Virginia Argus — Richmond, Va., 1810-03-02 00:00:00, page 2

mm#*** jgaggggggiBB&iwr* <■
degrade himself by circulating, in a
private *nd underhand manner, slan
. tier against a map who acted with him
Jn office ? Whatever he might at any
tirfie have 1*lt,' he coukfnot lend his
sanction to a private masked attack on
any m^nV character. It is utterly im
w possible that any officer of the United,
/Statfcs Could so far ^forget every claim
he had to hi9 own respect as to des
cend to such conduct. If the House
were’to adopt paragraphs from tKc
public prints and rumors of the day
as grounds-for charges against aay of
ficers of the government, how many
men of o*hinenc« would you find
vfliosc -characters have not through
these'vehicles been impeached? Have
*. not our papers sunk to that degrading
state that they charge the most incor
ruptible men with fraudulent specula
tions ? I could point out nunerous
instances of men belonging to both
parties, who are honest and incorrupti
ble, who have been charged with the
most shameless peculation. ' If we
were to be influenced by every rumor
which'finds its way into the papers,
instead of appointing a committee to
examine into the condact of the Sec
retary of the Treasury, we should
have to appoint a committee which
should embrace in the scope of its en
quiry all the political characters ofthe
country-.
As to this piece which has appear
ed in a Virginia paper, it bears its
•contradiction on the face of it. It is
one of those anonymous papers, daily
published, avowing with boldness,
without fearing contradiction ; the
writer pf which is evidently ignorant
of notorious fact3, and . unacquainted
with treasury transactions.
I shoul’d myself be oxtremtlv sorry,
that rumours of this kind should ever
41 oduce any _»fect on those who are
the subject of them. i do hope that
the secretary of the treasury will, while
he estimates properly'the purity .and
dignity of his own character, absolve
his colleague in- office from an impu
tation so odious as that attempted to
be fixed on him. No man who has a
regard for his own character, would
suppose that a .gentleman placed high
in office would attempt in this clandes
tine manner to destroy his reputation.
I have no. doubt but an enquiry, if
insituted, would terminate in a man
ner highly honorable to the secretary
of the treasury ; and there can be no
question but it would be impossible to
[uuj.ulc cTiuunc luac ai?y omccr in
the government hao been 50 far for
getful of himself, and the dignity of
his station, as to conduct himself in a
manner which would di .grace him for
ever as a man of honor. Mr. B. con
cluded by moving to postpone the fur
ther consideration of the subject till
to morrow, • • . .
Mr. M*Kim was opposed to a delay
of : rife cision on the resolutions. He
thought the Mouse would be disgraced
by a.i enquiry, on such grounds. It
would be but justice to themselves to
shew the public that the House would
, notoccupy its time with such frivol
ous pursuits* G ntljmen talked, of
ten about precedents. The adoption
of ihu -resolution on the grounds sta
ted bv the mover, would be one of
the most injurious precedents. There
was n it * man of information, in the
ria.ki) - no would lot tnink it ridicu
lous. H= hoped the restitution would
be promptly decided on.
Mr. Gurdenier soidjhe did not him
self place great faith in these charges ;
. bin in a case of this kind the House
* codld not be too desirous to satisfy
the public mind. An tnvestig ition
•' into them, if false, would tend to con
firm the Officer in the public confidence.
It wan -in the nature o* ’all charges <~f;
this sort, 00 mutter by whom propa
fan through the commumtv, I
* till there ere main who believe them.!
TVlr. O. said his principal object wasj
to vmdic ite 'he secret.»ry of the tre.n !
suvy. The only question was \t he
. thcr the House would evince cheitJ
disbelief ufthtr charges, by a rtjec t-m
of the resolution#, or, whether, by an
exanr im.tion into the subject, they
would refute them • understandingly.
The rejection ui tb- reialiuioM would
be an evidence r»f thefriith of th,s House
in the integrity of tne ’.ecretrrry orf the
treasury ; hut if an cr imination wa#
made, .on] the author was called be
fore the uomm ttecto substantiate his
ch trges, the result of the investigiti
on, tfi. v ruble, would produce aeon*
* vu tiov.i to every-mind, Kor himself,
he thought 'he Hop ie could not be too
carciul, nr too **ager to prove the in-1
noerre' of «.b“ secretary of the fveasu-J
rv. If* wished, of all things, to have
it distinctly understood, that he did
nor move the enquiry under the im
prrsvon that -it would result in iho
conviction (f£ the secretary » t'the trea
sury} but the manner and style in
which these charges hail been annoim- j
ced, made him wi»h that all the de-l
p&rtmarnts should be clear of the impu- n
unions they conveyed. <
Mr. Gholton said he was sorry that
any base calumnv, which must be de- t
spised by every honest, virtuous and i
enlightened roan in the community, i
should, in the estimation of the geu- i
tleman from New YoHc, be deemed of
so much importance as to merit an ex- ;
amination by this House. Theatre so
lution he had offered was very extra
ordinary in itself, putting out of view !
the imprababilify of t’.te facts into,
which it proposed to enquire. How
an enquiry to be m&de hr the par- ;
chase of land by the Secretary of the
Treasury, or into the anaountor nature i
of his private property f Counten me*
ing the resolution so far a3 to permit it :
to lie on the table would be materially i
affecting the reputation of the enligh- ;
tened officer who presides over the
treasury department. Would it be i
presumed by the people abroad that j
that the li^|e of Kepresentatives
would ln any case whatever institute an 1
enquiry'into the conduct of one of the
highest officers of the government, un
less they themselves believed there
was something like alodbt a3 to his in-.
tegrity ? To express auy thing like -
doubt of the character of a man is
'essentially to injure him. I ask. if
there be any man in the House \/ho
even doubts on the sublet. A> to the
officialreports of this * ficer, the last
annual report of the Secretary of the
Treasury is one of the clearest, ablest
and most explicit state papers that
graces the annals of the-country.. The
circumstance of a deficiency of the rev
enue is tfasily accounted for without
attaching any blame to him, when it
is considered that for one half the year
the embargo cut off our revenue. The
gentleman who moved the resolutions
must- himself be convinced of the im
propriety cf institufing an enquiry on
'a ground ir» which no one can confide,
i Whilst there is If enlightened com
mittee of Ways and Means in thi3
j House to superintend the operations
of the treasury department, there can
be no probability of any misconduct in
' the department escaping inquiry.
Whilst I believe that the Secretary of
the Treasury would be uninjured by
any'enquiry, I cannot without reason,
consent to institute an enquiry. If the
House investigate such charges, they
may sit the whole year and do nothing
else ; for not a day passes but some '
news-paper brings a new slander on
the officers of government.-hia
iVIr. Bur well withdrew his motion
to postpone the question.
Mr. Taylor asked what these reso
lutions were—and; according to the
scope o! operation which they were
to take,what did they involve? The
h;gh attribute, the vindictive preroga
tive of the House, of impeaching pub
lic officers; Should a subject of that
magnitude be trifled with ? Should
they for newspaper scraps mike use
of it ? There is, said Mr T. a prin
ciple which, it appears t(? me, ought
in this case to govern every gentleman
l on this floor, viz. that such an enqui-i
' ry ought not to be sanctioned unless !
there be an impression, that that en*
qui«y ought to be made for the pur*
. nose of punishing the o'frcer in ques
tion. I confess, when the motion first
was made, the high opinion I enter
tain of the iudividu d'involved in it,
» i y impression of his being immacu
late, would have induced me to vote
for it, for a reason different from its
object, but that it was a coarse which !
never would adopt, but at the request
of the party concerned. I at first was
inclined 'o vote for*it, because I knew
it would eventuate in clearing the
character denounced in the paper,
from all improper imputations. That
is not the purpose ok such resolution-!,
[t ia to probe guilr, aud bring it to pun
ishment. We are not here by legis
lative acts, to planter up ch •,ratters.
It is not our b istuess, unless the oflic r
himself, feeling the denunciauoUs
made to rest so heavily on him, that
tie could not perform the duties of his
office with advantage to His country,
should apply to the House for an in
vestigation. I will not exercise this
attribute to-clearthe character of any
man, unless he himself requires it.
The mover ofihe resolution tells you,
that ac£* rding to his impressions, the
charge is a calumny, and that he be
lieves an investigation will eventuate
in the acquittal of the character de„
nounc*d. Even a justice of the peace,
in such a case as this, would say, he
could not proceed to examine a per
son charged with a crime, when no
evWJeace whatever appeared against
him. There is not belore the House
a tit'.It of testimony. , Shall this House |
then cheapen the high attribute of j
bringing to condign punishment she;
officers of the nation i The Houi>c }
cannot proceed a step in this case.
No gentleman who does not believe
in the guilt of the secretary of the
^reasury, can in my opinion, with any
propriety, vote for fLc resolution on:
he table.
M.*. Smitie snid, he was of opinion,;
hat the House ougltf to act at ouce on
ite resolution. He wished, sincerely,
hat the matter was so situated, that
;he House could with propriety go in
to an investigation of the public char”
»cter of that officer. *"*1 think (sai l*
Mr-S.) that I may say, that there is
lot a man in cheU. States that knows
lim better in his public, or in hie'pr'r'
irate capacity th^n mvsjdf- If the most
iivtant suspicion rested on fay mind ot
my foundation for the charges,' I
vould ihstaptly move an impeach
ment, ahd proceed reguh^rly with-the
matter. This enquiry is proposed on1
ntch agroundas never legislative ho
ly acted on before, an anonymous
mb! i cation. If the House institutes an
inquiry on such ground, it p its it
lelf in the power of every calumrva..
tor who can wield a pen. Is this the
first instance in whjch „the highest
:haracters in the government h$ve been
assailed? flouvniany calumnies were
daily heaped on the late President of
the United States ? Is it not known
to tlje House that at this very dhy it
is vxul in the publie papers that the
President has in his possession a treaty
with France which he dare not shew ?
Why then should this calumny be se
lected for examination ? If it was pos
sible to bring to pumshstteat the vile
author of it, I woulu agree to it ;—
as it is a se*ious and flagrant libel ;
but that is out of our power. The
grand objection to this course, howe
ver, is, that I tan see ho end of it. If
theca, be a gentleman iu-the ij^use
who thinks ic possible that the Secre
tary of the Treasury can be guilty, he
will vote for the resolution. On the
other hand a decided negative will
check the calumny at once.
Mr. Johnson said he could hot per
mit the question to be taken without
expressing his opinion in relation to it.
As to the individual implicated in
this motion,'{said Mr. J.) I am attach
ed to him from a consideration of his
merit and of the services he'has done
to his country, and for mo other rea
sons, having but little personal ac
quaintance with him. This is not the
fh st charge which had been made a
gainst this great and gesd man and
valuable officer. I have heretofore
smiled with contempt upon these pub
licationsengeniered by malice, & have
felt pity for their misguided authors.
The people of this natiou know the
man. inc persecution or -all good
nasci, as of Aristides an I Socrates, one
of whom was banished. and the other
put to death, for their virtues, gives
occasion to those who know them to
erect monuments to their glory. This
tfill be the effect of the persecution
of this man, whose reputation is un
tarnished—even the gentleman who
moved the resolution does no: think
his character impeachable. As to
clearing his fame, Mr. J. said it was
not necessary to institute an enqnir;
to clear his fame from imputations
which must be as impotent against him
a* the waters of the ocean against the
rock of Gibraltar. ^The memory bi
his patriotic exertions would live ai
long as the world. He did not rise,
he said to eulogise this oi&cer, but he
must give h'13 feeble testimony in favor
of the man who had sacrificed h'13 time
and perhaps his co.Tiforts to the ser
vice of hb country. And was hb
fame to he impeached by an anony
mo4s writer? It wa3 impossible he
should be guilty of the charges * it
wae not within, him, whose character,
bright as the jewel of virtue itself, the
more it was cxi nined, the more bril
liant it would appinr. And this ru
mor was sanctioned—by whom? He
would nit believe that the Secretiry
of State had given the weight of hia
name to such charges.mn l would noi
eredit public rumbr oh this point any
m re than in the .charges against the
Secretary of the Treasury.
Mr. Fimlley was for aa immediate
decision on th.. resolutions. He would
not eulogise tiii Secretary of tne Trea
sury, but he grv-j no credit to the
newspaper paragraphs, and made s >me
observations going 01 shew that they
were destit ite even of pluuiibility.
Mr I?o3S confessed he had gome doub’s
as to the course proper to be pursued. It
the political fueods of the Secretary of
ihe Treasury h»d brought forward the
motion, lie should hade no hesitation what
course to pursue ; but when the political
enemies of a man undertook to be the
guardians of his reputation,the course pip.
per to be pursued was rendered muen
m?re doubtful# tfolhmgxouldl sooner des*
iioy the reputation of n man with his par
ty linn far hit enemies In become the
guardians of it# He had seen in pipers
professing democratic principles public*,
tiooj agues’, this min—and would it not
be asked by ihe people, if the coarse pro.
posed was pursued, if the secretary of,the
Treasury hire not changed his piinoipiet,
whilit his poli.ic*l ensmie^ are so ca'efui
of his reputation why are they not«e juaily
careful of the relation ot.thj Secretary
4
*.F S.aT, who h as been c<t'«iHy abot*] by I?
the writers undo;* the signature of Philo
I-ios or Machts. Mr K. inode -further ob
servation^ gong to shew that if enquiry
was made in one case, it ought in the o.:
jther. He was opposed t® the passage of:
[ he resnlttVionv ,s.
I M r Hc-l nei moved to TejeSl the resn- |
|lut'oas; but the motion wa* declared to be
lout of order.
Mr Macon said that as to himself he .
I felt satisfied that none of theae very seri.
ous charges -could'be supported against •
I the Secre'ary of the Treasury* This be
lief was funded upon the opinion he en.
tertaiqsij of the jiriral chavaAer of the
man. Ha bftieved the invesligi ion couldT
only -tend to raise the -reputation of that
I man in the rration. Under this belief he
could have-no hesitution in voting for the
jenqiiry. But (said Mr M.) if contrary
to tuy sincere belief he should be guilty
of the charges alledged against kirn, let
him share the fate of Ibe guilty. 1 was
not in tHe house when the resolution was
moved afad do not therefore 'know the
ground t»f the rafciion, but it is sufficient
for me that the gentleman who made the
motion thinks him.clf authorised to do it.
No matter on what information he deem,
cd it his duty to make the -naouiim-I for
gone am^wtHing he should be gratified—
.Honesty »r»d plain dealing hare nothing
to fear. An honest man may be calum-'
niated, bjttime will put down tire calum
ny. »t icy a® impossible that some of the
charges have foundation in fafcV; biit he
was wiling to enquire into them, if the .
jSecretmy <>f the Treasury was his own
hro her, if he were his father, a"d an eu
qtiiry was asked into his conduct, hs would
g; ant it.* When life second Secre ary of
the Treasury went out of office he had
asked anr enquiry into hia cpnduct, which
, was granted Passing these resolutions
would ofay bu doing the same in relation
to the present Secretary of the Treasury
as w is done in rela ion to the former.—
Could any thing be a greater..triumph to.
a man placed in the situa'ion of the Secre
tary of the Treasury than for those oppo.
sed to him to declare him innocent ? His
Hoped the mo.ion would be agreed to^j
and had no doubt such would be the result
of i be e'.quiry*
Mr Bibb regre'ted exceedingly the de.
termination of the gentleman fom N. C.
bad expressed a wish to vote in favor of the
resolutions, and he was confident the gen*
tleman would nor have come to the same
determination if he had heard the remarks
which preceded and followed the motion.
It was not a charge made by a member
of the Home ; on the contrary the mem.
ber making the motion declared his dis
belief of the cb'arge. Wlut said Mr U.
would be the consequence, in relation .to
ih'e public mindj. cf pursuing the enquiry
under iHiSe circu its aaces ? Ho we not
every day cds the basest calumnies in the
public prims not only against the htrads of
departments but against this House ? Has
not the Legislature of a state (Massachu
setts) declared that the rrisasmes ofa raa*
jqrity of this House are adapted in sub'
servicnee tb Napoleon ? 13 it cot as im
portant that the Representatives of the
people should stand fair before the peo
ple as that the secretary of the Treasury i
should stand fair before tins House ? D >
we not every day see charge* made in the
ptib.ic piints against individual* in tire
governme it without'instituting enquiries
in o them ? Now l ask, if we institute
an enquiry in this case and not in ethers,
whether we shall not be giving at least
presumptive evidence against,the oecreio*
ry of the Treasury 3 It appears to me that
the best way to vindicate the character
of this officer f orn the aspersions levelled
at 'it is to give as strong a vole as we can
against (he mo.ion*
Mr HLulland said there was no testitnn-'
ny before the Huise to induce them to
raise a committee on this subject. If a*
ny member would produce any, or sta'e
that he had grounds to believe-he con'd,
in support of the charge>, then and then
only shauldt a committee be appoin
ted.
Mr Quincy said that There rumor or?
newspaper paragraph* he did not dtein a
lit ground fir enquiry by the House, un
less they came in such a shape as to raise
reasonable ground of suspifcion* Ror this
reason he was unwilling to p-m the re*
solution. At the same time he sugges
ted that whatever W»1 done, it showid not
lie done under the influence of instant,pai
non; aorl thought, if the Secretary trim*
elf were on the floor, he would wish a de
cision delayed.
Mr Stanford declared that he should
vote for the motion on the general prin
ciple of making an enquiry whenever
wished for by a member. He quo ed the
journals to shew instances of caves which
he deemed similar. He thought a post,
ponement of the decision on the motion
dould gtve further time for reflection, and
therefore moved a postponement of it till
*.o.morrow.
Che motion for postponement was neg
auved by a Urge majority.
Mr.tJana said that ifths question had
been but for the vejeclwn of the motion, he
ihot.ld certainly have Voted-against It; but
the qoeuion of adoption was esseniia'.fy
different. He did not conceive an a iony
j mous publication io a newspaper sufficifo.
groin 1 for an enquiry by the House ; 4 id,
I that being ad the ground assigned far the
resolution, he should vo’c against if,
Mr lloyd k Mr Southard alio spiles a
gainst (he motion.
Mr (i irdenicr again spoke in supp» 10,
the re* >1 itios.s lie could nit say mat br
be L-vcd he ciurges, but he could ml cm
ceive that chtrg:* *0 specifically suiecl,
^ 7* \
ar*d*by so ab'e •*v*rfteT, tbs itesafl
of profligacy and \v*tolly tvithan’. F«mtd «•
t?ftn. An clique y codld <Vo no harm; a id‘
the charges might he w«fll founded*- Wnw*
would have smpctiled the great Bacon, or
who Lord Melville, before the«r peculation*
was proved ? -if. the House did not now in*
vesiigate it, he thought they would be soon*
called upon to do iu The smoke would!
not appear in so- marr^ different places to»
gether, unless ali«>e was somewhere a pa.* a
rent combustion* The volcano never emtU ^
tedsiHuke but whenr fire raged withmw—
There must be soiux foundation For thc^c:
rumors.
The question anfhe pa-sigiv of them*;
solutions wars decidbd" a; follows ;
¥E\-S -^-Messrs. Cobh. Ely,. Garden**
ier, Gray, Macon, Stanford Whitman.
—r*
NAYS.--Messrs. L. J. Alston, \V, AV
stoo, Anderson, like on, Bhid, Bassett, Bib
Hlaisdell, Boyd, BreckenrfJge, J. Bow.,,
B. Brown, Burr/eil, Butler, Calhoun,
oampbel!, W. Chamberlin, Champion,.
Clviuendeh, Clay, Cothran, CrXwfordfc,
Crist, Cutt^ D ina, Dasha, Emot1, Find
ley, Fisk, Franklin, Gannet, Garland,.
Gardner, G hold ion, Goodwyn, Gold, Hal",,
Haveny Helms, 'Holland. Howard, HVF*.
‘7, U. Jackson, Jenkins, Johnson. jo:n,r
Remedy, Love, Lyle,Marian Matthew
M‘Bryde,. M‘;Cee, M‘Run, M.ller, Mttnur^.
N. i*. Moore, T. Moore, -Morrow, Mose-.
ley, Mupiford, Newbold, Newton, Nichoi.
son J*earson, Pitkin, j. Porter, P, 8. Pori
tory Potter, Quincy,. Rea of Pen. Rhea uf'5J
Ten. Uichatdi] Iloane, lloo‘, Uo.s, Sage,.
Sammons, Sawyer, Scaver, Seybort, Shaw^.
ShefTey, Smelt^ Smilie, G. Smith, J Smith,.
Southard, Stanley, Stephen ion, Sturges,
Taggart, Taylor, Thornpsn,, Tracy, fur—.
per, Upham, Van Dyke, Van Horn, Van.
^eoaielaer, Weakley, Wlicatou, White.,
hjji, Wilson, Winn, VYiinerspoon.—. I0d\
UANK OFTdfi UNITED STATES*.
Mr Montgomery said he was initruiled-:
by the coman.tee to whom was ielci ted< *
the memorial of the President and Du
retlors of the Bank of the United Sta es,.
to mike the following report, thougn con.
trary to his own sentuneus and to tnose;
also ef the member from Virginia (Air
Basset) an‘d tne raetnoci trom Mas aciiu..
setts (Mr beaf-r.)
“ The Committee, See. report ; —■
“ That in pcftcecding to fne considers
tibn of the said petition, your.commU.ee.
instructed their chairman n» address a let
ter to the Secretary ot (he Trcasuiy re
questing him teffurnish such information,
or obret rations a<i he in, ;ht thi k- proper
in relation to the subje-it nat:.:r tuereof
as coniiedled with the ttuaucin a id com.
mercial uverests ol’ the Um.ed Sates.
Irt reply to which the ^.cere.my l,y h:s
letter to the Charman referred your co n
miuee to his former report on the sa d
subject, made to the riena.c of thv United
States in obedience to the order, of that
House.
“ lour committee have hp.n
br agents of the petitioners, who in al»
ditto© ta the mailers contained in the pe
tition have suggested to yjjr om niuee,
that the object of the petitioner, wa* to
obtain the renewal of ihe elnritr in ii»
present farm. That for this renewal the
Dank. tv. willing to make compansauDii ei
ther by bans, a. a rate of interest, or by
a sum of miney to be agreed upm ; or
by an iricreate of iiic capital stock, by a
number of sharua to bi taken a id subicri
i bed for by the United S.atesroan annum,
adequate 19 the compensation 10 bs a*
greed upon fo.- such renewal,
i M The-; agent* ei .o iug»;,*s:ed that they
were luily .lurborl&d and empowdicd tp
offer and couciud© the terms specmt.lly
! connected with those proposition*. Vour
|committee no. fueling themselves uuliuu
med to enter into such terms, and jadg-.
ing that the ex cot ui most propb >ttiou*.
would better apply o tfie detail, of n
bill than to the adop i jn. at 4 principle,
to be first settled by the houae. have
therefore foreburne, to enqu. . in,o the w«.
.lent of the propositions t* wiwiou: espies.
-ang an approbation or rejection ot di«jas
offers, or giving an opinion us to uie plan
and reasoning of the Secretary ofthu
Treasury, your comnjttee m order that
the opinion of the blouse on this great
t onal question may be declared, previous,
to entering into (hs dead* connected with.
•the subject, recoimusud the following re
solution i
“ Resolved, That it is proper to make
provision for continuing the establishment,
ot the bank of the United Sia.e*, with
offices of discount and deposit under ihe
regulations necessary for the beneficial
administration of the national finances du
ring such time, and on such c mditions aa,
may be defined by law.’’—fhia lepurjt
was committed.
PKOmoIl lOMS To BELLIGEU
EM TS», fcc.
Tbs Allowing message was. Deceived,
from ths President of the U. Slates 1
lo the House of Representative* of the
, United Stares.
1 transmit repoita of the Secretaries of
?j’.4’.e and of the 1 revisory, complying with
your resolution of the fifth /n* am.
JAMES M-AUifiON.
February 17, Ittio.
UEPAR.TiVlEN f OF STATE,
February i k
Agreeably t.j a resolution of the
flp'r-.e of Representatives, of the 5th
instant, requesting me Freud-,it of
the Unite.I St A :* to cautfe to be Ini J[
be 1 ore taat House copies of the seve
ral communication made to the go
vernment* of Fr.uice k Great Uritain,
in p irauancc of the auth r»ti?» vc*?oJ
i