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2 34 Slates growing out ot the comprom ises of the Constitution. No request is contained in the pa pers of the State of Georgia for any co-operation on the part ot’ this Com monwealth, yet it is believed by toe Committee that tins communication would net have been made but tor the purpo: e of exciting this Com monwealth to a similar effort, or pre paring the minds of our fellow ci tizens to thijik favorably of the ob ject when the influence of the State of Georgia shall have so far succeed ed as to present it in a more fonnal manner for their adoption. It is obvious therefore that no act of this Legislature is required in the present situation of the proposed amendment: and the Committe might so report without further de lay, if the preamble to the Georgia Resolution did not require from them a strong expression of dissent from its propositions. The Legislature of Georgia have declared “ that'from the past history of the Government it is to be feared that, under the provisions at present embraced in the Federal Constitu tion; the office of President of’ the United States, one giving to the in cumbent a power which may be ef fectually used for the best or worst of purposes, may sometimes be be stowed on the man whom the stiff rages of the peapie would not elevate to that high office; and whoso only hope of continuance therein will be derived from (he artful use of the patronage of the Government, a dangerous instrument in the Lands pi an ambitious man.” Your Com mittee are not aware that any facts .n the past history of the country warrant these remarks. Twice only in the ten elections of President of the United States has the choice de volved on the house of Representa tives. On both these momentious occasions that Honorable body has discharged its high and responsible duty, in a manner worthy of the pat riotism, integrity and firmness which should characterize American states men. The first election terminated in the choice of a man whose life was a practical illustration of those great principles of liberty which be had c orded in the declaration of bis country’s indep' ndencc ; and whose r.death has demonstrated how and imperishable is the affec tion with which a fr e people conse > ates his memory. The second election by the House of Representatives has elevated to the Presidency one of’ the most pro found and accompliseed statesmen of the age, whose past s rvic s in the most difficult and important stations, are pledges of his ability to conduct the destinies of this great people, while the integrity of bis character and the sternness of Jus republican principl s give assurance that the free institutions of our country will acquire strength and security by bis administration of constitutional power. The imputation of any t hintr in the past history of Presidential elec tion gives occasion for alarm and for new and undefined alterations of the f indumenta! principles of our con s d ration derive* all its tile to con ■ideration from respect to (he source •>m w hich it emanats, Your Com m itee consider it due the purity of nr political councils to disclaim the , lice of the reproach, and they • n! very much regret to fin I that . e <>uni disappointment or partv o should in any case feel justiti ■ m casting illiberal repreach upon ‘ * f uguished individuals in anv de- р. of the government. In a country like ours it should be univer- s iv felt that individual predilec u iis '’.annot always be gratified, and L at the duty of good citizens con sist rat;.er m a generous submission ti constituted authority than in ein • yrua< attempts to alter established ; ' i ' -for temporary purposes. Hit' cotunnite, therefore report that it is net expedit nt to take any t'lr’fer mem ure m relation to the commumcatn n o' the Executiue of the bt He of *•orgia. By Order, JAMES T. AUSTIN, /’or the Committee. MEXICO. Ue have information from Mexi co, mat, on the loth December last, a not took place in the capital of T? h °iu r t ' u ’ Regiment of - htca Militia ami the Corps of Citv < man s or Gens d’ Armes were en gaged. Ihe quarrel, it appears, was provoked by private altercations be t ween individuals of the two bodies tnough some would fain attribute it to the political agitations of the day. t j . a that evening, on occasion of a iresh insult by the latter to the mu » 11 the former, which was passing heir quarters, it became general, and recourse was had to arms. A isk fire was maintained tor an hour or two, which resulted in the death с. a non-combatant, and tour sol ars were wounded. So ended the ■a;!; iy, without further interruption co the quiet of the Citv. On the 11th, a committee of tb.e Senate, to which was referred the law ot the State Congress of Mexic .. annulling the elections of’ Toluca, re-| ported that said law is uncon*titu- ! tional, and therefore void" This report was subsequently approved by a vote of 20 to 6. The same elections, after a lung and animated discussion, have also been approved by the Preparatory Junta of the New Chamber of Deputies, 37 to 16. Thus, as we anticipated, has ter minated this long agitated question, which had created much excitement, and given rise to many surmises up-; on the continuance of the public l tranquillity. Tiic subject of Masonry seems to , be warmly debated throughout the i 1 Mexican Republic. The papers of' i the last of December contain the an j sw r of the actingS crctary of state j to a resolution oi the Senate, ask ; ing information “upon the existence lof Masonic Lodges, their number, denominations, objects, and effects.” ’ This report, is an analysis of ■the reports of the Governors of 17 I States, of the Federal District, and • of the Territories of Colima and of jTlaxcala, also published, shows that ; Masonry exists under two denomina tions.... York and Scotch. Os the I first besides many Lodges in the ca i pital, there are two in Guadalajara... ] one in the State of Michoacan....and ! it is extending itself to various other (States Os the second, none are known to exist elsewhere than in the capital ; nor is it known that there is any Masonic Lodge in the States of Choanas, Chihuahua, Gu anajuato, Oi.'ca Puebla, Sonora, Ta j basco, Zacati'cas, or in the Territo ries of Tlaxcala and Colima Ten of the Governors recommend the suppression of,such associations others refrain from the expression of their opinions upon this point. The Governor of New Leon, while he suspends his judgment, observes that Masons are very numerous in England, France, and in the United States, whose institutions they do not subvert, and that Spain | resents a contrary picture. The report, which is long and intricate, thus con cludes: “the Government, then, dis approves all clandestine meeting-, which, by fixed rules or institute , form bodies or colleges, and profess secrecy; and in the late st ‘con flict between the gu uauw oi i.h - tyand of the public security, is con fident that the v» isdom of the C'< a- gross v .51 interpose its power with that steady ar. ! judici hi? vigor which is nece sary to conciliate them, so that neither may suffer the slightest detriment.” A resolution was then offered by Senor Ccvallos, Senator from Coa huila and Texas, (a fanatical Priest,') that Masonic Lodge*, of whatever denomination, be suppressed ...that their officers be deprived of their places or privileges, if they hold any, either civil, military, ot ecclesiasti cal ; the political rights of the other brethren shall be suspended for lour years-. Those who hold no employ ments or privileges, shall be fined, according to the grade of their of fence*, not exceeding 3,000 dollars. Such as are not able to pay the fine shall be banished to Cali fornia or elsewhere, for a term pro portionate to the offence, not exceed ing two years. This sweeping resolution, wo say it to the credit of the Mexican Sen ate, was sustained by ouly two votes. The Congress of the State of Mexico has resolved to remove to Tezcsco. The Congress adjourned on the 27th December. The second Con gress meets on the Ist of January 1827. The regular troops of the Mexi can Army, all under arms, consist of 1,178 artilb ry—10.796 infantry, and 10,684 cavalry—total 22,658 men. The active militia amounts to 36. 157, ot which 15,433 are in service. The total force now under arms, a mounts, therefore, to 38,09! men. TIIE VICE PRESIDENT’S APPEAL. Mr. \V RIGHT, from the Com mittee of Inquiry into the official conduct of tb.e present Ei’cc Presi dent, the Secretary of War, made the following report. The Select Committee, to whom was referred the > communication of the Pice President, of the 29th December last, respectfully re port. That, immediately after they as sembled, they informed the Vice President ot their being organize d and of their readiness to receive any communication which he might see fit to make. On the receipt of his reply, dated the 3d of January, and which accompanies this report. Mr. McDuffie, as the friend and repre sentative ofthe Vice President, was admitted before the committee, ai.d attended throughout the examina tion, which followed. I he first object of inquiry, in pro ceeding to business, was, to ascer tain whether any charges against the \ice President had''been placed among the public records of the \V ar Department. And after an ex amination onth.s point, the commit tee became sat.bed that r .„ .... I, charges were, or had been. .. moo , the records or papers of that Depart ment. But, as the letter from Eli jah Mix, addressed to Major Sat< r lee (. lark, under tho name cf cock,” had been published in tin Mexandria Phc?nix Gazette, of th 23ih December, v.h<h publicnti. ■ the Vice Pre si J ent had particular!- j GEORGIA STATESMAN, SIONDAY, MARCH 5, 1827. referred to, in his note to the com-' mittee, they felt bound io examine , fully and freely into the truth or • falsity of the matters contained in ■ that letter. From the nature of the duties im- s posed upon a Committe of Inquiry,; espicially when connected with the , distinct wish, as expressed by the ■ Vice President, in the present in stance, for the “freest investigation, it has been impossible for the Com mittee to give to their proceedings i the connexion and conciseness inci ' dent to trials, when the testimony is ascertained and arranged before it is presented. They have, however, I dilig ntiy applied themselves to the l subject referred to them, and after [ a long and laborious examination, they are unanimously of the opinion, ■ that there arc no facts which will au thorize the belief, or even suspicion, [ that the Vice President was ever in terested, or that lip participated, di rectly or indirectly, in the profits of .my contract formed with the Government through the Department of W< r, while he was entrusted with the discharge ci its duties, or at any other time. They are also of opinion, that the conduct of Mr. Barbour, the present Secretary of War, in regard to the letter of E. Mix, is not, in the slight est degree, deserving of censure. — The accusation contained in the let ter was regard, d by him as a base calumny upon the Vice President, penned by a man wholly unworthy of notice; and the Committee have no reason to believe that the suppos ed truth of that accusation was al any time the basis of any act of the War Department. The publication ofthe letter appears to liavu been produced as follows: In the month of December last, Howes Goldsborough ami Elijah Mix w re cor qr '‘dors for a contract with the War Department: Golds borough, scon after his arrival is: Washington, obtained from M ;jur S. Clark a copy of the letter, with a view to use the same agamt lM:x, should he find it necessary. From this copy a transcript was obtained by Wm. F. Tii irntoe, the junioi E lilorofihc Phoenix Gaze!to, on the 27tii December, which tie published the next m ruing m that paper, ac companied by his editorial remarks. In this publication Mr. Barbour had no agency, either direct or indirect. When he heard that the letter had been male public, he requested Col. it. Al. Johnson, of the Senate, to call upon the V icc President as a mu tual friend, an inform him of the manner in which the letter had come to his (Mr. Barbour’s) hands, and that the same had been subsequent ly transmitted through the Post Of fice m an envelope to Major Clark, to whom it belonged. This informa tion was given by Col. Johnson to the Vice President, on th“ morning of the 29th of December, just before he transmitted his communication to the House. The letter to “Hancock,” as pub lished, and to which the Vicc*?resi dert had referred, contained, among other things, the following assertion: “And I have written letters of Van deventer’s, which positively men tion that he (meaning Mr. Cal houn) was engaged, and received some portion of the contract.” As such letters, if they existed, might lead to further evidence, and bn im portant to aid the committee in their inquiries, they thought proper, in the early stage of their proceedings, to issue a subpoena both for Mix and Vandeventer, with a clause therein contained commanding them to pro duce any papers in their possession, tending io prove the accusation which Mix had made in his letters to Hancock. In obedience to hL sum mons, the witnesses appeared, and Mix having been first called upon to testify, produced, during his ex amination. the letters from Major Vandeventer, dated Augu-t 7th, 1818; September 10th, 1818; July Bth, 1820-, March 24th, 1821, and the letter horn Col. W. K. Armis tead, dated March 241 b, 1821. On his second examination, he produ ced the letters from Major \ ande ventcr, dated August 3d, 1818; Sep tember 19th, 1813; and October 17th, 1820. When it was p.eceiv ed that, -n one ofthe letters of .Ma jor Vandeventer, to wit, the one da ted the 7th of August, 1318; and to which they here particularly refer, allusion was made to a partner in the contract, whose name was to have been kept secret, they felt it to be their duty to discover, if thev could, who this secret partner was, or, at any rate, to push the inquiry so far a* to leave no room tor suspi cion that the Vice President was the person alluded tc. This branch of ti.e subject has been the principal cause of their consum.ng so much] time in the investigation: they found I tint they were here led into a wider i field than could have been at first j anticipated, and that it was necess i- i ry, in order to get a full view of the ; whole ground, to go thoroughly into I the origin and history of what is call ed the Mix contract. The letters I of Major Vandeventer above refer-- red to appear to relate principally tv the private and comider.tal transac tions betwefn him am 11. ?•!. m regard to the contract, and there n no reason to believe or presume that tb.e \ ice President was ever made ac raaiitted v,.th their contents. The [letter from Col. Armistead, written while ho was at the head ofthe En gineer !)■ partruent, although it : wears the appearance oi an official I paper, and was impr?perly intended ■as the Committee believe, to bring I the weight of official influence to . bear upon the private transactions ■ between Vandeventer and Mix, was I not written with the sanction or knowledge of the Vice President, and no copy of it was ever entered in the letter book of the Depart ment. The committee will here remark, that they place no reliance what*/- ; er ci the testimony of Elijah Mix. — j From the self-contradictions, appa i rent on the face ot his testimony, and 1 which it is unnecessrry here to re ; capitulate, aside trom the infamy attached to his character, the com , mittee were satisfied that he ought ; not to be beleived on his oath. The i letters, however, just referred to, land produced by him during his ex amination, do not rest for their au thenticity on his testimony. Tnose from Major Vandeventer, excepting : such parts as had been defaced or ; obliterated, were acknowledged by Major Vandeventer himself to be , genuine, and ho was requested, in i every instance, to state, with the letters before him, what names or words had occupied the obliterated ■ laces, when the letters were writ ten The letter from Cd. Armis tead was also acknowledged by that officer to be genuine. But the three papers purporting to be copies or .. .ie sub:stance of a letter from Major Vandeventer to Mr. Calhoun, rest for their . uthenticity on the tin-up ported testimony off'. Mix, and are regarded by :'i j committee as hav i ing been fabricated by him. They a'e al- j c ' opinion that the words or nan ~:3 d 'faced from the letters oi Major \ oi.'L venter were so defaced by E. Mix; ; nd the committee have been unable to a-ccrtain with cer laimv, ki'ii-r .r?;n Vandeventer, the .ii,i. i or of the letters, or .■;.m .a ’ oilier source, what the war i. al names were, which have Men thus obliterated. Tim oil r for the contract appears t > I ave been made by E. Mix, on the 23d ot Judy, 1818, and proposes to de liver at Old Point Comfort, “trom cue to one hundred and fifty thousand perches of stone, at three dollars per perch.” The contract as furnished from the War Depart ment, bears date the 25th of July, 1813. It stipulates for the delivery of one hundred and filly thousand porches of stone, at three dollars per perch—is drawn up in the hand writing cf Major Vandeventer, and by him alone witnessed, and is sign ed by General Joseph G. Swift, then Chief Engineer, and by Elijah Mix. Although Mix here appears to have been the only contractor, yet, from the evidence, there is reason to be lieve, that at die time the contract was made, or soon after, and before the execution of any valid bond for the performance thereof, it was di vided into shares, ar d that one fourth belonging to Major Vandeventer, one fourth to Elijah Mix, one fourth to R. C. Jennings, and the remain ing fourth to a person whose name was not to have been mentioned. — The tide of Vandeventer to his fourth, at the time above referred to, appears to have rested on a ver bal and confidential agreement be tween him and Mix, and so remain- ed till the 24th of April, 1819, wfi. n lie received a written bill of sale of one halt the whole contract. Howes Goldsborongh <Sc Co. subsequently I became the owners of one fourth. by purchase from Samuel Cooper, who had previously purchased from Major Vandeventer; and they (Golds borough Co.) were recognized at the War Department, by the consent of E Mix, expressed in a letter sent by him to the Secretary of War, and dated the 13th of April, 1321. Tiie first bond, received at the Engineer Department, on the con tract, io dated sth of August, 1313. ; and describes the contract as hav- Img been made by El.i.ih Mix and ilicorge Cooper, fort! c delivery of < <?;i” hundred i.iousand perches of stone, being fifty thou-and less tiian Mix wao entitled to deliver. This bond is signed by E. Mix and George Cooper, as contractors; and by Sam uel Cooper, ai.d James Oakkv, as 'sureties: the surii.es were regular !ly approved by R Riker, R corder of the city of New York, as appears Iby his certificate following immedi ] ateiy after the signatures, and dated i jth same as the bond. It will be i i pcrc- ived at once, that there is an ! i obvious and fatal variance between] this bond and the contract. In cm; official letter written fro:., the Engl- 1 neer Department, cn the 11th dav ot .August, 1811 to Lieutenant Georg- Blaney, and copied into the letter book oi that Department, the contract i- described < - fur one hun dred thousand perches of stone.— - The language of the letter is as fol low; •\ ou will ini’ .rm the Agent that a contract Las been made with Captain E. Mix. to deliver as socn | as practicable, at the Rip Raps, one | hundred thousand perches of stun -. I Ln a subsequent letter written to James Maurice, also copied into the -nine letter book, and dated the 21-1 day of Auguci, ISIS, the contract. J de?cr.‘iv-i a? being for t . u hundred . t nou-and per .lies. r i he language e- ' this letter is as follow; “Mr. E ! 'Lx '~LJ se-.n conrrenc? to deliver stone at the Rip Raps, under con tract with this Department, for two hundred thousand perch.” Some time after the delivery at the Engineer Department of the first bond, but at what precise time does not appear, a new bond was given for the delivery of one hun dred and fifty thousand perches, de scribing the contract as made by E. Mix. This second bond is signed by E. Mix as contractor, and Samuel [Cooper and James Oakley as sure ties —and it is anti-dated to uth of August, 1813—but no certificate, in regard to the sufficiency of the sureties, was attached to this instru ment. The committee have been unable to ascertain when this second ' bond was received at the Engineer I Department; though the impression l of Gen. Swift is, that it was received before he left the office, which was on the 11th of November, 1818.— Major Vandeventer also expresses Lis belief, t tat it was delivered du ring the Fall of 1818. How tar his testimony conflicts, if at all, with his letter to Mix, dated 17th of Octo ber, 1820, in which he urges upon the latter to attend to “the bond,” the Committee will net undertake to I determine. ♦ The attention of Gen. Swift was particularly directed, before the Committee, to the discrepancies in the bonds, and also to the two let ters from the Engineer Department, in which the contract is alluded to. The explanation which he gives will be found in his testimony, to which the Committee refer. During an investigation relative to this contract, by a Committee ofthe House of Representatives, in 1822, a copy ofthe bond was requested by that Committee. In answer to whi h, the Engineer Department furnished a copy ofthe s- cond bond, which had been substituted for the one first .given—but, as there was no certificate of the .Recorder ot New York, approving the sureties on the second bund, a copy ol the certificate annexed to the cancelled bond, was made, and attached to the copy of the bond furnished. Capt. Smith, of the Engineer Depart ment. who attested these copies, has explained the cause of his certi fying to this inaccuracy, and to his testimony, in that particular, the Committee here refer. The question still remains, who was the secret partner? But the Committee being entirely satisfied that the secret partner was not the Vice President, which was the main question to be decided, will leave the com’i. ting testimony on the oth er point with the House, without at t -i..p'ing to decide upon its relative weight. On the 27th January, 1827, the Committee closed the axamination of witnesses on their part, except at> to one or two, who had been sum moned, but had not attended. On that day, the friend and representa tive of the Vice President was advi sed that the Committee had so clo sed their examination; and he was also informed by a member of the Committee, in its presence, that the Committee were unanimously ol opinion that the Vice President was innocent of the charge of having participated in any manner in any contract made w ith the War Depart ment, while he wes Secretary of War The same day, at the instance of Mr. .U’Dtifiie, subpemas were is sued fur witnesses to appear anJ tes tily on behalf of the Vice-President. On the 29th of January, the Com mittee received from the friend and representative of the Vice-President a paper protesting against the pre vious proceedings of the Commit tee. Considering this paper as pre pared and presented under the sanc tion of the high officer, in whose be half it protest?, the Committee have deemed it their duty to transmit it to the House, but they forbear nil comment on its contents. The Committe, submit herewith all the testimony they have receiv ed during tho examination. .E dMilitia Claims. HOI LE o; REPRESENTATIVES, !• ‘r.BIKARI 10, 1327. Mr. \anec, from the Committee] on Military atiair-, io which the sub ject had been referred, made the lollowmg Report : Th : Commits e < Milif iry Am l.ur to wlium wa: relerred the me-| morial of th of Geor-1 gia relative to the claims oi’ the ci-l lizer.s oi that Military Ser-I vice-, performed in the years 17921 1 7.' '. .mJ 17.1, have performed th-1 . .ty to them assigned, and submit! the fol lowing report : , Your committee ;.re aware that| the !•ngiii > i time since t;,e per-l lurrnunce ci those s-.rvices, iogctherl widit.; r tian that have existed! between tae I. .nt-.d State? and GeurJ g;a, relative io tho ccs-ion cf certaiJ :• rritury ! / that State to the United! Siatc l and the payment oi’ ceria; J money by the United States to thJ Statu oi Georgia, lor the Territory! ti. j.-> ceded, has tended much to! mij.is t.iv settlement of those! claim?. | Ou tl'.e ] rt of the ! nite 1 States! it hii- been contended by former re-! p..rt,- Linde on this subject that the! •ayments for those service? were! ■I . rged in ai.d a part of ti.e > 1,250 j y.j pai 1 by ‘he United State- to th J Volume IL State of Georgia, agreeable to the Convention bearing date ,1802 and in the following words : “as a consideration for the expenses incur red by the said State in relation to the said Territory.” ThistheState of Georgia contends was not the fact ; and that the obligation ofthe United States to her citizens for military services, in the manner before stated has never been cancelled. In the ex-amination of this subject the first inquiry will be: Where those services performed by the citizens of Georgia ? The second : Were they authorised by the United States ? And Thirdly ; If authorised, has the United States cancelled their obli gation to the citizens of that State by paying for the services thus per formed ? .The evidence of the performance of those services are so abundant throughout the whole of the docu ments and correspondence official and otherwise, that a particular re ference is deemed unnecessary.— The other branches of the inquiry are entitled to more consideration ; and we will first commence by ask ing, Were those services authorized? In the examination of this subject it is not the purpose of your Commit- I tee to acknowldge the power of the Governor of a State unreasonably to i commit the National Government, bv calling into its service a military j force disproportionate to the evi dence of danger ; nor arc they pre ■ pared to say this was the case "in this instance On the contrary quite the , reverse appears to have been the true situation of this frontier at the time those services were performed and, notwithstanding the great soli citude of the Executive cf the Unit ed States to preserve peace on the borders of Georgia, and the differ [ent communications made to the i Executive of that Slate, enforcing ; those views, and their important- to ’ the Federal Government, yet we find ’that, so strongly was he impressed with the danger that threatened the frontier settlements of Georgia, ‘in June, 1793 he called on the Gover nor of South Carolina to support,|by military force, Jhe State of Georgia in defending! herself against the ; threatend ‘invasion of the enemy in ' that quarter. But, at the same time that your Committee would sustain the doc trine laid dowm relative to the pow ers cf the Governor of a State, yet they cun sec many reasons why a li beral indulgence should be extended in favor of, rather than against the exorcise of a trust so rcsposib'e in its character, and so important in its resu.ts. It is for the Governor to look to the security and interest of these over whom he has boon call ed to preside, and for whose protec tion and defence he is bound to pro vide, by the most sacred obligations. Is it then reasonable to suppose, that in the execution of this trust, he would be prodigal of the national resources, for the purpose of carry ing on an unnecessary and unprofita ble w ar, at the expense of the quiet, comfort, and blood, of his own Peo ple? B,ut, in the absence of all other proof, relative to tbosc services being authorized by the United States, the (act that tlwj* Government, through tier agent*,ilid furnish military equip ments and subsistence to the very troops that here' claim, and have been refused, remuneration for their ser vices, would lie, of itself, abundant ly sufficient to establish t heir legality. Your Committee Jhtnk it would be a strange anomaly in the military his tory of our country, to find the Gov ernment, through her agents, giving every facility to military operations by arming and subsisting an army, and subsequently refusing to pay the very troopsol which it was compos ed, on the grounds that the Gover nor of the State had pushed hts dis cretionary powers to an unwarranta ble extent. But again your Committee find oi» reference to the reports of Commit tees made at the second s“ssion of the I ourth Congress, that payment