The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1817-01-24
CONDENSATION LAW.
sKsTSH OF rHE FInsr. DAYS DEBATE.
ZueSdau, Janua,u 10.

= n q
Tuesday, January "a.
In committee Of the whole, MIR. Brec.
kenr'dge in the CHAIR, on the bill 10 re.
peal the act passed at the last session OF
congress TO change the mode of CON-
pensatioa TO Senators, Representative
aud Delegates in Congress.
The bill having been read
MIR. JOHNSON OF Kentucky, said
tha', Ia moving, as he now did, to fill the
compensatory with etsht dollars, MT
ooeyed the instructions OF the commit
Tee VINO reported iiis bin, OF which he
"aa a member. There had been in the
committee diversity. OF opinion on This
sutJsct, ono or Two gentlemen prefer
ring MIC or FEN, and bare majority
Conserving 10 eiYht,--Aiihoush he dId
NO, offer IRON me committee in the
reasoning Of their report, he could not
ieei 1t hls duty 10 come to the same re-
suit as To the future compensation, as .
| maJotily oil the comInitlee had done,
lie should, he said, vote against the sc
! pcai oithe present compensation taking
Retrospective operations; he wished
the repeat 10 teke place on tho fourth
day oil March next, and leave it to the
next Congress, iouI fii,hs OF whom
were elected TO regulate THIS nat,er,
the righ; OF fixing X. lie was DESTROYS
nc SAID, To give hem a responsibility
which he presumed they would be
| proud to assume, and should vote
| GaInst adding al Ibis lime single cent
10 the ord oonpensT,ion~Of SIX dollars
per day. Nj ]. eS pressed hie hope
As he had sndeavoTed, III prcvious'y dis.
cussing the subject to avoid quesiion
ot'this dehcacy saying auy thing IA any
manner 10 wound the feelings Of the
! members, that perfect t0ralony wouid
| characterize the whole debate. He be,
ieved, he said, that no member Oh thrs
House, regarding The members as pen
sicners merely, with a view 10 pccunia
~ considerations ouy, could say tina,
5CG dollars was too great compensa>
uon, nor even that il was enough. Bur,
| Mr. j. said, his Judgment aud cons
clcncc dictated 10 HIM in obedience 10
he public Will, to vote to repeal the
Jaw, and leave The compensation as il
was previous to the passage OF the re-
probated compensation law.
Mr.. FIN DLEY, of Pennsylvania,
| next rose to speak Oh the subject His
rising occasioned deviation from the
usual order Of the House, by the mem
bers crowd.ng round him, which may
DE attributed TO the general respect for
his years. experience and intelligence.
Alter making some general obserVa-
! tons on the nature OF this subject, Nj
gave a concise history Of what had
been formerly done, ISspscIng the
! compensation OF members oil Congress.
| He stated that under the confederation,
| each state paid its own membeTs, ana
instructed and recalled them at plea
sure that,when Congress money gave
| way 90 specie, some states paid eight
dollars day, some more and some less
Pennsylvania paid six dollars, bur mac
| g1eaI difficulty to procure members
wiling TO serve. Some small states
| gave bur iou,, and were rarely ever re
presented. Ii must be well known 90
those who remember thai period, and
paid Attentions TO its that nine states oaI
vi the thirteen, were quorum ntCGsaa
" 10 make acquisitions on the states
ard other important business, and thu,
ihis number could with difficulty be got
together one month IN a year.
When the NauonaI Government was
organised the committee CT the repre-
seDtatiVes TO whom the compensation
OF the members was referred, took an
average Of what the states themselves
had paid their men.betS, and il was
either six dollars, and one third or two
hi' DIS, which, iszuosS. forgot They re
ported, however, SIX dollars a day for
The representatives, but Unite IL to a
me after the census would be taken
and more equal representation would
tske place; when that time came about.
,weaty years ago, the subject was again
eferred 70 committee. A salary was
proposed and advocated, bat believing
1t was contrary to public opinion, or at
least the Cemmon practice la paying
the state legislatures, this was dropped,
and compensation Of eight dollars
cay reported; alter discussion this
was rejected By one, or at most two
votes
There had about this time been con-
siderable rise of expence, and several
stste Legislatures had increased their
compensation, yet Congress, believing
that this arose from temporary causes,