Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1806-09-08
1Whole No. 4s7.

l0lpOial and II II worthy OF remark,
that the far greater number of thefe
would be partizans of the militia re-
ferred to adopt the nleafarc recom-
lmended by the executive, Tor indeed
any other) for giving Efficient opera
tion to that great conffiturional de-
fence.
The report Of the eommitte, although in
Rri1 unifon with the stEsisi Recommendation
Of the Executive, was rejected by ~ TO So
votes and the proportion to appropriate
- dollars for the prrpofe Of dsfraying any
extraotdinary erpenfes of foreign intercourse,
which had been Previou2y laid on the table by
member of that committee, before their re-
port was made to the houfe. was immediately
taken rp.--The zvowed sbjea Of this mealure
was 70 erahfe the Prefdent 70 open u nego-
tiation for the prrchafc of Florida. "A motion
wss then made by MIR. J. Randolph 20 confine
the appropriation 10 tfat object and agreed
to- yeas 70, Gays 50. Another molten was
made by rhe fame gentleman 70 render the
debt which was proPofed 10 be incurred, re-
deemabfe at the pleafure Of the United States
This was carried without a diviGon Bat az
houie reicindso It's vote for fpecifco appru-
priation, and the money was left applicable az
the dilcrenon of the Executive. to any ether
pnrpofe Of foreign intercourse whatfoever.
Mr.. J. Randolph alto moved TO Iimit the a.
mount which the government might hipulate
TO pay for the territory ir quefion; upon the
ground, that if Congress were df2ofed to &C.
quire Florida by purchafe, they hould FIX the
extent TO which they were willing TO go, and
thereby furnih orr minifters with a fafcguard
againf the rapacity Of France thar there was
no probability of our obtaining the country
tor itis, but every reafon TO believe, that
without fuch preczntios on cur part, fhe
would extort more. This motion was over
ruled When the bill came under dilcuihon,
various obJe6tios were urged zgainfs IL by the
Tame gentleman. Among others, THAT IL was
IN dir.6 oppohtion to the views ef the Exc
entivs, as expre1ed in the Prehdents e6-Hz
communication, III was on this o<caiion that
General varnum declared the nsafure 20 be
conionaat to the j<sr6 t0j6s, IF fts Ess4Gfiv< y
that Il wa: proitration of the national honor
at the feet Of our adversary; that eonee1ion
10 Illuminating would paralyfe our efforts a.
gairh Great Britain, in cafe the negotiatioa
shen and now pending between that govern.
rent and orrs fhond prove zbortive thar
partial appropriation fozosr1s the purchzie Of
Florida without limiting the PreGdent to ione
fpecifr amount, would give previous lnc-
tiDH to any expenie which be might incur for
that objed, and which Congrefs would
Rand pledged 60 make good that, if the exc
cutive, aching entirely upon irs own refponG-
biiity, and eSerci6ng its knowIedged coaftitu-
tional powers, fhould negotiate for the pur-
| chAfe Of Florida, the hcufe of Representatives
woulds in thar cafe, be left free to ratify or
znnul the contract but that the courfe which
was prspofed 70 he purified, (and which even-
tually was puffued) would reduce the cifcre-
tion of the leginzture to mere fhadcv- thar,
at its eufuing feihon, Congrefs wcald find IL
r!elf, in relation TO this Iubie4, deIibcrative
bocy but In name that IL could not, w:f.out
amanifeft dereiiesion of its own principles, snd
perhaps without a violation Of public faith,
refuie TO snStion any treaty entered insobY tbe
Executive under the snfrices of thc Ics-H' nsrrc
and with powers 10 unlimited that lle~ ever
great HE confidence id the chief ~naSiltra+e =, BE
would never content to give any Pss iidcut Io
dangerous proofof IL that bis dntizs as
member OF taat houie, ~ the independent re-
PREVENTATIVE of an independent people, were
paramount 90 every other confederation and
that he would never preclude hirnfelf, by any
previous isnctiDn, from the unciafssd exertife
or his judgment on mesEnres which thereafter
were 60 come before hir. that the koufe had
no official rcconmendatio from the Executive
tor the itep which they Fropoied 10 take, on
the contrary Il was IN dirett oPpvirtIon 20 its
ientinients as expreded in the confidential mef-
fage that the refponhbility would he crcIu-
lively their own that, III the PRECEDENT deem
ed IL advila5ie to purchafe foreign territory,
ne was free to enter into Ripulztions for that
purpofe, whia Congreis would remain equally
free 70 fanction or difapprDve iuch RipuIa-
tions; or ,Ast, if he thought proper 20 ak for
an appropriation for that Object. The refponil-
bility Of the mealure would reif upon hiau
but when the legislature undertook 70 ers-
sribe fbr eegrS sSbf5 BE- tasis pu5/zs, esS .objc6
X had pledged 6inl1 70 Pl.jae," the cafe was en-
tirely changed that the houte could have no
channel thro which ID could be made acqaint-
ed with the opinions Of the Executive, tut
fuch as was ofncizl, relponfble, and known to
the coohitution ; and that il was proftitutinn
Of its high and iolemn functions TO act upon
an uncon(tituticnal iuggelion of the private
-syars Of re Essntise, irreipol6bsy announced
by an irreipohiihle individual, and in a direct
hois.l'sy TO h's svowed opinions.
Ioevery objection. the LsrjEa1a erersArat.'
asis was called, formed the only anfwer, al
though ia the latter fsges Of the difcafion, no
reply was attempted. The doors were clpfed.
and the minority, whole motives were in
peached, and whole pcrsons were siznoe Dr.
nounced, were voted down without deh ..
In reply TO the cafe cf LoriGana, IL was iAi.
that Il was No precedent Al all thar every ar
gument drawn from that fsrrce was utterly
iaconclu6ye ia the prcient inftsnce thrr 70
two cafes gould be more diGmiar: that, rS-
espt the parties being the fsnae there was no