Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1815-03-25
en-. to reduce the army as low as was pro.

Mr.. POTTER said he had been in hopes.
until the debate ofto-day, that we had made
peace in the spirit Of peace, and that the
army woald have been reduced to the
Peace Establishment. The people Of the
United States had suffered very great pri-
vations, and it was tine they should be re-
lieved. Mr.. P. said he had some little
knowledge of different administrations for
twenty years past, and so far as he knew
them, 1t had always been good time to
continue or increase the burthens on the
people and to multiply Offices ; but, under
no administration did he never know it a
good and proper time to begin the reduc-
ton of expenccs and abolition of Offices -
he had been in hopes, he said, that gentle.
men who have the management of the af-
tairs OF administration and had professed
great rePublicanism, would have shewn a
Willingness when they had the power, TO
practice what they had preached The
argument that we must support an army
because the British have men in Canada is
entitled to no weight. If we arc to support
thirty Thousand men on that ground, we
| need no war to destroy the administration
and beggar the people; we had better be
| IN war, indeed, than in such a peace as
that. Another gentleman was afraid OF
reducing the army lest Britain shonld sup
1 fNSS " - "StC hCditiy fftCu vi WdT ana
| could not bear the burthens of it. This
argument he treated as absurd -punishing
! ourselves to no purpose. In regard to the
different calculations as to the expences of
| a military force, he said it was probable
they were all underrated-that the calcu
iat'on OF the expence OF an army was some-
teIng like that OF building house--when
| you nave made yOur estimate, you ought
10 double the estimate, which will then fail
snort OF the actual expense. By all the d.
rect and Internal taxes, he said, the govs
ernment had not yet collected from the PEG.
| pie i've millions of dollars The army pro-
posed to be retained would cost more per
| year than had been actually collected from
the people during the late war. We ought,
he said, now to look forward, and not to
| look back there had been more irritation
and talking about the enemy" to-day
| than had been for almost q year during
the war. Mr. Potter made few other re
! marks, going to shew that the borthens on
the people ought to be reduced as soon as
| possible. which would only be accomplished
by an adequate reduction of the army.
Mr.. CALHOUN was more and more
conyinced of the inexpediency of breaking
up At once our whole Military Establish
ment. Had they before them. he asked or
| Could they have at this session. the neces,
| sary estimates wherein to fix the Peace
Establishment Iethey had, there would
probably be little difference of opinion on
the SUBJECT ) but they had not. Gentlemen
| had SAID, that to Re tain so great force
would imply suspicion of the good fa;th of
| Great Britain in regard to the Peace. His
| reply to that argument was, that, if the lar
| gest number now proposed be agreed to,
we shall reduce our War Establishment
that IS to say, from sixty to ten thousand
men, and ultimately perhaps from ten thou
sand to SIX, de rose now, however, prin~
cipally to reply to the argument that our
| ratification OF the treaty of Peace amount.
ed to an abandonment to Great Britain of
| the right OF impressment, SIc.--to an ADAM
| donment of q" free trade & sailors rights''
In the Arst place, he denied the position
that this country had ever set up a claim to
the immunity of the flag. We had always
been ready TO make any arrangement by
which our own Seamen should be protec.
ted. Although the government perhaps
ought to nave done so, it never made it
point, that the Tag should protect every
thing under It. II had said, however, un-
less the dag did protect all sailing under
II, 1t would oe difficult TO remedy the abuse
oil the search for persons. We offered the
rule that the flag should protect the sea
! men. as one object TO modification. This
government had always been willing to
make such reciprocal regulations as should
IN tins respect secure to each nation its
! rights. Tue celebrated seaman's bill, as it
was generally called, was the result of a
disposition Of this sort. We have denied
the right OF Great Btitain 10 take any other
than her own seamen and have we made
any stipulation, express or implied, by
which we yielded the right of our citizens
to exemption from iTBpressment by her au.
thorlty On the contrary, said Mr.. G..
maintain that that right is Substantially
and forever fixed. We nave exhibited, due
ring the war, a power and an energy of
character which will prevent any power
from hereafter finding 1t expedient TO take
our or any other seamen from our decks
MIR. &, added he had no doubt but G.. Bri
tam would be willing to guard against fu .
ture collision on that subject, to enter into
reciprocal arrangements which shall pre-
| clude hereafter any necessity or pretence
for searching our merchant vessels for her
| seamen. There is no abandonment on our
part, by the Treaty, of any right. He had
! seen assertions TO the Contrary in newspa,
pers but he never expected to have heard
1t gravely said on this floor, that it would
be something like violation of the treaty
It We should hereafter resist the practice of
impressment Of our seamen The war, MIR.
Z. said, mad effected all its gr eat objects,
The British claim OF impressment, which