The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1807-11-17

Mr.. G.. r. Caaaobe. f,iC. he mrderftood that
the een,'-man's objections AZ firii were not a.
eainft THE appropriation or the PROPERTY of
making II 4; ba. new, he wiihed to know. wb..
ther Il finordinare officer had atiu,ljv mid Tine
money, or whether it remained unpaid : and if
pad, where the fecretarv got the money to nav
u. for himie't, he con:idered it of no impor-
lance IN what manner the money was paid,
whether IN dollars or IN bank notes, or in any
other way. The Preiident had declared that
he deemed IL ueceiIary TO procure tbefe match.
ais, becaufe appearances indicated an anoroacb.
ing rupture; IL they had not been procured
then, they might have become fcarce, and per.
maps con'd not be had at all. The materials
were hored thr !rcretaryof the navy had f,id
that they were purchafed. He conceived il
1mma,erial whether the money was Actually
pad, or whether any individual had become
rciponiibIe for it. II was not ufual for ,br
committee of Ways and Means, or for the houfe
tn go INTO mnutiae, or to enquire whether the
money were paid in one way or iu another
lie "iked the gentlemen from Maffachuletts if
" was ot any importance whether il were paid
a month ago, or ihould be paid month hence
ne gentleman fccmed TO eDdeavor to propofc
fome queition that would produce difficulty !:
he projected TO he in favor of the appropriation,
and yet wishcd to throw fome obitacle in the
way to obitruet its panage. Even had the fe-
cretary appropriated money to this exigepcy
which had been otherwifc appropriated it was
stationary meatIre. There was time when
this doctrine was advocated by the very gentle
man who now ieemed TO oppoie it. Mr.. c. here
read that part OF the meiiage from the Pref
dent to Congrcis which relates to this fubiea
He then commended, that this proved that the
articles ipoken OF were iecured, and that the
pertoHs of whom the! were procured were IA
81
Purchaie. If the propriety of incnrrinr theft
expences were brought into Queition, ii nigh.
he neoeilary to give fome anfwer to objections
which fhouid he offered. But .as it fcemed that
the proprety of the meafure was not Queition-
ed, he fhould 60 no farther into the iubie4
Mr. Rar90 s,b faid, from what he had heard
OF the debate, 1t appeared to him, that fomc
doctrines had been advanced by the gentleman
on his left mfr. Camphell) which had not been
heretofore Conlidercd as the true old wing doc
trine. The true republican or democratic doc
.trine. He had heard it aated, with iome fur
prife, that The mifappropriation of public mo-
ney, or, IN other words, to apply public mo-
ney which had been appropriated for one OBJ
Ject to another, was matter of little import
ance, and unworthy of being made auction
of enquiry in this HOMIE. He thought very
differently. He had not heard much of the de-
bate; but he had heard enough to convince him
that an alarming-a damning hereby on the fub.
je6t of politics. was likely to become prevalent
on the body. MIR. Randolph fad he would
take the liberty of reading an extract from the
hrlt communication which the prefcnt Preiident
of the u. States made 10 Conercfs, in which he
recommendsit as prudent to multiply barriers
againft the Multiplication of public money, by
combining expenditures to exprefs appropriate
ons. MFR. Randolph read the pafTige to which
he 9ed foil In, 1,
F." public contributions entruited to our direeti-
" on, it would he prudent to multiply barriers
"againt their diff patton, by appropriating fpe-
" ciiic fnms to every ipecihc purpofe fufcepti-
4" bic of definition by diaowing all appcs-
" tions of money varying from the appropriate
" on in object or tranlcendng it in amount by
F" reducing the undefne field of contingencies,
=" aud thereby circun.fcirbing Discretionary pow
6 ers over money and by bringing back to a
" Jingle department. all accountabiiites for mo-
e" ney, where the cxamiua ton may be prompt;
4" efficious and Uniform" Thofe opinions,
fdid he, are ut total variance with the doctrine
now advanced-the prefent doctrine threatens
a war of determination to thofe opinions. Doc
trines which were then held facred, and on
which he had always a0ed, and upon which
he truited he iboud always continue TO ACT, ap-
peared now TO be deferted.
The gentleman from 1'ennefee (Mr. Camp
belly had ftated, that there was a time when
certain gentlemen fan6tioDed the doctrines for
which lie now contends. 1T was equally true,
he faid, that there were others, who, rontem-
poraneoufly too, defended the principles for
which he now commended. Does the gentleman
from TeDmetlte conGdcr us az political rouada-
bouts, to be changed by changing circumitau.
ccs /: IL this bs the fact, the fooner we know
it the better.
Mr.. K. called the attention of the Houfe to
an enquiry formerly made into the conduct of
general Hamilton, iupported by colleague of
his now in the Senate. What was the crime
alledged againIt the general? 1t was that he
had applied monies appropriated for onepurpoic
TO defray the expence of another. This was the
charge then made and fupported with great a.
biIity.
Mr.. Raadolbb allowed that the crfs which
occahoned the extraordinary cxpepces in quef-
ton vas an imminent one. 1t was 70 critical,
that Congress ought TO have been Immediately
convened, in order that they nigh; have given
authority by law for thefe extraordinary expenc-
es, aud tor adopting fuch meAfures as national
feeling and national honor called for
He conietied he felt extremely reluctant to
vote large iums for the fupport of our degraded
and dhgraced navy, for expences too that bad
been illegally incurred. lie bad eDdeavored in
vain 10 procure GalIatin on Finance, (Which
certainly ought to be IN their iibrary) In that
book, he recolle6ted cafe exactly appetite to
the preicnt, where the Proficient of the u. States
during the Pennsylvania infurrc6tion, made ufe
of money to defray the expences incurred,