About Southern recorder. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1820-1872 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1820)
VOL. I. PUBLISHED WEE. (on T UK SO ays) by S. C.nAXTIJlXU II..U AT THREE DOLLARS, IN ADVA. TOUR DOLLARS AT TIIE EXIM. OF THE YEAR. Advertisements conspicuously ♦..(I ;it the customary rates. DEBATE IN THE SENATE, tf.V THE t/.Y/O.Y of HALVE S,-MISSOURI.' (Continued.) THURSDAY, JANUARY 13. Mr. Burrill, of Rhode-Island, took the floor, lit: commenced with some remarks on the question of order involved i i the amendment He apprehended the com mittee had fallen into an error in reporting it; at least it was without precedent, for a committee to report on any subject referred to them by way of amendment to abill from the House of Representatives, embracing a totally different object. It would be agreed on all" hands, lie said, that un observance of their own rules was necessary to the dignity of this body, and to the order and dispatch of business. He did not dwell long, how ever, on the point of order, but proceeded to consider the merits of the question, which was a simple proposition to separate the two subjects of Maine and Missouri. It was conformable to the rules and prac tice of the Senate, he said, to divide a ques tion, when asked by any member, where it was susceptible of division. Now, lie asked, was not this question susceptible of the pro posed division? It was not only susceptible of division, he said, but the. cases embraced byitwere essentially dissimilar. With regard to the state of Maine, the territory embrac ed by it had, from the adoption of the con stitution, been known as the District of Maine; its limits were known and accurate ly defined. The question on the admission of Maine was a question respecting the di vision of one of the original states. And would any one say, that the division of an old state was a question of the same nature as that of the erection of a state out of an acquired territory? There were cases he euid, in which Congress were under an obli gation to erect new states in the territoiies of the United States; but they were not obliged to admit into the union a state funn ed out of an old state. He agreed with gentlemen on the other side in some of their premises, though he dissented from their conclusions. He agreed thatthe question of consenting to the division of a new state -r ....i: .. which yvus a question of policy; a question on the Congress was to exercise a sound dis cretion. For example, it the state ol which he was a Representative on this lloor, were to ask to be divided, though the people com posing it should lie unanimously agreed on the subject, lie doubted whether Congress would assent to it. The question, therefore, embraced by the bill, was about the division of a state, which Congress was to decide as it should deem most wisely in regard t'> the general interests of the union; whilst the question involved in the amendment regard ed the erection of a new state in a territory,- which Congress were under an obligation, arising not onlv from the colonial condition of the territory, hut by the force ot a treaty with a foreign power, os had been contended, and as he admitted In a certain sense, to es tablish. There was no connection between questions so distinct in their nature, and they ought not to he united in ihe same. bill. Looking at this question in another point of view, after it was agreed that Massachu setts should be divided as proposed, on which lie. had never heard of any difference ot opinion—he asked what objection there was to giving the simple assent ot Congress to the admission of Maine, into the union ? We have, said he, no compact to make with her: whilst, if gentlemen will look at the provis ions for the admission of Missouri, reported by way of amendment to this bill, they will Bee fiat there are many conditions and re strictions to bo imposed on it, and some of them of much importance, and admitting of much difference of opinion. The one ques tion is a simple one, on which the mind of every man is made up; the other is complex including a variety of regulations relative to bounty lands, the right of taxation, &,e. tec. questions which require deliberate consider ation, great attention, and a knowledge of details, with which tile Senate was not yet supplied. lie must be allowed further to say, thatthe committee of the Senate which had reported this timcudm nit had not fur nished the necessary evidence in respect to these details. It had been stated that there were in the territory of Missouri 100,000 in habitants. It would appear, Mr. II. said, twin a careful perusal of life memorial, that it did not state this fact. ; ‘lt stated that the j ry , but i Scnat, snbjec enable t. There w. Congress;. (lured, at the plication from ■. verning author'd territory container he was willing it sho with a sufficiently ext perhaps some gentium, niation sufficient to sati Senate on that point. But, in respect to Main question, whatever, hut that wise, is it consistent with the estsof the United States, that be admitted into the union? If and pass the bill as it came from of Representatives, with the single, for the admission of Maine into the we shall acquit ourselves of a duty whit, owe to an intelligent population of tin hundred thousand souls; of a duty which we owe to Massachusetts, who will be thrown into great embarrassment, r.ot to sav con fusion, if the act do not pass. When that should have passed, Mr. 11.said, he should lx- willing to take up the case of Missouri, and he hoped with that good temper which ought to prevail in the deliberations of this assembly. The honorable Chairman of the commit tee (Mr. Smith j had stated that he had some difficulties to encounter, in regard to he ad mission of Maine. This was the first sug gestion of the sort, Mr. 11. said, that he bad heard* But are we, said he, who entertain en this question r.n opinion different from him, to be required to agree to do what we believe wrong, in order to carry aitotiier measure which we believe, and which gen tlemen ihcrnscives do not deny, tube right r He hoped not. He believed the separation of these subjects to be due to the magnanimi ty with which the Senate had always con- "ucted, and moreover required by the spirit of the rules established for the government of its proceedings, Mr. Macon, of North Carolina next fol lowed in debate. \V ith regard to the order ol proceeding, lie said, it never had been the practice to refer back a subject to a commit tee, but fur the purpose of obtaining details, to make that which was doubtful plain. In the present case there was no occasion for such a reference, the. object being to separate two subjects proposed to be united, which could be directly effected by a disagreement to the proposed amendment. There w.u no necessity, therefore, in bis opinion, to re commit the bill on that ground. This, said he, is a pretty important ques- ' i what light you will. Thy ap- tion, view it in pearance of the. ''••".ie to-day is ditlerent from any tiling 1 have seen since 1 have been a member of it. It is the greatness of the question which lias produced it. So inter esting is it, that, on this incidental question, all the members have gone into thequesti which is n it but is expected to be, before the Senate. With regard to the question immediately before the Senate, Mr. M. said belaid hardly expected that the gentleman from Pennsyl vania would have forbidden the banns el this marriage: he thought the opposition to it would have come from some one more in terested, more nearly allied to the parlies.— Allusion bad been made to the ease of \ tu rnout and Kentucky'. And why, lie asked were there given, in the same bill, to \ er- moot two Representatives, and Kentucky two ? Their population was not known but their representation was made equal, in order to keep up the proportion which the National Convention had given to the In sertions of the union. It had been said that the law of Mass* chusetts, sanctioning the independence u Maine, would expire pu the 3d day of March and it was therefore-proper to hasten the passage of the bill from the 1 louse of Uepre sentatives, without amendment. But, Ml 31, said, Massachusetts would not, afte she had consented to her daughter setting ip fi,r herself, play the step-mother, and say, ou have not done, tins to-day, you whole territory contained that number,jind (1(| u lo . mt>rr0W . Massacliusett prayed for a division of the territory. ' That part of the prayer of the petition had been granted at the last session by the erection of Arkansaw. Mr. 13. said, he should be glad to know, therefore, what was the amount of the present population of Missouri territory. Gentlemenmight say that, ii HHPHK in their opinion, the population of the territory is forty', fifty, or sixty thousand: but, Mr. B. asked, where wns the evidence of the fact, in such shape *vs Congress ought to legislate ou? There bail not been before the committee, nor was there now before, the Senate, a single docu ment on the subject,lint the petition present ed at Urn last session, from the legislature, of Missouri, a part of which had been granted. There was, in fact, lie said, no application from Missouri, at the present session, to be admitted into the union. If there was such an application, ho wished to see it; and Ii Wished, before hearted on the subject, to ci pave a precise estimate, not of the whole ■lumber of inhabitants in the vast territory between the present states and the Rocky Mountains, Imt within the limits of tin 1 pro posed state of Missouri. And, with respect to the boundaries of the new stale, be w as abo desirous of definite information. Cer- *on limits were indeed proposed by the ,. : t in uieii repon; mil, oy a cerium . "jiich had been laid on their desks by had no doubt, wh would do hereafter, I she had already dom With respect to the alledgcd impropriety of connecting the two subjects in one hi! 1 Mr. M. asked if there was any thing mor common than for Congress to pass Dills fi particular objects, “and(brother purposes?” It was the practice of ev cry day ; and those “other purposes" were frequently not pur poses connected with the main subject of the bill. The Senate, the gentleman might recollect, had at times been to tenacious of their bills, as not to allow them to be amended even by' a dot over an i, or a cro. ■ on a t. Yet the Senate had, before now. in more instances than one, tacked one bill to another of a different nature. Mr. M. quot ed an instance, bring an act to establish a Board of Commissioners for the City <d Washington, and for other pv.rpt.sex, passed several y ears ago. After the bill came from tile House of Representatives to the Senate, as the Journal would shew, it was amended bv tins addition of provisions for authorizing the making u canal from the Potomac to the Eastern Branch; which provision was cer tainly not analogous to the main object ot the bill. Mr. M. said lie qui .-turned whether n bill ever passed with a great many sec tions, but those who wted for it objected t» |id,'w^ of new si and. Tb he prompt principle to nd which in doors, lie.Ci te had felt mol question lately may, said he, be ibsLraction will but it is a difi ay pliilosopW* as much list, ubtnission, Sir, they the question. The proposition now l.i ior. was, to recommit—for what? \.- wliut the Senate could do as well us a com mittee. Judging from the arguments,itap- peared to him that one side was belter pre pared than tin: other for the discussion.— If the Senate was ready for the discussion, it mattered little what the. precise form of the question was. There vas no impropri- ty, lie conceivid, in the proposed eon nee- l of tile two subjects of .Maine and Mis souri; nor did it appear to him of any im portance w but the shape of the question was, t'ii was substantially' before the Senate.— The question to agree or disagree to the. re port of the committee, took w ithin its scope very other question connected with the subject, .tlld would admit of the freest debate. He was therefore opposed to the recommit ment. Mr. Morriii., of New-llampsliire, said it was not his intention to enter into a discus sion of the merits of t.iese two subjects, at. this timet; tie thought it w as improper.—I in, said he, in favor of the motion, because ( am unwilling to consider tile subjects, and act upon them, in tins unnatural conm-iTinn. Gentlemen say there is such a similarity, they may be considered with the greatest propriety in this near alliance. Sir, I think otherwise. To me, there appears a striking incongruity. One object is, to admit Maine into the Union: tin other is, to authorise the ilory of Missouri to form a. constitution, that she may be admitted at some future pe- Where then is ihe. likeness? hir, tDis is not all. 1 wish each In stand upon its ow n basis. To effect tins, they must be onside.rcd separately. One. gentleman may have doubts with respect to the expiuiency .f admitting Maine; another may hare com plete conviction tiiuf il would be extremely wrong to admit Missouri v ithou'. restrictions. Now, sir, you couple these together, and, o:i the final question, you cmnpll gentlemen to vote for both, or neither. And what is the result r I am fully satisfied it is politically and morally right to admit Maine, and wish to give my aye : but I am equally satisfied, it is politically and morally wrong, to admit Missouri, without prohibitions. Oilier geulli - men believe, it is politically and morally correct to admit both without restrictions. Then, sir, you senil e dilemma, in which some are placed, b\ this strange connexion. \Ye are compelled to vote against Maine, which we think wc ought not to do, or vote in favor of both, and do that which we conscientiously believe is politically and morally w rong: while gentlemen on the other hand, are only asked to do that which they declare is politically and morally light. Sir," I protest against "the connexion ; not because 1 cm unwilling oi unprepared to meet the subject, properly and distinctly, each on its owji merits; but on account of tlu* dilemma into which we are necessarily thrown if they art considered as now presen ted. Sir; 1 am willing Maine should be admitted: and 1 am equally w illing Missouri Mould be admitted, on such principles as sla.l! hamimii/.V with the national tranquility and interest; and I am perfectly willing to meet 1)0III subjects distinctly, when they shall he so presented to.tlic consideration of the Senate, and in no other way. Lctcach stand upon its own merits. [To he continued.] mistake, it appeared that certain other bouu- some oi them. Ue could l. u'- if reco’.k c flEHATE On the bill granting a donation of one Town ship, (Ot! square miles! of the Public Land to the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. HOUSE OF REPRESEXTJTIUXS. FRIDAY. JANUARY 7. The House being iq committee of ihe . olent whether, after the liberal endowment by Congress of the Connecticut .Asylum, the wants of ocicty required (which lie doubted) a- notliti institution for the deaf and dumb ; he must think that if we made any grant, it w ould be better to make it directly in money rather than land. It was desira ble that Congress should retain-the mo nopoly of the sale of the public lands, because they could better regulate the manner in which they should be brought into tiie market, and could count with more certainty upon the produce of the revenue from that source. It was par ticularly desirable to avoid the conq cti- iion of large land-holders, whether cor porations or individuals. This bill pro poses a grant of a township, w ith certain privileges' of selection andfloention. It might lie fairly estimated, considering those, privileges, as worth about one hun dred thousand dollars. Tiny object no doubt, of the New-York institution, was, lu bring it into market ; and it would onscquently tend to supply the demand for public land to the amount of tiie grant. It would abstract so much from the pub lic revenue ; and ought therefore to be considered, as in effect it was, a grant of so much money. And lie hoped, if the honorable gentleman pressed the passage oftbe bill, that lie would move an amend ment, to substitute money for land. Mr. C. really thought that it was high lime that we should begin to husband tiie pre sent resources. With an empty exche quer, we ought to review the causes which have led to it, and examine if there hiul been no extravagant profusion on the pat t ofGovernment. lie thought the House was imperiously called upon to pause, lie repeated the expression of sincere regret which lie felt in inter posing any objection to the bill ; but lie must move to strike out the first section of it. , Air. Randolph observed, that he was opposed to this bill for another reason which bad great weight on his mind, and ought to have on that of every member from Virginia and Kentucky—it was that the provisions of llio bill were op posed to the letter and spirit of that con tract to which the states of Virginia and Kentucky (then attached to Virginia) and the United States, were parlies inasmuch as it permitted this location to. be made on any of the public lands of the United States. The state of Virginia, Mr. It feared, stood on this lloor, as elscvvheie not in the most enviable light—;is a tar gut for the. shafts of political calumny was for others to enjoy the bounty of this House ; it was lor her to receive law sheer law, when she could make out not a colourable claim but a clear and indis putable title. For one, Mr. K. said, be most earnestly hoped she would never appear at this bar, or ou this floor, in ittitude of supplication ; though it it den» ..id dumb, mid to instruct others, 10 might carry the benefits of the art into other parts of the Union—it was on ibis account that the grant was made. In the Hartford Asylum, too, not a thi'd irtofthe pupils belonged to the state fConneclicut; its benefits embraced the lllictcd of many other states ; and it had icculiar claims to the aid of the govern ment. Mr. Livermore, of New-Hampshire, made a few remarks, against tiie bill, not distinctly beard. He expressed great respect for the object of the bill, but lie did not feel himself at liberty to bestow on it the property of the nation. Mr. Warfield, of Maryland, was also opposed to the bill, not being willing to appropriate the public land to sucli objects. If it wa3 proper to divert the public funds to such a purpose, let it be lone by a vote of money out of the trea sury, and not in this way. 1 le respected iusiilution for which this donation was n-ked ; be rejoiced that the Asyluui of Connecticut had succeeded even be- oik! 1 ho expectation of its friends ; but it was no reason lor going on and bestow ing the property of the nation on all who ked it. Mr. Holmes, of Massachusetts, said, that ir hen humanity called, it vvasacredit to the House to listen ; but bis object now was to enquire wliat was bis duty. At the last Congress, cither from grati- ude for being sent’here, and from joy at having got well out of a war, or from some other impulse, we made a grant to the surviving soldiers of the revolution ; like sailors from a long voyage, ju<t paid off, who give money to every otic they meet—with this difference : they give their own money—we, the money of the people. He, like others, had been led iway, and gave his vole to the relief of the revolutionary soldiers. 11c had, how ever, voted against, the grant to the Hart ford Asylum, because, he saw it would lead to other applications for similar grant*. This was one of them. It v\ ould be better, he thought, to attend to re plenishing the Treasury than to vote a- way the public funds on every object that asks them. If we goon in this way, said Mr. H.—if we are nut deaf to calls like this, our constituents will be struck dumb at such conduct. And deaf, I hope to all our apologies for it, said Mr. Randolph, who rose for the purpose of extending a remark of Mr. Holmes; and would take the liberty to insinuate to Mr. Meigs, that it wrs very easy to be wise and eloquent, as well as generous at other people's ex pcnsc. In reference to the afflicted be ings for whose benefit this bill was ar gued, Mr. R. said he should be sorry any gentleman bad the misfortune to possess the same experience as himself. If there was any thing which he under stood, it was their pitiable case. But he asked if this case came within the con stitution. The committee hadV oopla. probability that t » uld have to borrow ir 1 pass this bill, aud it w ould spectacle of u government with one hand and giving away other. By grunting the public the institutions of one state, Air. *■ tained that it operated ap injustice on-lb* other states, inasmuch as it diminished their proportions iu the public lands* which belonged equally to all. It- was time to make a pause, a solemn pause, in voting a way these gratuities. He re- ferred to the immense expenditure which had become necessary by yielding to feeling, and passing the actfnrthe relief" of the revolutionary soldiers thaLact itG» was the offspring of feeling, and it volvcd the nation in an expense of three millions of dollars a year—as much at I he whole public debt was at one period. That act, hot) ever, heavily as it pressed on the treasury,-was the more justifiable on account ol the important services and the sufferings of the objepts of it. Should the present grant be made to the New- 1 ork asylum, it must be given to chari table institutions iu other states. If all the states received equally, it would di minish the proportion of all alike, in the public lands, und it would be no peculiar benefit to cither; the house must there fore act unequally or act uselessly. Mr. B. said feeling and sympathy were bad guides in public conduct; but, wlieu they legislated on the score of charity, they ould act according to impulse j one ongress would be guided by feeling^ and another perhaps by precedent, &c. This was a dangerous mode of proceed- But this grant was advocated in the mg. th. would require all the art of a professor in political classification and noinoocla- j 0 f armies, and the expense ture to adduce any new term of reproach the pomp mid circuit'- ■against lie fj aud notwithstanding thcNufk- ^Kingat the cod** name of knowledge, which is the basis of liberty. If for the promotion of knowledge, Mr. B. said, why did New-. York apply to this house—why not rfely on her own resources ? Virginia, with, less resources than New-York, had es* tablished a system of public education, for which she might with as much pro priety ask of this hous'd a similar dona tion of public land. Mr. B. said he felt as a man, for the unhappy class of beings who were the objects of the bill; he would drop tears for their affliction; but lie could not give liis support to this bill; it would be inconsistent with his ideas of public duty—he could not give to one what lie could not to all—it would not be right to do so. Mr. Meigs again arose. He had flat tered himself, he suid.it would be utter ly unnecessary for him to trouble the committee again upon this occasion.— Rut, wheu he found that this bill had had the misfortune to caii forth the hostility of such able and eloquent gent lenten tiie Speaker of this house and thegeli men from Virginia, it became hit f feeble as it was, to speak for those ; mouths God had shut. Would ** ven, said Mr. M. that this ne no! exist! Would to Heaven, of the silent innocents whose c$ thus called on to advocate, speak in the fineaqd cotnmat l of the honorable Speaker! S|? ’t.l b-ve no ho •; m to app, n
