The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-01-31

lrid,c,sous propositions! Ii the c~oijrc,or had
u Ss,onea. the Prcsideat would have been
Con- ?e.iedto III the office /; but this was not
the TACT. lie therefore hoped the resolutions
would receive AN Immediate rejection.
Mr BusS,eR- said, he partook of the sur
prise OF ms COLLEAGUES ut the resolutions Just
submitted. lie. knew OF but one parallel to
it, IN the histor, of impeachment. and hat
wouid be focnd in Guitiver's travels. The
recollection OF gentlemen would save him the
iefoloie ut specifying the particulars Of that
case. ne gentleman wanted an enquiry
INTO the reason, why the president did not
WISH to accept OF the resignation of MIR Lin
COIN. How woaid committee of this house
proceed IN this enquiry? They must either
81 to the Presite6t and ask him the motives
OF ms conduct, or tney must have some other
mode Ok penetrating h, motives. After the
handsome panegyric OF the gentleman OH the
late collector, Mr.. B. asked how he could
lcome onward and impeach the President.
Tor keeping III o'.ce i man whose merits
tfaIfScended All description! 1t appeared to
Ann. tom the speech OF the gentleman, thar
ue had Deen long ~ possession of these facts.
Ihe paper OF tiis m2rniny certainly could
no. have gone TO Boston and returned since
Its publication. The gentleman mast there
zoe ave been rctivusiy possessed IL of this in
formation and why, it it WAS 20 very inn
N'NNN@ htO az - DCSi previously DrOurnt
forward: AS TO the subject o. This appoint
meat being destined for any particular per
son. Mr.. Burwcii observed, that the presi-
dent, II he had any sUcn intentions. certain
u hll not communicated it 20 the gentleman
from Massachusetts, The gentleman's state
nelt IN this respect must therefere be mere
inference and conjecture and however the
gentieIaan's passions had been influence
ec oy a paragraph IN a newspaper; his i
IDEAS thus excited could not have an infu.
enGe on the judgement OF those who were
not under the same irritation. Ii the gentle
man from Massachusetts wished to- conduct
an enquiry to amy result, he ought to show
that the misconduct Of the officer in ouasti-
on had produced effects which ough; to have
compelled the president to remove him. If
the gentleman would SHOW that the revenue
had been d~efrauded, or the laws cvaded
through mis- negligence, or bv his connivance
ana that the President having knowledge OF
such iactshad reused to remove him, there
lniSnt be some ground for the resolution.
MIR. LoUe asked of the gentleman from
Massachusetts when the late collector acti-
ally resigaed-apd, whether the gentleman
knew or any misconduct of the ctIicer alluded
to! If 50, whether this had been within the
knowledge of the President of the United
States.
MIR. Quincy said, whether it. was or was
not an ot.ieIcc to keep in an Office, the sais-
ry al which is 5000 dollars a year, a man
who had declared his inability to exc cute it.
was for the house to determine. The charge
which he made was simply this: that am o.
fence had been compensated for doing no SER
wees, and kept i'll a situation the duties OF
which he was unable to perform. 1t was an
offence that so great al Office az the cole tor
Shlp OF Boston should be kept in this position:
the y. States paying TO all Individual 5000
dollars q year Tor inadequate services, con
trary to the express wish OF the gentleman
himself, who ever since June, had not been
IN the town Of Boston /; and OF consequence the
execution OF the duties ofthe Office had been
totally dependant OH one individual, the de-
putty collector. You send law ON (said Mr..
. to be executed, and bv one individual
The deputy sa. ) he will not act, the collect
oris unable to act. and the c,nsequence is,
that that law is not executed. In answer to
the question whether the country has suffer
ed, / VIII state IA fact /; the deputy collector
OF that port had a right 10 resign his Office to
the collector and the collector had been I'm
efficient man, there would nave been no diff
fIcuity /; but. because he was not efficient.
the aw Is hot in u state oICXccution. take
t'ils position, because the facts which / have
stated IAN be proved. Whether tue House
viii on will not agree TO these resolutions, is
no concerno OF mine; nor, ii gentlemen chuse
to utter any abuse, do l regard It. Island
before this nation, and fear not to do my Gu-
ty.
Messrs. Johnson, w. Aston, y. p. Wilt
ANS, G. jackson, Dana, M'Crecrv, Bacon.
Rhca, Macon, Bib, Soutnard, Matters, Fisk.
Sloan, Rowan and Key followed MIR. Quinc,
in debate, all OF whom differed with Mr..
Quincy as TO the prcpriety of adopting tie
resolutions. The reasons assigned by gcG-
t'emcn were various, but generally to ,his
effect that it would be indeCorous, if not
beyond the power OF this House TO call upon
the President OF the q. States for his private
correspondence with any individual, wit,ou,
doing which it would appear that no,c ofthe
facts could he established; that we're the
facts established and the charges maintain
ed, they constituted DO crime or misdemea-
nor, and iC was said BY some of the gcAtle-
men. TO ground for apprehension that con-
shutting no crime or misdemeanor, il was
not a matter coming within the cognizaRee oi
TINS house, or on which an Impeachment could
be grounded ahid bcinga matter on which
the House had 40 power TO act, it was also "a
matter into which 1t was not their province to
enquire. The debates which now take
place In the House ON important topics, are
50 frequent and extensive, that their length
%prccludes amy one paper from giving the
whoc OF them. We therefore select Mr.. Ba-
con's observations on this subject iL reply to
Mr.. Quincy, rs lie is a representative from