The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1811-03-05

i
pleaded indisposition-some positi, civ refuse,
Iobedence to the rule-a few attended-but A
asst about 4 after a, the quorum was gone ans
me House were obliged to rise left the hous,
IN disgust" Is this, said !, the congress of tn,
". >. Are these the successors of those illus
trous men, who declared the Independence o
u'e ". >. GARDENER and Lyon, and such a,
| would arrest he very wheels of the government,
10 promote their own little purposes The con
gress OF the u ). mere debating, intriguing
ciuo! where low, little opposition can over.
throw the grand principles fthe repurl;c. Tina,
the majority shall decide and govern :"
Ihe next day-the same scene was repeat
eu-nn'ii ABOUT a, the house adjourned to meet
Mt o IN the evening. When The house assem-
hied' Mr.. John Randolph, who had taken no
snare IN the debate, arose to move postpone
ment OF the question till the next lay. II was
clear, that his motives and views were the same
as those OF the federalists--he wished for de,av
-de''y was destruction to the hill. His motion
was opposed by Johnson (ofKentucky) & Eppes.
snail pass over the scene which ehsued he
tween X ard L. Del;cacy, at His time. for
n'us an expositiOn-nor sI II dwell on the con-
quot OF Mr. H. towards the House, whom he
aousen as PHppets, and when he called upon
tne speaker to leave the chair, as the House
had abandoned all it's honour Their exnress;.
ons OF Indignation it would i'll b.. fit me n les
cr'oe: The hoary head retorted the insinustion
I-Shd the old revolutionary Heroes -spised the
empty dec nation. Towards day no wever af
| 'tr 'mehdmeHts OF every variety ofhue had been
l''hr'e, ana debTed by the opposition, there ap
Peareo |" oe no other resource than to move the
preptoas qHcstioa-that is 80 shall the main oue.-
lion now be putt" The federalists. true to their
| system, rose to debate--a point of order was
| made, whether there could be debate The
| speaker SAD, that on one former occasion
ne was OF opinion that there could not--but an
aPpeai hsd oeen taken to the House. and they
mao reversed it-that in second case, the same
circumstance had happened-and he sbould
therefore conceive himself bound bv these ,wo
woes OF the House, until otherwise Instructed bv
them. An appeal WAS taken To he III puse and
tney decided That no debate ought Co take nlac.
!. ne mann question was accordingly put wi,hou,
| further debate aud the bill was ordered tn third
reaaIng-it was accordingly eid the third time,
and the speaker having said, that bv the late H..
ci'lonof the House, there could be no deISte
It was finally past about O'Clock in the morn
Iing-Ayes GO, Noes ~.
| p" When the House again met on 'rh.rsdav
ABOUT O'Clock, John Randolph moved to amend
tne journal by inserting" Debate being pre-.
l!aea oy the decision, &c. &c" He id, he
| wished to shew TO the good people of the II {
that the freedom of debate had been nut down -
II was IDLE to talk of the sedtion act--there wa
| no TN since the year. SO, that the liberty nj
speech had been so completely DESTROYED This
uh parliamentary motion to introduce a mere mr.
gs"ientdtiOe facs on the Journal was rejected by
the House, see, however, the design of the
opposition. Mr.. k. as sounded the tocs;, II ~
US touch this question briefly
What Is ths use of the previous question
! 10 orihg The question to an issue, when il is
supposed that it has been sufficiently argued -
10 say nat the question shall now be ont, and
.neh 10 ADMIT that 1t may be pat off BY procras-
inated debate, is an absurd contradiction.
= What is the has ofrebu6lica,, government,
L oat the vii the majority should prevail-but
trihing minority can at The most important
cris's uefeat their measures by procrastination.
II is the minority that prevail, and not the naio
rity
" In the British Parliament, they have WAYS
TOT cringing the question to close, which we
ourselves do not pursue. And vet this cornnIeot
crisr5 o. opposition can happen only every 9TH
year whereas in the U. S. it may happen every
Ind year-as the powers of congress expire on
the IT. OF March, every End year.
In many OF the state Legislatures, the rule
has hen hat no DEBATE should take place --Ho,y
At IS IN Virginia, know not
:; II this pow be abused, it rests like eyerv
o'hef upon tie fesponsi5iity of the represents
tive-and tn people may punish him for il.
Inc only question is, has it been abused in
inns instance Five days and two nights was
the question argncd by the Fedora! z;ha f All
House--and yet Messrs GARDENER and GoId
were continually rePearing, hat the whole meri ,
OF lay an q n.t iheH" Did the Speskers sDesk
to co7VEsce? he whole scene ay before me. On,
n'einner was walking another talking third
reading &c. &c. and if l were put UPON nv oath
would express it as my deliberate ooi1ion. thai
on some occasions, there were not more than 8 or
| ~ auditors, who listened to the sDeaher--vav
ti'd he speak, then, to delay and baflc the will o.
the House
| p" The Liberty of debate is a great principle
but there is difference between the use and
the abuse OF it.---vSuppose the federal nrsctira
were to prevail the appropriation bill. per
maps, which might be essential to the onera.
ions OF the government, Is DELAYED till 10
minutes before IL o'clock---A iunto de-
leafs 1.-THE government is at a stand or the
constitution is violated.
] might expatiate further on this subject
out am tired Ofit->-The Senate will unoues.
uohabiy pass the supplemental bill to-dav--no
amendments have been made-it is the SAM as
you nave seen in the newspapers.
CoNMUNIcATToN. - Yesterday. The ami
VerSary Of our birfh, as an indehenfent po-
Vernment, 7Oas celebrated in This cffu bu
me WaShtHSton and JEFFERSON Artikerv. me-
republican Blues, and the Richmond E;8e
rolu.teers Federal Cor, more hrohetyv.
Tennohcan J SaiufeS 7Vere .fred at sun rtse
l2lo cock, and sunset Festivals mere Ind
and many, 7Oho did not turn our in tbe
Gefo' 10 honor the day, feH conUfnced nat
q o"shf TO De celebrated, so long az ave are
6le88edby IFS ferhctuation-second 10 fbs
nth Of July. '"'
From the Baitimoye Evening Post.
To relieve the Editor from his d;C6cnI,i.s H.