The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1814-03-26


OF he pretensions os tue United States p,
40 merit the imputatian cast upon them,
they should have supplied, and coupled e.
nongh original matter with the report, aud
they were unquestionaSly capable of wri-
ting better one, to compel their democrat
&c colleagues to vote against IL, In order tn AZ
its rejection might have been laid at their
doors.
In the lower House. and especially before
the report Was w ritten. this task, easy e.
nouSh IN itself, would have been yet more
smpie. The very moderate share of inge-
hulty required tor its execution, does not
appear 20 be denied To the federaiists of the
lower House, who are charged with designs
yet deeper, and more rcincd ; to irritate
the states and a. defeat the loan" &c. &c.
Ibe gentleman, to whom W. are indebt-
ca Tor these imputations, who appears to he
so intimately acquainted vita tie proceed
ings OF thu whole Legislature and especially,
OF the Senate who has been, so fortunate.
as TO possess himself OF a letter addressed
TO one OF It's menoers, aud by him, read i'm
Cebatc, may with sucS advantages have
correctly report ed the Argument of the CD
poneats OF measure, which, he concurs
with them in coGdcmning--and this is, in
deed, the more probable. since he has un
dertakcp, on one occasion, to presume what
were the peculiar impressions of one of
those Senators; but /, sir, who was an atten-
tiVe listener 20 the Argument by which that
measure was supported, cannot do equal
credit to the fidelity OF the other part or his
report.
Ee has not Committed the usual error of
an inaccurate narrator, and made the per-
son he introduces SPEAK what he never ut
tered-but he has fallen into the opposite
course, which in reasoning as in testimony,
is alike fatal TO truth. he has unquest,ona-
bly, omitted much, and think the better
part OF what was said. He has occupied,
and 1t was qIite natural to do 80, two thirds
of column of your paper with report OF
wha. pleased himself ; and very little more
than fourth of that space, with what he
did not like as wei.
can assure the gentema an, that such is
not the character of the public recollection
Who. would be glad to know, were the
F." several members of the House of Dcle-
gates" who 80 declared" as he tells us, =. af
ter the discussion had terminated i'm the
Senate, that they were rejo;ced, the me a
sure had been reiec ed ?" was member
OF that body, and heard throughout it, no
other sentiments than those of DISCUS, and
eStunish ment, at the failure of measure
the success OF which was regarded 80 GER
tain, especially. after the able and eloquent
argument at M. johnson, who reduced to
the veriest threads and patches, the reason
Ing ct Hrs adversary. NV memory is not
sufficiently tenacious to do justice to the
merit Of that arguncnt. the general char
acter of which is inlehbly imprinted on my
mud. One o. two narticulars Of it, howe
yer. which do not appear in the defective
report OF yonr correspondent. are present
to my recollection, and are worthy of be.
ing here repeated.
Mr.. Johnson commended that, however,
the Impotence of the Senate for the close
rs session, m ght have operated in the
morning, as a motive for Indefinitely post
ponins The consideration of the preamble &
R-s buttons which had just been reported,
YET having now very critically and iaborioss
iy examined them, the iast @ onomy of
time Forbad their rejection. t;nless they a d
been found TO contain excrptioaa5ie mater,
or presented that matter in apexcept,c ma
bic form. Ii any report, said he. had even
come no TO the Senate in shape to entitle
it TO the unanimous support OF that body,
II was the very preamble and resolutions in
question. That the mode viii h they devil
sed tor the adjust Inent & satisfaction Of the
CcHtroverted claims was ak < calculated to
DE eff the Comm onwealth, aud to afford
ficAit es to the u. States in paying heavy
aud increasing debt. That. if Congress,
as was expected by the Gentlemen who OPP
posed their adoption, did provide for the
paymen; OF this demand, they must make
that provision IN money, whereas the rcso-
Iu'ioHS authorised It's SatlSf2 StOn IN stock
Eha. the stock, so obtained. might be APP
piled to cover considerable part of tn
debt due from the Commonwealth, to the
bank of Virginia, without withdrawing from
the Unied 81 tes the loan OF single dollar
inasmuch, as those banks could lenG no
more. That Ibis facility TO the Govern
went Of the United States. which would of
itself greatly promote the successful pro-
s. esS 1T the state claims thr ugh the leeis-
lature 81 the uncn, could be afforded. only
by an act Of the legislature Of the state
Such was the act nov proposed to be adopt
ed. That the appointment of Comm ission
ers to adjust Elose claims would be meas
are of pru ien g, if not of necessity, even
should Congress have air ady provided for
their payment, for the volnninous accounts
and the numerous vouchers by which thew
n.ust be sustained W ould require the labo
rious aud unre ing attention Of such com
misso1ers to arrange, meth die, and pres -
them through the - eparim M Of War. On
such commissioners, Wen d Jevolve the tu.
T. OF corre'p n3ing with the Executive of
the state, for the purpose of disclosing any
defects which they night discover in the
documents c mmitted to their charge, and
OF having them supplied by expianato V, or
addition testimony. They would, ia fine,
FENDER ample what, within the province OF
their iaboars, might, at first appear TO he
perplexed, and en'ighten what, in such nu
merous transactions, III gpt of en seem too