The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1807-12-10


u;ien had been it:fodnccd 10 Dha lso,.se Ii
gentlemen thought, as he trusted they would
would, that Congress had only concurrent u-
Irslicsicn, they wonld yield tile right of legis-
lation OH this subject to tho state Of Mary
land. -
Mr. Montgomery read extracts from two
opinions given on the case by the district
Judge, and the other person who had been
consulted; from which he presumed gentle
men would be satisfied that this was a proper
subject for the consideration of the House.
he resolution was agreed to without di-
vis,cn, and the following gentlemen appointed
comioittee acco, dingl: Messrs ]. Mont
gomeIy, Quincy. Nicholas, Macon, Dana,
Van Allen, and Troup.
! An engrossed bill to chanec the name of the
district of Biddeford and Pepperelboro' in
Massachusetts, to that of SaC<, was read a
third time and passed.
/ The bill to extend the right of suffrage in
the Mississippi Territory, and for other pur-
poses, was read the third time, and the ques-
ton on its passage, after considerable debate,
was decided by yeas and nays, 73 to SIS.
a bill was received from the Senate, by
Mr.. Otis, their Secretary, entitled, "A bill
for the preservation of peace and mainten-
ance OF the authority of the u. S. in the ports,
harbors, and waters under their jurisdicti-
on"
On motion of Mr.. RaadoLhh, the order of
the day on the report of the committee APP
pointed toprepare standing rules and orders,
was postponed.
When the House went into a committee of
the whole on the resolutions offered by Mr..
Randolph yesterday and the first resolution
oe!ng under consideration, was, on motion of
Mr. t'Uincy, amended by striking out the
words g 9i%gracefui to the," 5lnd inserting
I A 4 - y
which shall be given IN future paper; in
(which Mess-s. Randolph, Nelson, and Elliot
supported, and Messrs. Eppes, Smile, and
Holland, opposed it in its present form.
MIR Ehhes offered the following amend
ment in lieu of the resolution, which the
Chairman declared II be substitute, and
therefore out Of order:
6 For the payment Of all claims against
the u. :. for personal service, or for any mat
ter or thing furnished during the revolution
AIRY "aT-and fer placing on the pension list
during the revolutionary war--whcthef such
disability has been incurred while in the &C
tial line of his duty or not''
When, 1t being 4 o'clock, the committee
rose without taking question on the resolu-
;ticn, and obtained leave to sit again.
Mr.. RandoIhh introduced the resolutions
inserted Ill out last paper, with the following
remarks. He said said that as long as the
subject of national defence was in possessi-
on CT a respectable committee of the House,
and as long as their report was pending be-
fore it, he had deemed it, if not improper, at
least unavailing in him, to offer any thing up
on That subject. But, that committee having
reported, he saw, from the course which the
debate had taken yesterday, necessity, SO
pressing that he could no longer dispense
with 1T, for offering some propositions on this
most important subject. These propositions
! grew out of the almost universal impression
which seemed to exist that there was but
one peculiar mode of defence to which the
nation could turn itself in this perilous juno
ture OF their affairs. When so great an ap-
preparation was demanded for this favorite
expedent, he feared, that if other plans of
defence, which had at least as high claims
to the public attention, were not now brought
forward, they might hereafter find an empty
treasury, and be compelled to resort to the
system or loans, recommended by the head of
that department. as the only means, however
precarious, of providing for them
1t had always been his opinion, that whe-
tner In war IN peace, there was one svs-
TEN Of national defence which ought sed,l-
lousy to be cherished and concerning which
there could not exist contrariety of opini-
.
out of it; and he had hoped that the attent-
on of the committees Gor there were more
than one) you'd have been directed towards
1t. Were they not told, and was it not self
evident, that ii matters came to the last ex-
tremity, We should not only have an extern
siyc frontier exposed 10 the inroads of the
enemy's continental possessions, but that
vast line Of country from Detroit to Natchi
tochcs, would have the native savages let
loose upon their dispersed and almost defence
less population Did there exist then no
necessity for defence but of few places on
the coast, the depots of privileged wealth,
when the whole line of back settlements were
LETT atithe mercy of the enemy & their savage
adherents, without force, even upon paper.
(, 20 protect them. If it should be said that
there existed no obligation on the union gra-
tuitously tobestow arms upon the individual
states, which had failed to furnish themselves.
the same reason would apply yet more forci-
bly, to the fertilization of states which had
neglectcdto provide that species of self-de-
fence. In the one case the arms issued were
sill the general property, at all times dispo-
sable for the good Of the whole in the other,
the Notifications were so much real estate
vested in the country where they were erect
ed-hxtures to the freehold. 1t appeared to
him that, whether they considered them
selves to be in a state of profound peace, or
on the eve Of war, or Gas he feared would
prove to be the case in actual war If bebovcd