The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1812-01-16

as a nation, is brought into question, & pue
at hazard. Can any subject present a more
awful and impcriuus call upon congress TO
oxcrt and apply the whole energies of the
nation. than question of independence p
The plain English OF all this communiCa-
ton. he understood TO be, that all the nef-
Gent measures, which have been adopted
in relation to the beiligcrents FOL; three
years past, had not answered the expecta-
tons OF their projectors but instead OF
the expected rece ssion, had produced, on
the part of G.. Britain at least, intieXible
hostility. This was Il very natural result,
and one which he had always anticipated,
as was well known to this honorable body.
Bat the administration having learnt wisdom
by these feeble experiments, had now dc
ternnned to change its course, and for the
purpose of,rendering this hostility more fieX-
IDLE, had at length resolved, instead of COM
mercial restrictions, to try the effect of ply
steal force. An adequate force is there
fore demanded by the executive and the
adequacy OF that force is very properly re-
ferred to congress, where the responsible
ty is placed by the constitution where it
ought to rest and for one, he was willing to
take his full share If it. But, sir, the Pre-
sident goes on further. After designating
the objects, he points out the standard for
ascertaining the adequacy OF the force de-
manded for their cifectuation. In his Oil
cial responsible message, he tells us that
Z" congress will feel IT, ,.u.j OF putting the
y. States into an armour, and an attitude
demanded by the crisis, and corresponding
with the national spirit and expectations.
The standard here pointed out for Calcula-
ting the auantum of force to be supplied is
= The crisis, which had been previously
described in the most solemn andSmposing
terms, and Z" the national shirt and e.Tflec-
fafions." Whether the committee had re-
ported too great force for subduing the
crisis, he was willing to submit to the
verdict Of the national shirit and erfecta-
pons.
BUTT is now said or intimated in sub
Stance, that this official responsible STAN
dard is only ostensible, and that the true
standard for estimating the qnantum Of force
demanded, Innst he derived frcm the
decrepid STATE os the treasury, and tao Il
nanciai fame 0s the gentleman at the head
OF that departments subject will re-
quire distinct consideration but in the
mean time, it is sufficient to say, that The
Com nlittee unanimously refused to be infu-
enced by any considerations, but those re-
suring from the official responsible commu-
nicatioi, and theirown reflections upon the
state of the nation as disclosed thereby.
They unanimously rejected informal inoSfi-
oal communications.
1t will be observed too, in the message,
the President, lii his more specific recon-
mendatiems, after designating the kinds Of
force suited to the occasion, leaves the guam
tum of each to be judged of, and decided
by congress, where the responsibility did
and ought to rest and he was unwilling,
by receding from his constitutional duty, TO
revert this responsibility upon the execu
Eve.
1t thus appearing, said Mr.. Giles, that
taae force demanded, was for the purposes
ef var, if unfortunately we should be tlri-
ven by G.. Britain to that last resort and
th1t although the war would be underta-
kenuPo principles strictly defensive yet
IN its operation it must necessarily become
: offensive on our part and that congress was
t. d;terinine exclusively upon the adequacy
o; the means for conduL ting it !; he would
ROW proceed to inquire more particularly,
1ss. whether the committee had RECOMMEND
aed a force more than adequate to the pur-
poses of the war; and 3D.. whether it was
within the capacity Of the United States
70 supply the force thus recommended.
Mr. G. said, that in estimating the guam
tim Of force demanded by the existing cri-
sis, it appeared to him, gentlemen mad NOT
given sufficient consideration to the attitude
assumed by the United States in relation to
the FlOridas, to the extension OF orr south
ern and western fro tiers, 10 the late hos
tile acts and threatenings in that quarter !;
b. 'ipA ~ lhS ipot eaiiNt va ~ iSflLo1 ltS OK
posed position and defenceless situation.
These circumstances, however, entered
deeply into the Consideration of the commit
tee, and induced it to conclude that the
whole military establishment now author
lied by law, if completed, would not be
more than sufficient, perhaps insufficient,
to answer the reCessalg objects of the go
vernment in the scenes just described it
was therefore intended that the whole of
that force should be left free to act therein
according to circumstances, aud that the
additional force now recommended, should
act exclusively in the northern and eastern
portion of the union. This force no gem
teman will pretend can be too great for
our objects in that quarter, in the event of
war, nnaided by the existing establishment.
Hence it was matter of great surprizc to
hin, that the western gentlemen should
wish to diminish the number of men now
proposed to be raised; because he believ-
ed. that every man deducted from the pro-
posed force would take one from the force
intended by the committee to protect our
southern and western frontiers These gen
tlemen, he presumed, must be better iud o.
e. than himself, how many of these men
they can generously spare from their own
protection but for his part he thought
there was not one to spare from these OBJ
jects, and the Committee were willing
to give the whole of them that destina-
Goyi.
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