The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1816-12-13
CONGRESS-.
HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES,
friday, December 6.
Sketch Of she Debate on certain RcSoiu
f;.n . e. I'll I'm llr L1rSLkh

!. Resolytd That the President oil
The y Sta,cs be, and he is hereby re
quested 10 Law before this House the
pIoceedires Of the Commissioners ap-
pointed under the act OF the last ses
SIGN, entitled an act TO aCtholise the
raymen, fer property lost, captured o,
destroyed, whilst in the military service
Of the United States, and Tor Other pur-'
poses
Resotpcd, Tha, the President OF
the U. States &c, and he is Ec;eby re
qncS;cd 10 order the iuither execution
q the Slid act 10 be suspended, untiI
the subject shall be disposed oG Gy this
House.
3. Resolved, That the President Re
and he is hereby requested 10 irfoIm'
this Bouse whcthe, The judgments
mFde by the Commissioner under he
said act have becnpaid ty the 9reasu'
~, and If they have been paid, by what
authority, and cul of what fund.
Mr-EPiiNems If ~ &. suggested that
they were substitute ior the modCn he
Cuercd yesterday.
Which objection Nir. Speaker ever
ruled, these resolves calling Cn Ute Pre-
sidGnt for oerlaiu ihfor nation /; ihat al
nv Willierls embracing an enquiry,
IS 2 CcmmI,tCc Ct CCngrcss, INFO TIC
proCG eGugs Of a public Aircr. They
were Oh tho sane sublcct, ii vas uue,
liut 'hcir oCjcc;s we're widely GrfFelen,.
Mr forsyth said few words IS to
the objects OF lis propositions As 10
the frst resolution, bsirg almost g mat
;cr of course under any circumstances,
he presumed 10 objection would BIT
made TO it, AS 10 the second, The Pre-
sident had informed the House Gy 3
special message, shat the execution Ct
. part CT the act had been suspcrded /;
and Lad recon mcuGcd the revision Of
other parts Of it II seemed. then eiore,
hat the Executive thought the proyi-
sions OF lhe act obscure or incorrect !
and, Mr. T. thought, that 10 aToId IrIu
~ TO The u. States from irrthtr Geci>
sious pntler the ACT, il would Ire pr roper
TO suspend it W ilh regard 10 ire last
osoiution, re had received information,
| hc believed irom a correct source, that
ne judgments OF TIE Commissioner bsd
been pail 1T the Treasury whenever
presented and as far as lie had under
sIood, tkere had been Tu eCt OF (on>
gressmakiEg an appropiiati for the
purpose ct Iiquidatipg these claims -
The act constituting The Commission.
er's cBice made nc such appropriation i;
neither did the general appropriation
act OF the last session 81 The close OF
| the lest session, an at had passed ap-
! propriating money for delrayins the
| cxpcnces Of The Commissioners Office.
but even that act made nc appropriation
| for paying the judgments oil the Com
missioner.
Mr.. Yancey Of N. c. expressed his
opinion that this subject belonged to the
! comMiitee on public expenditures, "a
lher than TO the committee OF claims,t ITO
| whom the Presidents message thereon
had been referred. II the fact was as
represented, that the public money had
been paid from the Treasury without
an appropriation; it would certainly fall
within the province OF that committee
20 enquire. AS a member, however, o!
the committee Of claims, be should sub
nit 10 the judgment of the House in
this respect, although, had he conceiv-
cd the subject properly TO belong TO
hem, he should before now have intTo~
duced it to the notice Of The House
The second resolution proposed by MIR
FORSYTH, Mr. Y. conceived 10 be wholly
unnecessary especially as he under
stood from the presidents message,
that the execution Of that part OF the
act which was Objectionable, bad alrea-
dy been suspended, and would continue
so until the House should act ON the
S .bject. Il the president had suspend
ed the operation Of the act in one par.
| ticular, he would in others, il the pub.
lie interest required il. Mr. Y. said he
saw TO reason why the House should
| call upon the president TO discharge a
duty which he had shown every dispo-
| sitlcn 10 perform without such interpo-
silion, Mr.. Y. repeated, Cd taking his
seat, that this business appeared TO him
to belong properly TO the committee on
expenditures.
MIR Dcsha, of Ky said he fully agreed
with the gentlemen last up The first
and third resolutions ne thought correct
but the second unnecessary, and was,
therefore, opposed 20 it. No danger
was 70 be apprehended to .he public in
lcrcsl from the execution of any other
1 ,,,rt H. tho,