Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

SOUTHERN RECORDER. VOL. II. MILLEDGEVILLE, TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1821. No* i, PUBLISHED WEEKLY, (or* TUESDAYS) BY S. GRAN*I'l»WD V It .If. ORME, f.mt three dollars, ir* advance, or four DOLLARS AT THE EXPIRATION OF THE YEAR, ID* Advertisements conspicuously inserted at the mislntnary rates- From the London Observer of November SW. MR. PHILLIPS’ SPEECH LDclitcred at the Annual Meeting of the London Hibernian School Society, held at Sligo.] Sir.—I have very great pleasure in ncceding to the request of your zealous Secretary, and proposing a resolution of congratulation on the success of this insti tution, and of approbation of the sacred principles on which it has been founded. I confess, that until I perused the report with which he was so polite as to furnish me, I had a very imperfect idea of the value of this institution, or of the great gratitude which we owe to our generous English brethren, who have so nobly and disinterestedly established it amongst us. It is an emanation of that glorious spirit which has spread their name among the nations ofthe earth, and made that name synonymous with every virtue, 1 had no idea that no less a number than 50,000 of the infant population of this kingdom, including two thousand children of our own country, who now crowd this hall with pious gratitude, were thus gratui tously receiving from them the blessed fruits of education and religion. How gratifying it is to turn from the abomina ble and infernal peijuries by which the public mind is now hourly polluted, and the public heart afflicted and the public morals insulted, to the contemplation of •uch a subject! Fifty-eight thousand chil dren, raised from the mire of ignorance nnd superstition—redeemed from a state of almost brutal barbarism, and led thro’ the temple of knowledge, even to the very altar of God, is a spectacle which I envy not the maD who can behold with out enthusiasm. In this country it bor rows from circumstances even an adven titious interest, for surely there never was a country more ripe for its exhibi tion—never was there a laud more full of tine intelligence, obscured and dark ened, or of nobler impulse, more miser ably perverted. The mind of Ireland has by no means hitherto bad fair deve- lopement. Acute but inactive—magni ficent but uncultivated, the passing stran ger beholds the people as he does their country, with admiratioa it is true, but still with mournful admiration, at their neglected grandeur, and tbeir unproduc tive loveliness 1 It has been to little pur pose that the genius of the nation has occasionally burst the bondage that en thralled it; that nature, as it were to vindicate herself, has shot some spirit or light athwart the gloom, in whose lustre the land became for a moment visible— it was but for a moment, nnd the cloud it touched scarcely retained a tinge of the profitless phenomenon. There was no permanent source whence its radiance could be fed ; and the mere glimmerings of unassisted nature struggled but faintly through the denseness ofthe atmosphere To rescue the country from this foul dis grace—to dispel the mist of barbarism and ignorance, with their attendant train of vices and crimes—to elevate the pea' santry from vice and superstition to moral practice and an holy contempla' tion, your institution has been founded A glorious work, nnd worthy of a Chris tian ! A work characterised by the most ges silent, and her temples fallen—an Ottoman slave enthroned amidst her ru ins, and a degenerate people crouching to the Turk, even, oh shame 1 even with in sight of Marathon l Yet, there, where Mahomet now revels in contented ignor ance, Socrates was heard and Solon le gislated, and echo listened to the thun der of Demostnencs. Look incur own day to a part of our own empire, the once neglected Scotland—the country from whose lake and moor and mountain, the imperial conqueror strode without a thought. What is she at this day ? A lam! of less crime, because of more intel ligence than any in the world ; wherc- vei* her name is mentioned, literature hails it ; wherever her people (read, temperance and industry attest their pre sence ; a primeval piety consecrates her church ; peace and plenty meet upon her plains, and the laurel which her ge nius and her heroism has won, is inter twined with the palm-leaf of an immacu late morality. Let Scotland then, even ifshe stood alone, prove the advantage of an educated peasantry ; and should the sceptic awake not at her voice, may the spirit of Bums pass across his slum ber, and burst upon him in the blaze of its refutation. But I feel I am injuring the cause of this institution, when 1 view it either in the light of temporal policy, or of tem poral fame, Yes, though 1 am convinced that the most perminent foundations of a people’s prosperity are only to be laid in the popular civilization—though 1 am confident that crime decreases, & indus try advances in exact proportion to th.e progress of knowledge, still l acknowl edge in your ambition a much nobler ob ject, in comparison of which the fame and wealth nnd dignities of this world are but as the rainbow’s gem that spar kies and disappears. Oil! you are right when lighting up the torch ofknowledge, to invoke no flame but that of heaven to illumine it. The lights of earth are transient and uncertain—vapors that only dazzle, to mislead nnd shine the bright est on the eve of their extinction ; but the beam of heaven is steady and etcr- il—it enters the soul—it expands and ravishes, and lifts it to a region where human vanity has no voice, and human plendours are bat darkness. You are right in making the Bible the primmer of the infant—place it in bis hand by day— place it on his pillow by night. Full of glorious thought and glowing images, it will inspire the fancy—full of noble sen timentand virtuous precept, it will form the principles—full of holy zeal and heavenly inspiration, it will guide exact and purify the faith ; and it is a wise philosophy which associates it with that season whose impressions fade not eveD in nature’s winter. When the darin nlidel introduces its mysteries, in order to rob those children of its morals, ash him, What is this world but a mystery Who can tell how nature performs her simplest operations ? Ask him to tell you how the flower acquires its perfume, the agle his vision*or the comet its rosplen dence ? Ask him to tell you how those glorious planets roll round us in their lucid circle, or how that miraculous or der is manifested which holds through out creation, even from the minutest worm that grovels in the dust, up to the pinion that plays amid the lightning These are mysteries, and yet we see them ; and surely we may trust the word of hirn who iu his own good time will teach us their solution. Meanwhile amid the bigot’s cant, and the polemick tiny of every pastor of every persua sion—you have introduced the Bible un spotted by a single pen of this world.— You have allowed the saints, the sages, and the martyrs of Christianity, to enrol with their own hands the records of their wisdom, their sanctity, and their for titude. You have expunged the com ment whether of council or synod, or conclave, or convocation and left the sacred historians to tell, in the phrase of an inspired .simplicity, the miracles, the sufferings, ,«nd the triumphs of the gospel, from the conception ofthe Cross! Sir, if this produms proselytes, such con version can |*ave its origin only in the truth. In one sense, indeed, you do profess to proselytize, hut it is from vice to virtue, from idleness to industry, from gnorancc to knowledge, from sin to sal vation. Go on then, and may prosperity attend you, and when your enemies are imourous, lie your only answer this Behold—fifty-eight thousand subjects restored to the state—behold fifty thou- and souls 'introduced to their Uedoera- ” Proceed and prosper. Let the acred stream of vonr benevolence flow on, and though momentary impediments may oppose its progress, depend upon it will soon surmount them—the mountain rill, and the rivers ofthe valley will in time and in their turn became tributary—the roses of Sharon will bloom upon its banks—the maids of Sion will not weep by its waters—the soil it has fertilized will be reflected on its sur face, and as it glides along in the glory of the sunbeams, the sins of the people will become regenerated in its baptism. glowing benevolence, and not less re wisest and'soundest policy, for you may* railing, suffer those lmle children depend upon it, that, sooner or later, na- come unto the Lord. J hey will bless lional good cannot fail to flow from a mo ral regeneration. The sobriety, the temperance, the good faith, the industry naturally consequent upon early culture will, in time, 11 like a rioh stream, ^run back and hide their fountain.” The principles of freedom, by being better understood, will become, of course, more fondly cherished ; the impolicy, ns well as the impiety of crime, by being more •clearly proved, "ill be, ol course, more sedulously avoided. An educated slave an educated criminal, are moral con tradictions. In the very dawn of know led-e, the phantoms that affright, and the vices that despoil us, gradually disap pear ; and it is only when its light is va nished, that vou find ignorance and su perstitionn crawling from their cavern and amid spectral slopes and horned ap parition, taking their incubus station up on the bosom of Society. If truths like these needed an example, all history eloquent on the subject. No barbarous country ever rose to greatness and con tinned barbarous. No peasantry ever yet became educated without becoming comparatively virtuous-the spirit ot enquiry consequent upon literature, and the spirit of genuine freedom, have been in general co-existent, and flourished and decayed together. Turn your eyes to Athens in the ancient tune—the tem ple alike of liberty and letters—the seat ofthe arts—the mount of the muses—the immortal shrine of all that could const* tute the heathen’s immortality, where even battle smoothed his rugged front you with their lips, in their lives, and in their deaths—the God to whom you have turned them will bless you—the country to which you have restored them will bless you, and should your own little ones ever mourn a parent, the Great Spirit will remember the deed, and surely save them from the perils of their orphanage. In the discharge then of this sacred duty, which you have thus voluntarily under taken, listen not to the imputation of any unworthy motive ; remember that ca lumny is the shadow of merit, and that though it ever follows, it never over takes it. Were the solitary charge which hos tility has flung on, even true, it is, in my mind, under your circumstances, not a crime but a virtue. You use no weapon but the bloodless gospel—you assume no armour but the nakedness of truth ; and in a good cause, and w ith an earnest conviction I would rather court than a- void this accusation of proselytism. The foreign and pious potentate who made the charge should he the very last to ut ter it ; for debased, ns 1 admit atid de plore, that the Irish peasant politically is, still he and his predecessors, as far as in them lay, have left him illiterate, irnbruted, and debased—fallen in his mental debasement even below the level of his political degradation. But tiie ac cusation is untrue. You have not bor rowed even a rag from the establish ment—the word ascendency is npt heard within your walls. You have studiously excluded every book of controversy ON THE PUNISHMENT OP PIRACY. IN SENATE OF THE U. STATES, FEB. 9, 1921. Mr. Smith from the committee on the Ju diciary, to which was referred the resolution “ to enquire into the propriety of so modi fying the. law punishing piracy, as to autho rise the President of the United States, in such cases as he may deem expedient, to commute capita] punishments for confine ment in penitentiary houses,” made the fol lowing report: The object of the resolution is to alter the criminal code of the United States so far as to place within the power of die President ofthe United States the complete control over the punishment now affixed by law to the crime of piracy, ami to soften it down from death to the less rigorous punishment of confinement in punitentiury houses. As we have drawn most of our impressi ons of the. utility and efficacy of penitentia ries, from the practical operations of this system in the severalstates where it has been adopted, it may not lie thought improper to give the result of certain official enquiries into the condition, usefulness,and advanta ges, of some of these institutions, in states where much zeal and diligence had been dis played to cherish them. Sometime in the year 1317, the grand ju ry of Pennsylvania visited the penitentiary in that city, upon which they made the fol lowing report: “ That while they notice, with pleasure, the high degree of" order and cleanliness, they are compelled, hy a sense of duty, to present, as nn evil of considerable magnitude, the present very crowded s*ate of the peni tentary ; the number of pi isoners of all class es continues to increase, so that from twen ty to forty are lodged in rooms eighteen feet square—so many are thus crowded toge ther, that the institution already begins to as sume the character of an European prison, and a seminary for every vice, in which the unfortunate being, who commits a first of- fencp, and knows none of the arts of metho dized villainy, can scarcely avoid the conta mination which loads to extreme depravity.” The same grand jury further stated, “ that of four hundred and fifty-one copy ids now in tho penitentiary of Pennsylvania, one hundred and sixty-one had been confined there before.” It is believed that nn insti tution, of this character, ever received more attention, as respects its comforts and means for promoting reformation of offenders. The commissioners appointed to examine into the state of the New-York prison, n6t long sitice, in their report say—“ It has, for some time past, not only failed ofeffectin tho object chiefly’ iu view, but lias subjected the Treasury to a series of disbursements, too oppressive to be continued, if they can in any way he prevented.” The commissioners ofthe prison of Mas sachusetts, in a report, complain—“that the prison is so crowded as to defeat the object for which tho institution was created.”— These commissioners, after enumerating what they consider to be the advantages a- rising to the commonwealth say—“ hut there appears great reason to suppose that the ad vantage first mentioned is more than coun terbalanced by the greater hardihood, and more settled corruption, which a promiscu ous association among lire convicts must pro duce, particularly the younu.” These appear to be fair fct impartial repre sentations, made hy men whose duty it ivas to represent things as they were, iu order to bring to the pulic view their true character. And if this is the state and effect of those prisons, after twenty years of experience and prudent management, upon convicts whose offences are not of the most atrocious class, hut little hope cun he entertained that pirates can be reformed by such means. In the catalogue of human offences, if there is any one supremely distinguished for its enormity over others, it is piracy. It can only he committed hy those whose hearts have become base by habitual depra vity. It is called by jurists an offence against the universal laws of society. A pirate is h out is kumani generis. He Is at war witli his species, and has renounced the protecli- I on of all civilized governments, and abandon- death’s head, a battle axe, U an hour glass." These are the ensigns of his profession. He does not select the enemies of his native country «s the only objects of his conquest, but attacks, indiscriminately the defenceless of every nation—prowls every ocean in quest of plunder, and murders, or jeopardiz es the lives of ull who fall within ids power, without regard to nation, to age, or to sex. With such a blood-stained front, a pirate can have tui claim to the clemency of a govern ment, the protection of which he has volun tarily renounced, and against which he has so highly offended. Our general policy and political instituti ons are administered su mildly that we seem to have forgotten the protection due to the public, uiul call that punishment which the law prescribes for offences, however enor mous they may he against the public safety and public morals, cruel, and degrading to the national character. The laws punishing piracy with death have had from the legis lative department all the consideration due to so important a subject, at a time when no undue influence could interpose. Tile executive clemency has more than sufficient range for its exercise without the aid sought for hy this resolution. Whate ver may be the public feeling against a pi rate previous to Ids trial and conviction, as that takes place, the feeling subsides and be comes enlisted on the part of the criminal* There is not a favorable trait in Ids ease but what is brought up and mingled with ns ma ny circumstances of pity and compassion as his counsel can condense iu a petition, which every body subscribes to without any know ledge of the facts—and this is presented to the Executive, upon which alone he is to judge tho case. All the attrocious circum stances are kept out of view. There is no one hardy enough to tel! that this criminal and Ids associates had boarded a defenceless ship, and after plundering all that was valu able, had, with the most unrelenting cruel ty, butchered the whole crew and passen gers—or crowded them into a small boat, in the midst of the sea, without provisions or clothing, and set them adrift, where their destruction was inevitable—or, the better to secure t heir purpose, had shut all, both male and female, under deck, and smile the ship, lo elude detection, or to indulge an igatiuble thirst of brutality. The object of capital punishment is to prevent the offender from committing fur ther offences, or to deter others front doing so by the example. If it is commuted for temporary confinement, it enn effect neither any valuable purpose. The temptation is so strong, and detection so difficult and so rare, that hut few, it is feared, can he deter red. The punishment of death is inflicted upon pirates hy all civilized nations—not withstanding which, it is a growing evil—E- very sea is now crowded with them, nnd, in stead of diminishing, ought to increase the reasons for inflicting capital punishment. The committee are of opinion that capital punishment is tho appropriate punishment for piracy ; and that it would he inexpedient to commute it for confinement in penilen tiary houses. Monday, February 12. The Senate resumed the consideration of the bill to establish a system of bankruptcy. A number of amendments were made to its detuils, and others were offered, oo which, ns well as on the merits of the. bill, a good deal of debate took place, in which Messrs. Van Dyke, Talbot, Oils, Mills and Holmes of Maine, chiefly participated. Mr. Talbot closed his remarks against the bill by offering the following motion : Resolved, That the bill to establish an uni form system of Bankruptcy throughout the United States he committed to the. eomuiit- <nw w»».» -—--- , You have rejected no one on account ofj ed himsclf again to the savage state of nature, and the warrior s sword < g | jy g cree d, and vou have invited the *ccu-l Ilis flag consists of “ a black field, with a with rose*! Behold her now , ner *a-1 tee on the Judiciary; with instruction to re port amendments thereto, which shall se cure to all classes of the community, other than tho descriptions of persons contained in the first section of the bill, the privilege, at their election, of becoming voluntary bank rupts, with the consent and approbation iff a major part in value of all the creditors of such voluntary bankrupt, previously obtain ed and duly certified—and further providing that such bankrupt shall he subjected to the same proceedings, nnd liable lo the same penalties, fthes and forfeitures, and be enti tled to all the privileges, benefits, and ad vantages, aB are provided for, and made ap plicable lo, a)i other bankrupts, by the regu lations of the said bill. To allow this motion, and an amendment offered hy Mr. Holmes, of Maine, (not affect ing the principle of the bill,) to be printed, The hill was laid on the table—and The Senate adjourned. Tuesday, February 13, THE BANKRUPT BILL. The Senate lesumed the consideration of the hill to establish an uniform system of Bankruptcy—the question being on the mo tion, made by Mr. Talbot,to recommit the hill, w ith instructions so to modify it as to al low all other classes, as well as merchants, to become bankrupts, on their voluntary ap plication to avail themselves of the provisi ons of tho act. Mr. Van Dyke and Mr. Lanman oppos ed the motion, the latter at some leiigih— and Mr. Talbot advocated it. Tile question being taken on agreeing to the motion, it was decided in the negative, by tho following vote : YEAS Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Holmes, of Maine, Johnson, of Ivy. Macon, Mart’ll, Pleasants, Buggies, Smith, Stokes, Talbot,Walker, of Ala. Walker,of Geo.—13. NAYS—Messrs. Dickerson, Eiliott, Gail lard, Holmes of Mbs. Horsey, Hunter, King of N. Y. Knight, Lanman, Lloyd, Lo writ, Mills,Noble, Otis, Palmer, Parrott, Roberts, Sanford, Thomas, Tichenor, Trimble, Van Dyke, Williams, of Miss. Williams, of Ten. —24. So the proposition to recommit te amend the tiiil was rejected. The question was then stated on the fol lowing amendment, submitted yesterday by Mr. Holmes, of Maine, as a new section : “ Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That wherever any person, resident within the U. Slates, not being a merchant or person actu ally using the trade of merchandize by buy- ing nnd selling in gross or by retail, nor deal ing in cEi hange, nor as a banker, broker, fac tor, underwriter, or marine insurer, shall do or suffer any act or thing which is herein described, or declared to be an act of bank- ruptcy, any one creditor, or a greater num ber, being partners, whose single debt shall amount to five hundred dollars, or any tiro or more creditors w hose debts shall nmount to one thousand dollars, may petition in writing against such person in the tame man ner, and the same proceedings shall be had therein, as directed and prescribed in tho second section of this act, and the commissi oners designated by the judge shall, moreo ver, issue a summons under their hands and seal, notifying and commanding such person to appear at a certain time and place before said commissioners, to shew cause why he or she may not be declared a bankrupt, and the same commissioners shall cause person al service to be made on such person, nnd reasonable notice of the time and place to he given, and if such person shall not appear, or, appearing, shall consent to a commission o( bankruptcy, then, and not otherwise, such person may he declared a bankrupt, nnd shall be subject to all the provisions of this act. Mr. Van Dyke deemed the arguments a- gainst Mr. Talbot’s proposition as applica ble to this amendment, and therefore did not conceive jit necessary to add any thing oo tids question, except to say that were he a farmer he should not desire to place this power into the hands of his creditor. Mr, Holmes defended his amundment in detail, and at some length. Mr. Kino, of New-York, spoke against 'the proposition, and in support, briefly, of the expediency and constitutionality of a sim ple bankrupt system, applicable only to the trading class. Mr. Barbour Replied to Mr. Kino, and argued in support of t he justice of extending the hill to farmers and other classes, as well as traders, to which, the consent ofthe debt or being rendered necessary, obviated all objection—stating in conclusion, that if the amendment did not prevail, he should at tempt nn amendment to confine the e pera- tion of the bill entirely to dealings between merchant and merchant, and to leave the claims of others on them unimpaired. Mr. Van Dyke argued to snow that the amendment would produce an incongruity in the system, and was in principle inexpedi ent. The question was then put on the amend ment, and was decided In tbu negative, by yeas and nays, as follows : YEAS—Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Ea ton, Holmes, of Maine, Holmes, of Miss, Knight, Macon, Pleasants, Rciggies* Smith, Walker, of Alab. Walker of Geo. Williams, ofTenn.—13. NAYS—Messrs. Dickerson, Elliott, Gail- lard, Horsey, Hunter, Johnson, of Ken. Johnson, ofLnti. King of Alab. King, of N. Y. Lanman, Lloyd, Lnwrie, Mills, Otis, Parrott, Roberts, Sanford, Stokes, Talbut, Thomas,Tichenor, 1 Trimble, Van Dyke, Wil lianas, of Miss.-r-S4. So this amendment tvns also rejected. Mf. Harhour then moved the amend ment which he bad intimated, and which was to insert a clause providing that, in the dividend of a bankrupt’s estate, the debts due to those whose occupation excluded iheni from the operation of the act, should be first paid. Mr. Barbour spoke briefly to shew that as other classes were not to have tho bene fits of the law, they ought not to suffer by it and that, therefore, it ought to be coiiflnec to debts between merchants, and not affect the lien of the fanner. Mr. Lloyd argued that this amendment so far from having (he effect to preserve or guard the interest of the farmers, would des troy qjl the chance which the bill now gave them of dei iv ing any good from it, and would in fact be absolutely injurious to their inte rest. Mr. Barbour replied,and Mr. Lloyd re joined, in illustration and support of their opinions on the effect of the amendment. Mr. V an Dyke contended that the amend ment was totally inconsistent with the prin ciples of a bankrupt system. The amendment was negatived—ayes 11. The bill was then laid on the table, for tho impose of receiving a report ncci ssary to n: acted on to-day. Wednesday, Feb. 14. Soon after the meeting of the Senate, this morning, the doors were closed, on Executive business, nnd so remained until the Senate repaired to the Cham her of the House of Representatives for ihe purpose of counting the votes for President and Vice President of the U States, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE9. ELECTION OP PRESIDENT AND VICE PRFMDENT. Mr. C'lay, from the joint committee to whom the subject had been referred, reported the following resolution* : Resolved, T hat the two Houses shall assemble in the Chamber of the House of Iteprescntatives, on Wednesday the 14th ofFebuary, 1821, and the Presi dent of the Senate, seated on the right of the Speaker of the House, shall be the presiding officer ofthe Senate, and the Speaker shall be the presiding officer of the House ; that two persons be appoint ed Tellers on the part of the House, to make a list of the votes as they shall be declared ; that the result shall be deliv ered to the President of the Senate, who shall announce the state of the vote, and the persons elected, to the two Houses assembled as aforesaid, which shall be deefoed a declaration of the person* e- lected President and Vice President of the United States, and,-together with a list ofthe votes, be entered ou the Jour nals of the two Houses. Resolved, That, if any objection be made to the votes of Missouri) and the counting or omitting to count which shall not essentially change the result of the election ; in that case they shall be re ported by the President of the Senate in the following manner ; Were the votes of Missouri to be counted, the result would be, for A. B. for President of the United States, votes, if not count ed, for A. B. as President ofthe United States, —— votes; but in either event A. B. is elected President ofthe United States ; and in the aerne manner for Vice ■ President. • ^ Mr. Clay offered some remarks expla natory ofthe considerations which go verned the committee in recommending the resolutions which bad been report- ") ed. As convenience rendered it neces sary for the Senate to meet this House here, in its own hall, it was due to that body, by courtesy and propriety, that the President should be invited to preside, he being the officer designated by the Constitution to perform a certain duty appertaining to the occasion which call ed the two Houses together. As to the second resolution, the state of the vote* for President and Vice President wan well known, though unofficially, and. an the votes of Missouri could not affect the result, it was considered by the com-* niittee, to obviate the unpleasant difficul ty which would otherwise arise in thw joint meeting, better to provide for the case in the manner proposed. Thin course was deemed by the committee then most expedient, under all the circurniiaa- ces, nnd he hoped the House would a- dopt it, the more especially as the Sen ate had nlready concurred in it. The question was taken on the first resolution, and agreed (0 without a di vision, though several noes were heard* The question being stated on the se cond resolution— Mr. Randolph said he could not con sent to this special verdict, as it had beew called, io the case of Missouri. He could not recognize in this House or the other House, singly, or oonjointly, the power lo decide on the rotes of any state. Suppose, ho said, you strike out Missouri and insert South Carolina, which ulso has a provision in its consti tution, repugnant to the Constitutiqi} of tlje United States ; or Virginia, or Mas sachusetts, which hnd a test, he believ ed, in its constitution ; was there any lean power to decide on their votes, than oa those of Missouri ? He maintained that the Electoral College was at independ ent of Congress, as Congress of them & and we have no right, said he, to judge of their proceedings. Mr. R. said; he would rather see an interregnum, or sew no votes counted at aU, than to see a prin ciple adopted which went to the very foundation nn which the Presidential of fice rested. Suppose a case, in which some gentleman of one house or the oth er should choose to turn up his nose at the vote of some state, and say that if it be so and so, such a person is elected, and if no and so wbat-you-call-em is elect ed—did not every body see the absurdi ty of such a proposition ? Mr. B. added other remarks illustrative of his opinion of the course proposed by the resolution —deeming it not onl/erroneous, but er roneous in a matter of vital importance —in the ascertainment of the person who had been elected bythe people Chief Magistrate of this nation—the most im portant officer under the constitution— the monarch—for, wheever,.in any coun try, commands the army and navy, and collects and distributes the revenue, is a king, call him what you will. The time of the House was precious, and he would not consume it, by saying all hq thought' and felt on the subject. ,, t , Mr. Trimbit was far from desiring to consume tbc time of the House, or to em barrass the House, but be could not give his consent to this resolution. If any thing was due to state rights, this reso lution ought not to be adopted ; as it would, however immaterial in the pre sent case, be cited heroaAer as a prece dent ; and precedents were becoming important things in the public transac tions. The House might set an exam ple by this vote, as ruinous in it* conse quences as any decision which could be made. It was about to declare, not what was the true vote for President ofthe U. States, but to state it hypothetically.— Mr. T. argued at some length against such a course. Suppose some member in joint meeting should ask the Presi dent of the Senate how many votes were given—he must answer in the words of the resolution, and therefore would not state the fact, according to the law. It was the duty ofthe two Houses to enun ciate the true state of the vote for Pre sident and Vice President, pod the pro posed annunciation would ng$ be the fact. He concluded by saying that be would rather that the votea of Missouri were left out altogether, than adopt the course proposed. Mr. Randolph observed that the gen tleman was under some mistake on one point. The Constitution of the Unitod States provides, not that the person hay ing a majority of votea should ho Presi dent, but a majority of the votes of the Electors appointed. Now, he desired to know whether the Electors of Mis souri were appointed or not. Mr. Floyd said ho was aware that the question to agree to the resolution, aw tantamount to a motion to reject* f