Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-01-16
CONGRESS.
DEsArE ON The VoLUNTEER BILL.
ffovsE or REPRESENTATIVE
Monday, January Is.

"A ..rced and maintained in the debate upon
,h;s h;Il nm s ,turday last, by AN honorable gem
.lero,n fynm South Carolina MIR. Cheves) OF
60 novel and extraordinary nature, that ne
felt i his duty to oppose N--that ne entered
mon. this duty reluctantly and Lnexpectediy'
having hoped that during the remarks CT the
honorable gentleman from Virginia (Alr. Mel
con, he would have been enabled further TO
arrange his ideas, or what was to him still
more desirable, have been prevented oy the
I,c;d exnosition of that gentleman, whose
views on this subject Mr.. M. understood 70
be congenial with his own, IRON at all t'oa-
bling the committee. The indisposltion whicn
prevented Mr.. n. from proceeding, and when
: y,x much to be regretted, rendered II neoes-
sarv that some other member should take MS
=, .,ctss ,,pcn the Goor--whch Mr. NJ said he
had ycnturcd to @, although unprepared' ano
lahorinty under the disadvantage OF having
been Theoretically prevented from hearing a
South Carolina TIE epnon advanced BY By
that gentleman WAS, that the President of the.
United States had right TO order the militia
of the United States beyond the limits Of the
nation for the purpose OF foreign offensive
hostilitts.
Il r
out as a mere casual suggestion in the course
OF an animated debate, or proceeded from the
wild and heated defamation Of some of the &C
tors on this floor, would not (sad Mr. NJ }
have been at all surprised. But, sir, am
alarmed by the responsibility of the source
from which this dangerous principle comes.
Ii is given to us as the dehberet,, result of III
srcasonings ofthe cultivated and philosophical
mind of gentleman ranking high in the ge-
neral estimation OF his fellow members for POI
Esical knowledge and personal integrity it is
propounded to us with great soiemnity Of Ian
puage aud of manner, and i, is said to be sup
ported bs the sanction OF executive. opinion
The President of the United States, we ar
told, feels no difficulty on the subject.
FMr. Cheves said that his ahusion to tie
oDinion of the President was not from an,
personal conversation with that gentleman
that it had been mentioned to him ON the floor
ard he merely gave it as he would that # ally
other gentleman we'll able to construc the cor
stitution.
Mr. NJ. proceeded,-Patting out of th'
scale the weight Of presidential authority, tia |
of the honorable gentleman himself, on a con |
stitutional question, is sufficient to induce a
attentive examination of its sonndness ant
propriety. 1t had been irtimated by ali homo |
rable member from Kentucky MIR. Johnson
that this discussion was irrelevant to the sub |
iect before the committee. The suggestion
was not very complimentary to the member |
BY whom the subject VS. mtroduccd-Bu
said Mr. NJ consider it aIl-mportant thail
the president, if this bill passes, should b |
under no mistake as To the views of this house |
with respect to the employment of the forces
placed under his direction. and especially OF
that part Of them which consists of militia
I am. for one, not willing to confide wholly
to the president the decision of this import
ant question. am not apt, Mr.. Chairman.
to sound alarms, but have always thought
there was great safety in constantly watching
for the preservation of the great charter oil
our liberties, and In saaintaining an extreme
sensibility to the slightest proposed infraction
of its valuable provisions. The gentleman
from Virginia (Mr Nclson) in his PREDATORY
has been entertained as to the mode Of con-
STRUNG the provisions of the constitution, I'M
putting to the Federalists adisposition to favor
an enlarged construction with view to the
increase of the powers of the general govern.
ment-and the contrary inclination to the par-
3 with which he generally acts. There are
certainly ext emes upon this as upon every
other subject. 1t was manifested in the de-
bate on the question of granting charter to S
The bank oftae United Srates, where congress
refused to exercise power, in my opinion,
necessary for carrying into effect those ex- s
pressly delegated. There may have been too a
much ibcrality of construction on the other
rand sometimes applied. The true medium {
hes in not granting to the government any /
powers bat those expressly detailed in tine 7
or anaveidably incident, and in
the language of the instrument itself, !. ne
rcssary and proper for carrying into execu- i
ton the powers vested by it in the govern
nent of the United States or in some depart