The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-08-22
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENT .A7IJ'Ey.
Wcdnelday, March :, 1904.

"wednesday, March :, 1904.
tire Wboke, Mr.. Dazyjon IN tie Ck,c,ir, on Ire |
Bill provid;ng for t5e,IefAement of Haadry !
claims 10 public lands Jiag Jontb Of TIE fate Of,
TsrnsBSe.
Mr.. ]. RANDOLPH.-Certai refolutiops
have been fubmitted by the Houfe to this COM
inttee, and when it is propofed to take them
up, objection is made, on the ground that no
opinion ought to be exprefsd upon them, and
motion accordinly brought forward for the
committee to rife. From the profpcG before
us, It is probable that the committee will rife,
and If leave be given them to fit again, which
feems to be the Object of iome gentlemen, theie
revolutions will be equally out of the power OF
their mover, or their friends. How far gentle
men were warranted in faying that this commit
tee, which altho' 1t be inferior Only to the Houie
itteit, rs yet subordinate TO it, and as much
bound by its initructions as any other commit
tee whatever, fllould refufe to be governed bv
thote inftru6tions, ne would not undertake to
lay: but OF this he would allure them that how
much ioever they might embarrais, they ihould
not defeat the diicuiiion of this fubiect, by any
courte which they might puriue. Confident
only in their hofility to the refoutions, gentle
men advocated the committees riing by the
mott oppoiite and contradictory arguments on
the one hand contendng that no opinion ought
to be eXprefied upon them. Whit on the other
they a!iert that fuch opinion has been fully ex-
prefed. lrreconcilable in their objections, they
are not lets united in their Object. When men
tor whatever reaion, however oppoiite their pre-
mites, invariably agree in the fame concuion,
by what arguments are they to be aGaled? In
this dilemma he was mpelled much more By
fenie OF duty, than by any hope of fuccets, to
reply TO fome of the remarks which had fallen
from various quarters of the committee
II was laid that the amendment, which he
had the honor to propofe to the bill, which had
been jutt then conldered, embraced the filb-
ttance OF the reiolutious, and that its rejection
was a tair deciion upon their merits. Permit
me Qaid MIR. r. in the mott explicit terms, TO
deny this petition. One of theft refolutions, &
one only, to give gentlemen all that they can
fairly ak, may have been virtually decided by
the REJECTION OF that amendment. But will anv
one be hardy enough to affert, that the auction
" whether the act of Georgia, of 1875, was, or
4" was not paiied by the groneft coI1uption,"
was embraced in that amendment, or in any
wlie affected by the deci6on upon it Surely
not. gentlemen who voted againft that amend
ment have not in debate, pretended TO denv the
fact. They cannot, they dare not DENY If. He
might go on and ipecify refolution after refolu-
ton, and thew that no opinion had been expref-
led upon them, lone only excepted) but the
committee would anticipate, in the recollection
OF their contents, all that could be urged TO de-
monttrate the variance between them and the
amendment. They nun be Eitisfied of the
feebienets and infuthcicncy of this OBJECTION
Before he touched on any other, he deemed it
proper to anfwer fomc oblervations which had
fallen from gentleman from Maiachnietts
lOr. Euitis) to the left. mutt here 0ad MIR.
H express my iatisfaction at finding myielf fup-
ported by the concluiive authority of nv ref
,ee friend The fpea;, il Il The petition " iiisi,
l. ailumed at the outfet-that every member has
right to claim decilion on any queftion bro't
by him before the houfe, which they fha have
agreed to conhder. The gentleman from Maj
iAchuietts thinks differently. In his opinion no
member has right to interpret a refufal on the
part of the houie to act on his motion, into
perional diirefpeet to himfelf. certainly have
never expreiled myfelf TO the effect that this gen.
tieman niinuates. If the zeal with which I
have Imported claim, fan6tioned by the high |
eft authority here, has been TO confirmed, it has
been my misfortune, not for the irit time per- |
baps, to give rife TO erroneous impreflions.-
From the warmth however which has been ex- |
hibited by the mover of thefe refoutions, when
ever their lublect has been agitated, the gentle
man from Mahachuetts would infer that thew |
are the offspring of feeling, rather than of iudg-
ment. could with, fir, when that gentleman |
to notice any remarks of mine. he |
would conhne himief to their fubitancc & mat |
ter, and not pats over thefe, in order to fix up
on the manner in which they are delivered. If |
the warmth with which an opinion be flpport-
ed be made the ftandard of its truth or falfe-
hood, it will have been my misfortune, perhaps,
neverto have advanced a correct opinion on this
floor. Some men have imooth, oily, iniinuatinr
addrefs: theycan make youa propofition runous
to yourfelf or toyour country, with a face couch
ed IN iiniles. Others can fcarce offer you an
of clvility without wounding your
feelings; tits their misfortune. But truft that
the adventurous circumstances of temperament
and complexion are not to be made the criteri-
on of truth that proportions and arguments
will be decided here, upon their own intriniic
merits, aod not By considerations altogether TO-
reign from them. On other occafions we have
heard much of party fpirit and the rights of
minorites. But this is one of thofe cafes in
which the tociin of party fpirit and an over ru-
ing majority will not sufwer the purpofe in
yiew.-This is fealon in which the old dark
maxim I" di7iGe ct i'nbera' is to be reforted TO
in which perional pique and private iealoufies
ball enable an hopelefs, oppoftion to hold the
Gales of this Houie :--once hopelefs, though
low like Ant9us riinc from their fall From
made out of doors, I expected TO
lear thefe reiolutions treated as an encroach-
nent ON the rights of Georgia, aud by the very
neu too, who did not fcrupe to uiurp the iu-
iGdi6tion of a great portion of the country in
,MihiiiPPitcrritory) in contempt of
he rights and in defiance of the renon0rances of
hat fate. Yes. I was r,renareJ to, csa C,.,a