Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-01-31
WEDNESDAY,, January IS.

WEDNESDAY,, January IS.
The house agreed to consider Mr.. 22!Hn-
cg's resolutions by Yeas and Nays, 80 to
"a.
Mr.. QUINCY moved that they should lie
, on the table till tomorrow and be printed.
Mr.. GHoLsToN said,he hoped that they
would neither lie on the table Or BE printed.
He acknowledged that the present attempt
had excited his astonishment, more than
any thing which had occurred during the
session. He could scarcely credit his hear
ing, when member rose and moved 10 IN
ssieute an enquiry with view TO impeach-
ment on subject like this. What was the
charges Was it charge ot'nlal- admins
tration? Was it any charge which could
authorize the course pursued Was it al
legged that the duties of collector had not
been faithfully performed? Nothing OF this
had been urged. Bpt the president had not
appointed person to till the office Of col
lecfor. Mr.. G. said, that the late collector
had only resigned within q day or two, and
there had been therefore NO vacancy to be
filed. The former collector had an url-
6oubtedrieht 10 resign whenever he thought
fit. and had not resigned. Why then this
ridiculous proposition # the collector had
resigned, the President would have been
compelled to iiil the Office bet this was not
the fact. He therefore hoped the reso!u-
tons would receive IN immediate rejec-
ton. H
Mr.. BugwE1L said he partook OF the
surprise Of his colleague at the resolutions
Just submitted. He knew but Of one paral-
lei to it, in the history OF inapeachmeats,
and that would be found in GGlliver's ira
yels. The recollection of gentlemen would
save him the trouble Of specifying the par
ticulars Of THAI case. The gentleman want
ed an enquiry into the reason, why the Pre-
s;dent did not wish TO accept OF the resigna-
ton of Mr.. Lincoln. How would q COM
mittee Of this house proceed in this enqui-
~? They must either go to the President
and ask him the motives Of his conduct, or
they must have some other mode Of pcne-
trating his motives. After the handsome
panegyric of the gentleman On the late col
lector, MIR. 3. asked, how he could come
forward and impeach the President, for
keeping in Office man whose merits tran
scended all description? 1t appeared to
him, from the speech OF the gentleman,
that he had been long in possession OF these
facts. The paper of this morning certainly
could not have gone to Boston and returned
since It's publication. The gentleman must
therefore have been previously possessed of
this information and why, If ii was So We
w important, had it not been previously
brought forward? As to the subject OF this
appointment being destined for any particu-
lar person, Mr.. Burwell observed, that the
president, if he had any such intention,
certainly had not communicated 1t to the
gentleman from Massachusetts. Ine gem
tleman' 5 statementin this respectmust there
fore be mere inference aud conjecture; and
however the gcntleman's passions had been
influenced BY paragraph in newspaper,
his ideas thus excited could not have an
influence on the Judgment OF those who
were not under the same irritation. Ii the
gentleman from Massachusetts wished to
conduct an enquiry to any result, he ought
to shew that the misconduct of the officer
ia question had produced effects which
ought to have compelled the president to re-
move him. IF the gentleman would shew
that the revenue had been defrauded, or the
laws eyaded through his negligence, or by
his conniyance, aud that the president hav-