “tractable and useful instrument,” indeed, to elect an Elagabalus, under whom another Hierocles might have enjoyed the honor of be ing “empress’ husband;” and under whom “ a dancer might have been made priefcct ol 'the city, a charioteer prmfect of the watch, a barber pnefect of the provisions,” and all “ re commended as fit officers— cnormitale membro rum!” Sir, 1 might eumnerate numberless such excuses for numberless such errors of the President, or rather of the President’s min isters. But enough has been said, and t mean not to condemn or accuse him, 1 repeat, but to defend the People, whom “the party” accuse and condemn. If it betrue, as we are told, and I do not say it is not true, that Zhe President has made and unmade men in office, has proscribed the faithful, has corrupted the pure, and humbled and disarmed the Smale, has made the House of Representatives servile and dependent, has seized and squandered the public money, has deranged the currency and endangered every man’s estate, has controlled elections, has as sumed royal prerogatives, made himself a king and a .king his successor; and if it be also true, which I utterly deny, that the People have sanctioned all this exercise of absolute power, I ask gentlemen of all parties, those even who claim to be the exclusive keeper’s ot the king’s conscience, if' this does not prove one virtue—the virtue of constancy, at least, in the People '! Have they not been constant and confiding bevond measure in their attach ment to him ? Has their fault not been in too much confidence and constancy ? If what they say be true, and it is a main ar. gument with them, that the voice of the Peo ple is the voice of God; that whatever Jack son has done they have sanctioned; that he spake, and they willed it; that he vetoed, and they voted with him; tiiat he dictated, and they obeyed,—is this not proof positive that their affections and their voices have ever sus tained, have ever animated, have ever indul ged, have ever justified and excused him? Such unexamp ed confidence, such unexam pled constancy, such unex . mled attachment and affection were never witnessed before in any people towards any ruler; and I put it to the candor and sense of justice of all men to say whether what the People have yielded to their favorite has not been much more, trebly more, than reward enough for all his services and sacrifices, however great? Admitting tile debt of their gratitude to him to have been ev er so great, 1 ask if the debt has not been more than paid ? Whether the President does not now owe more than he cun ever pay to a Soit $ Sit f W i ♦ generous people, who have confidingly, to a criminal degree, entrusted him with their all— their honors, their rights, their liberties, their sovereign power? Sir, whit can one aged man, fast hurrying to the grave, pay to a peo pin in consideration of what till the treasures of cv.rth and all the blood of them and their children, may not b'.iv? Nothing! Nothing! Yes, yes, there is one boon, one sacred legacy, of inestimable value which, in parting Jroin them and the world, he might h ive left them. He might have left them the legacy of a pa triot’s a Ivice. Ho nnght have" left their: the truth, and solemnly imprinter! it upon tneii minds and memories forever, that “they ha... trusted him too much. ' and Ins advice to them, never, never in their history to trust another man as they had trusted him,” and he might have returned them their trust, and have re stored them to their senses. 1 his, and tnis only, would have repaid them- It would have restored to them what has been taken from them, which alone can compensate for itself- The last message of such a President to such a People should h ive been the “farewell ot a father to his children. It should have been deep in wisdom, profound in its philoso phy, hallowed in its lessons of virtue, calm in its tone and temper of reason, eloquent tn its appeals, snbfiine in its moral, and passionate only in its fervent affection. It. should have been the legacy of Augustus to his successors, the “ farewell” address of Washington to his countrymen! But this is the last.anmtal message of Andrew Jackson ! I would, for him and his country, that it was any thing but what it is. And iz;/iy is it wh itilp.s? Gentlemen will pardon me— I mean nothing disrespectful to the President, when I sav thev know ii is due to candor and trull, to sav—it is a h it it is, because it is not the message at all. <f Andrew Jackson. They k iow that, immediitelv upon the adjournment of tho last, session oi Congress, the President ■mil his Prime .Ministers were dispersed irom their duties at the seat of Government, and from the cares of prilic business, on their re sp tclive missions ti the States of this Union. He of State bore tespatches to Georgia, and •‘the Old Chief hi is df” was lugged along through Western Virgi Ha, over “ Ruts and ridges, “ And bndsi'os “ Mace of planks, “In (.pen ranks” to Tennessee and Alabama. It. is a pity, sir, that moi'c of the people had not. witnessed the Executive electbneermg tour, for then, per haps, more of the States would have followed the example of Georgia, and Tennessee, nei ther of which could bi seduced or intimidated into the support of “ the man”—a Tennessee Coast said, “the dog"—-as well as “the mas ter.” lam told that they carried him about like a lion for show, and made him roar like a lion. Thev had catechisms prepared for him, a id the negotiations of the mission were con ducted by preconcerted questions and answers. A crowd would collect—on the highway or in the bar-rooms, no nutter which—and some “ village politician” of “ the party’' would in quire—“ What think you. General, of such a man ?” [u a loud tone, much too stentorian for those lungs which are now lacerated, the answer wrung —“He is a traitor,sir.” “ 1 here, there !” repeated the demagogues to the crowd —“did you n< t hear that?” “What think you of another, General? “He is a liar, sir!” “ What of another ?” “Heis a black cockade Federalist!” Os another! “He made a speech for which he paid some steno grapher five dollars !” And another was— "Of no account —no account, sir, and ought to be sent home to have his place supplied by a more etliciciit muiij’’ and another was— “ Upon tho fence, sir—upon the fence !” “But, General, what think you of —Mr. (the first time Reuben was ever called Mister!) Reuben M. Whitnev?” “There is no just cause of com plat ,t against JZr. 11 hdney, str; lie is as true a patriot as ever was; they are all liars who ac cuse him of aught wrong, and the official doc uments prove them to be so!” All the while these responses were repeated bv the deacons of the service, and the people were called to give heed to them. Those who saw the farce and the frauds, did heed them, sir--did heed them. My friend (Mr. I’.) told them that they would kill him: that there was too and fatigue: too much slam! i too much bustle and e x cite me ifi« 'lidt ■♦. i . infirm old man to bear. But still, they show ed him about, in the heat of summer, and s/i7Z I they made him roar, until he frightened the 1 ueople, who at last began to apprehend he was j a lion ionic to devour their freedom ofelections, and all else they valued as dear. Defeated in i his mission, he at length became disgusted i himself, chagrined and mortified. He return 'ed to Washt igton through Ohio, and, by the I Guvamlotte route through Virginia again, and I has been sick and disabled ever since. The i loss of Tennessee, particularly the Hermitage, | excited him still more, and this renewed excite | meat may have caused that hemorrhage at the lungs which has been pouring out the current lof his life. At no moment since his return i has he been able to write ur dictate a message, i There he has been lying, as it were, a dead j lion, who could not even “ shake the dew drop 1 from his mane.” and his couch of infirmity has ) been haunted by the I’erenmses and Cletinders !of his palace as by Vampires. In their hands I has he fallen, and it is because this “ last an ■ nual message’’ conies to us and the country reeking with the fumes of the Kitchen Cabinet, that it is what it is ! What is it ? 'J'lio worst as well as the last annual message which Andrew Jackson even ever wrote — 1 had like to have said, ever j sent to both Houses of Congress. Its vanity | and egotism—its profane hypocrisy, and so . lemn mockery of the good man’s supplications i to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe—its so phistical nonsense, showing its duplicity to a I foreign power, and concealing its real policy from ourselves—its low, ad captandum argu meats, addressed to all the preju lices of igno rance and passion, <o justify the most shame less attacks upon the currency for the vile pur poses of licensed depredators on the public lands —its glaring falsehoods as to the most impor tant facts of trade, currency, banks of deposite, and finance—its electioneering, continually harping upon an institution dead in fact, and thrice wounded since dead —its oft-repeated homily against one good bank, and its unblush ing recommendation, m the same breath, of nearly half one hundred bad and irresponsible banks—its disingenuous attempts to reconcile glaring inconsistencies of the President on the deposite and distribution measures —its pitiful apologies for the disgrace of our arms by Oce ola—its bold recommendation of an increase of the standing army—its unjust attempt to cast censure, due to the errors and blunders of the administration itself, upon the shoulders of an innocent State officer, and then calling for an appropriation to repair these same errors which it says are not those of this Government—its false claim of a national policy, founded in hu manity, towards the Indians- -its reiterated Jesuitical recommendation of an amendment of the constitution as to the election of President, which was never meant to be carried into ef fect by “ the party,” or to be any thing more than a topic with which to prejudice the peo ple’s minds against an election by the House— its impudent boast of the intelligence and pat riotism of the successor, v Imm Executive pa tronage and dictation have succeeded tn elect- ing—its shallow political economy—its dema £oguism—its arts of vile detection and hmn buggery —its rankling venom of party spirit— its miserable rhetoric, sinking below criticism —its grovelling moral sentiment —its total want of all sage counsel or advieo, and of all pathos and feeling—are all equalled only by its false cert if cate in chief to “the prosperous condition of all the various Executive Depart ments,” to “the ability and inteokity” with which they have been Conducted, and to the fact of the President’s belief “that there is no just cause of complaint from any quarter, lit the manner in which they have fulfilled the objects of their creation !” Now, sir, complaints have been loudly made from various quarters, by this House and in the press, by responsible persons, as to the con dition of most of the Executive Departments, and as to the want of ability and integrity with which they have been conducted; and investi gation by us of the truth or falsehood, justice or injustice, of these complaints, have, hereto fore, been doggedly and repeatedly refused. “The party” were content with the mere af firmation by the President to the crowd of their innocence and puritv, when he knew no more about their guilt, than he knew of the facts of a certain event ir this Capitol last winter, ot which vou and I, Mr. Chairman, knew all, and more than we wanted to know; about which if the Tennessee papers are to be believed, the President has given another certificate, though he was more than a mile olf, and there were at leasi seven fathoms of bricks and mortar and stone between him and the place ofthe occur rence. Thev have made him a witness in both cases where it was impossible for him to be a witness, and in giving his testimony he has been compelled to resort to his “imagina tion for his facts.” I cared nothing about the cel tificate.s ofthe President, so long as they abi ded in the ephemeral form of heated partisan declarations along the public roads, or so long as they were read from the stump merely a. thousand miles olf. ikat, siv, this “certi/ica.te in chief” is no longer a mere tavern ipse dixit on the highway, but it is to be filed in the ar chievcsof this Government as a part and par cel ofthe “last annual message”' of the Great est and Best!! Pereimis and Cleander have certified to their own good bi havior, innocence, and purity, have incorp rated their certificate in the “last annual message,” and have affixed to it the official mamuil of Andrew Jackson ! Is this certificate true? 1 put it to gentle men if it be not true, whether injustice has not been done to Andrew Jackson, to those who have uttered just complaints, and to the public service, bv this audacious forged self acquit tal ? Is it true or false, that the various Execu tive Departments have been conducted with ability and integrity, and that they are in a pros perous condition ? That is the issue. How is it to be tried? Will gentlemen tell me that, the President has tried ths issue already, and ihat they are content with /lis certificate in form? Sir, I begin this session as I ended the last session, by asking the opportunity and power, and by claiming the right ot an investi gation by a committee, an efficient, able and fair committee, with full powers to eviscerate the truth. The truth is all I desire, I make no accusations, no complaints, except of the de nial of investigation. If all have been conducted with ability and integrity, the Departments have nothing to fear, and investigation may do great good. It it does not find ami expose past fraud and cor ruption, ii may prevent much evil hereafter, by the fear ofscrutiny. Ido sincerely, Irom the best of motives, earnestly desire to see the doors of the Treasury Department, ot the Land Offi ces, of tlie Indian Bureau, rifl'd of olher de partments and offices, thrown open to full and fair investigation. M e then can have the facts of which to judge for ourselves, and on which to make up our own verdict. It is the dutyol the grand inquest to find or ignore a bill for itself, and ofthe venire to try the issue and find a verdict tor itself. No judge, much more u<> party, shall find a bill, true or false, or render a verdict for them. Cleanse the Augean sta bles, sav 1, and I say more. The Numidian king, when he was carried a captive to Rome, and saw the corruptions oi her citizens, return ed from the city with contempt, and said. “ Give me wealth, and I will buy up the whole Republic.” Fanny Wright, I believe, uttered t"iie whenever you see two men talk a I'ER, P‘her, there are ten chances to one they <alking on one of three subjects-—“trade, politics, or religion.” The three subjects have since she wrote the remark, entirely amalga mated into two. Trade and politics have now become one. Some ofthe priests, lam told, are offering to join the union, and mammon is the god of this day’s worship. Trade, sir, trade swallows up every thing ! 'l’ell me not this is the short session. In vestigation was tefused, last winter, when tne session was long. I know, sir, that this is an inauspicious period, perhaps, to expect gentle men to look back at the past, or to pause a moment on the present. 1 know that every eve is turned, and every mind ot gentlemen is bent towards the future. “Coming events, which cast their shadows before, are much more dazzling to their hopes and fancies, than painful truths ot the past or the present are to their memories or their wills. 1 hey know’, sir, that some of the swarm of“ Conservatives” which are now fat and full of the blood ot the Treasury, must be driven oft lor some of the lank and" hungry “ loco foco” flies, who are voraciously eager to light upon this poor body politic of ours. All things may not become new,but there must bejsome changes; & for eve ry change there will be a chance for some impa tient expectant. 1 know that G _ en. Jaciison has been made to say in this “ last annual message” —“ He that cometh after me is mightier than I;” but he has not been made to add—•• Mr hose i’an is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor.” Sir, lest he may not purge his floor, 1 wish it to be swept clean for him be fore he comes iu, so that Jackson may not be ; blamed after he is gone. Ceriain it is I cannot anticipate; time must develope the course and the policy ot the com ing Administration, And let no one accuse me of commencing an attack upon it in ad vance. No, sir; so tar from it, th«ugh 1 hold Mr. Van Buren responsible for most misy-S*.,-.., that Arts been done, and most that mg; though he has been the . for the Presidency, and successor; though he is patronage, corruption, and dictatfi»r.jJJi ’ he succeeds at the expense of the elective fran chise; though he is a minority President, and has promised to follow generally m the foot steps of this Kitchen Cabinet Administration, yet. if he bravely dares to falsify that promise, “more honored in tho breach than in t io o>- servance;” if he will kick away the base lad ders by which he has climbed to the height of his ambition; if he will now leave ralstafl where he found him, and array around linn the j wisdom, intelligence, imii virtue of thecoimtiy, I and base Ins Administration on a sound, eleva. , ted, and enlightened policy, free tiom couup tioii, and purely patriotic, uncontaminated by I partv, I will pledge my humble support to his measures, though I never can suppoit t.ie man, ior pardon the past examples he has Set. And whv cannot 1 nipport the man wlulst i up prove his measures ! For the very reason that he has not “entered in at the strait gale. 1 shall always eschew the example which has been set iu'lß3o, as 1 did that of 182 b, iu the election of President of these United States. — The one example has been rebuked with a vengeance—the oilier will not be forgiven by me. Sir, in this contest one great battle only has been fought between power and the people. The result is known. The conflict was not | decisive, and must, as long as there is an hon est heart to hope for freedom— shall go on un i til constitutional liberty, law, the independence j ofthe people, and their representatives, honesty, ' truth, and justice, are triumphant, or all are fettered in a despot’s chains! Defeated, but not conqi.'ered; checked by the Praetorian band o of patronage, but not arrested in their onward march; the patriot army is not discouraged or dismayed; smitten, but rot struck down, the i flag ot the country is still flying! Defeat may drive some, the craven or the cormorant of spoils, from the standard of the true and the brave, but to the firm am proud spirits of the patriot band I would say, “ who shall separate |us from the love of country?” Shall defeat? j Another such defeat will be a glorious victory! lln this“we are more thin conquorers, ’for I am persuaded that neither office, nor bribe, nor principalities,nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of our cou.itry, its laws, and its I liberties! God only krows in whose name ! this victory shall be achieved; it matters not; but this I know, be he v ho he may, his cause will be consecrated by the toils, the prayers, the sacrifices, and the hopes es the unsubdued and miterrificd freemen. No, sir; let no man despair ofthe Republic. 'l'he fight is not yet ended. I’he peopie are not yet vanquished. Thejr iiosts are withdrawn only for the mo. ! meet to recruit their forces, and to repair their I broken weapons. The weapons of our war fare are the weapons of truth. It shall be my duty to assist in poii ting anew its spears and its lances. The question on the resolution was then ta ken without further debate, and carried: Ay es 86, noes7B. MICHIGAN. The following message, in writing, was re. > ccived from the President of the United States in both I! mses of Congress, on lucsday : To the Senate and. HouteoJ Representatives of the United States of America : By the second siciion oi die act “to estab lish "the uorihern bmndary line of tho State of Ohio, ami to provide for the admission ofthe State of Michigan into the Union, upon the conditions therein expressed,” approved June 15, 1836, the Constitution and State Govern ment whit ii the People ot Michigan had for med for themselves was ratified and confirmed, and the Slate of Michigan declared to be one ofthe United Statis of America, and admitted into the Union, upon an equal footing with the original States; but on the express condition that said State should consist oi, and have jurisdiction over, till the territory included within certain boundaries described m the act. and over none other. It was further euactcc, bv the third section ot the same law, that, as a compliance with the fundamental condition of admission, the boundaries of the State of Michigan, as thus described, declared, and established, should receive the assent of a convention ofdetegates, elected by the People of said State, forthe sole purpose of giving the assent therein required ; that us soon as such assent should be given, the president of the United States should announce the same proclamation : and that, th reupon, -..it any tiirtii r procei-diiia on gross, the liduiission ofthe St > ■ <■" --i . and Re/irescnturrves i♦« United States entitled to take their seats with out further delay. In the mouth of November last, I received a communication, enclosing the official pro ceedings of a convention, assembled at Aim Arbour, in Michigan, on the ‘26th of Septem ber, 1536; all which (marked Ji) are herewith laid before you. It will be seen by these pa pers, that the convention there referred to was elected by the People of Michigan, pursuant to an act ofthe State Legislature, passed on the 25th of July last, in consequence ofthe above mentioned act of Gongress, and that it declined giving its assent to the fundamental condition prescribed by Congress, and rejected the same. On the 21th instant the accompanying pa per marked B, with its enclosure, containing the proceedings of a convention of delegates subsequently elected, and held in the State of Michigan, was presented to me. By these p ipers, which are also herewith submitted for your consideration, it appears that, elections were held in all the counties of the State ex cept two, on the sth and 6th day s of Decem ber inst. for the purpose of electing a conven- I tion ofdelegatcs to give the assent required by | Congress that the delegates then elected as- ( sembled in convention on the 11th day of De-( cember instant; and that on the following day • the assent ofthe body to tire fundamental con dition above stated was formally given. This latter convention was not held or elect ed by virtue of any act ofthe Territorial or State Legislature ; it originated from the Peo ple themselves, and was chosen by them in pursuance of resolutions adopted in primary assemblies, held in the respective counties. The act ofCongress, however, does not pre scribe by what authority the convention shall be ordered, or the time when, or the manner in which, it shall be chosen. Had these lat ter proceedings come to me during the recess ofCongress, 1 should therefore have felt it my duty, on being satisfied that they emanated from a convention of delegates elected, in point of fact, by tlie People of the State, for the purpose required, to have issued my proc lamation thereon, as provided by law. But as the authority conferred on the ‘resident was evidently given him under the expecta tion that the assent ofthe convention miaht be laid before him during tire recess of Congress and to avoid the delay of a postponement until the meeting of that body, and as the circum stances which now attend the case arc in oth er respects peculiar, and such as could not have been foreseen when the act of June 15, 1836, was passed, 1 deem it most agreeable to the intent ofthat law, and proper for other reasons, whole subject should be submitted to .ft Congress. The importance ’''l' 1 ’ upon it. is too obvious to ’ JACKSON. Wk 0 -. ■ i ot disrtfd. was, on •ud adm»o the Com- ■breditorl ». T St my offip 1/ir thing con sumed in an exorbi- taut price, by the wav, there is none. In milkman the 1 euson of its scarcityf^l^^^usfie d our querry by say ing, that “milk has riz sotarnal high, "that cream can't reach the top!”— Rost. Her. Sale es a wife. — This barbarous practice still remains in some parts of Europe. Occa sionally some brute ot’ a fl flow ties a cord aiound the neck of his spouse, and leads her into the public market. Alate French paper mentions the sale of a verv good-looking wo man for 26 shillings, and the merchant husband went oil loudly rejoicing— “lt’s the happiest day of my life, For 1 have sold Margcc, my wife.'’ .Soutftern -- . . . Athens, <>a. Saturday, January 14, 1837. It becomes our duty to solicit again the pay ment of all amounts due us. This is imperi ously demanded by our necessities; and we trust that this call will not be disregarded; particularly by those who have had our paper for two or three years, without giving any thing n return. Cong-ressional Election, We learn by a gentleman direct from Mil ledgeville. that a sufficient number of counties have been heard from, to leave no doubt of the success of Col. Alford. MORE TROOPS A large fine looking mounted company of Volunteers, front Franklin county, passed through this place on Thursday last, on their way to Florida. Frederick Court of Enquiry This Court which our readers will recollect? was convened for the purpose of enquiring in to the causes of the failure of the Seminole and Creek campaigns, adjourned on the 23d ult, to meet on the 4th inst—up to the time of its adjournment many witnesses had been ex amined, from whose testimony, we infer the blame will be removed from the shoulders of Gen. Scott, and perhaps very justly attributed, to the inefficient measures adopted by the Secretary of War—of their actings since they reassembled we have as yet received no intel ligence. — Disastrous pwreck, It again becomes our painful duty, to record another most unfortunate wreck on our coast. The ship Mexico, seventy days from Liver pool, was wrecked off New York, to which port she was bound, on Tuesday morning the 3rd inst., and one hundred and eight lives lost, principally women and children. The Cap tain, with seven others, succeeded in reach ing the beach ; while those on board perished with cold in a few hours, within one quarter of a mile of the shore, and in sight of a number of their fellow beings, who were compelled to witness their excruciating suffering, and hear their heart-rending cries, without daring to at tempt their rescue. Abolition Petitions. We perceive by the proceedings of Con gress, that John Q. Adams has presented another ofthose. fire brands to that body—pe (titioniug the ‘abolition of Slavery iu the Dis trict of Columbia. — Hon. Henry A. Wise The speech of this gentleman on his reso lution. will be found entire in to days paper— we deem it unnecessary to ask an attentive welee’ assured that a,ll our readers A ,v to see it.— yo l .d ulenn ’ ~e d be ad- - s '' ,nc means or oth er—Since tire rt-j eel ion ofthe proposals of tho l ist Congress by the Convention called by the legislature, the people have in their priuiiary assemblies elected delegates to a. second con veution, which has assented to the terms, and advised the President of their determination; who thereupon laid the matter before Con gress in a special message which was referred in the Senate to the Judiciary ( onxmittee, who have reported a bill for her admission to all the rights and immunities of the other States, and providing also for the reception of her proportion of the revenue—On the passage of this bill, which presents many grave and im portant considerations, an interesting debate arose iu the Senate, which was engaging that bodv at our last advises. Insurance Bank of Colnmbu* This institution has by a recent transfer of the stock, become the property of the Stock holders of the United States Bank ofPennsyl vania ; and will in future be conducted in Col. ambus, and in Augusta, Savanut h and Macon, where Branches will be located, as an agency for the sale ofchecks and dealing in exchange generally for that Bank. In noticing this transaction the Editors of the Milledgeville Recorder and Federal Union 1 have expressed their decided disapprobation— the objections of the Recorder seem to be foun. ded exclusively on the trespass which it makes upon State Rights—Tenacious as we are of the rights and sovreignty of the States, we are un~ ; able to perceive any infraction of either, by the Sale of the Stock of a Bank, exclusively and I emphatically the property of individuals. The Federal Union however has afforded its readers a truly “raw head and bloody bones” ' story of the consequences which will flow— ' and proposed remedies to relieve us, quite as ■ novel, as they are startling and disorganizing. From the tone and spirit of the article, we ( should be disposed to think it emanated from an owner of Bank Stock in Georgia, whose I fears for his individual profits were greatly ex. | cited; and consequently had tortured a profi- ■ sic imagination, to array before his readers in vivid colors such evil forebodings for the fu ture operations of this institution—Be this as it , m tv, he has disingenuously attempted to excite an unjust prejudice against this Bank; and is : guilty either wilfully or ignorantly of designing to mislead the common people—-and in tho successful termination of his plans, to subject the people to greater frauds than can possibly j exist under its prudent management. From the reflection wo have bean able to give the subject; we cannot but view it asone of the most fortunate occurrences, in the Bank ing operations of Georgia, which could have happened. The State has already incorpora ted double as much Banking capital as is ne cessary to the transaction of her ordinary com mercial operations. And without some in stitu ion which will keep tho local Banks in check, it requires but little forecast to discover the ruinous frauds which would be practised in over issues. Another important and at this time very o sirable consideration is; that it will regulate and equalize the rates of exchange between the North and the South—This is a subject