Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-03-27
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
WEDNESDAY,, MARCH 10.
Sketch II rhHi fouk l,itce or tie till to amend
the Ser,'at acts to' Sustaining the Neutral
relations Of the u. States.
The House having resolved itself into
committee Of the whole, MIR. DksHA in
the chair, on the bill F." in addition TO The
Act for tlc punishment of certain crimes
against the United States. and TO repeal
tie acts therein mentioned
A motion (inatIe Yesterday to amend
the fourth section ri he bill, was now a.
greed ic-t!le effect Of which was TO con
fine the provisions OF that section 10 the
punishment Of any citizen o! the unite,.
states who should ii ont vessels 20 crGize
against the c0AUtrsce0f fheC Z. .ytatcs. leav-
Ia, ont What related 10 the commerce 0f
forum. l,GtinRS. ----
Mr Cay rose 10 propose an amend.
,nent he had before Indicated. Amended
as i; la been, h!r. c. said he had no OBJ
lection 70 retaining the fourth section;
.tt moved 70 strike out all the remainder
Of the bill, except SO much as retains The
provisions of the aci of 1904 and repeats
The acts Of i7O7 and l8l7-the sim
pie effect OF which amendment wonld
be to repeal the act OF 1897 and that
of 1917. In t!ie proprety of repeating
the act of 1897 he understood the
chairman of the committee o. foreign re
laiioDs TO cOHcEr-Ci course. thea, H.
would only be necessary TO shew, ihat
The act OF The last session ought ia he re-
pealed; ana tia, il goes hey 0nd any neu-
trail duty we caa owe. IN the threshold
OF this discasSion, AIR G. said he confess
cd he did nc; like much the origin OF that
act. There HIti been some disclosures,
not la an official form, bat in such
shape as 10 eHitiic them 10 credenCe, that
Showed Thai aoi 10 have heen the result of
d teasing on The part Of foreign agents in
this country, which he regretted 10 have
seen. BUT, from whatever source III sprung,
IT 1t was an act necessary 10 preserve The
neutral relations of the country, Mr.. G.
said il ought to be retained. Bat this he
denied- The act was prcdicated on the
ground that The existing provisions did
not reach the case Of the war now raging
between Spain and the South American
provinces. In Us provisions ii went be-
You'd the obligations ef the United States
10 other powers, and that part of il WAS
unprecedented in any natiuu, which COM
PEELED citizens OF the United States To
give bonds not 10 commit acts without
lie jurisdiction Of the United States,
winch II Is the business of foreign natl.
0ns, and not oiihiS government, to guard
against. Does the act Of 1894, said Mr.
=. embrace the case Of The Spanish Pairi-
o's hat was tie question, and it was
rot WORTH while TO disguise it, list Do
NIlnso VAS not included, as had been said
IN Tie act Of 1904, ii would not follow that
lilai act did moi embrace the case of the
afansh Patriots What was The conditi-
Or OF 81. Domingo had the Executive of
the United States ever acknowledged, in
regard 10 that war, that it was ci0U aDa,',
respecting which the United States stood
~ neutral relation No such acknow-
iedgment, be SAID, had ever been made,
IN respect TO the war in that island, as
had beer expressly made by the Execu-
tive III regard to the war in South Amcri-
ca, that II was civil war. And, when
the Courts came TO apply the Law to cases
before them, having the decision of Tie
j.Xecntve 10 guide them, they must de
Glde that the law of 1891 is applicable to
boih parties. The act of 1917, cOnsc.
qnenily, was wholly unnecessary TO the
object for Which it was avowedly enact
Ell, aud WAS enc Of superHuous Iegslaii-
on. Mr.. c. said he recolIected with plea
sure that he gave his negative TO it that
every member from the state of which he
was Representative did the same. lie
fecollected that 63 members Of that part
OF this House, with whom il had been,
ana would always be, his pride aud plea
sure to act, had recorded their votes a.
gaiHst IT, The voice Of the country had
since pronounced its doom, and lett for
Congress nothing t. do but to repeal The
act Disguise II as you will, said he, the
world has seen The act i'll its true charac-
ger has regarded it as a measure CalCu-
nied to affect the struggle gong Oh in The
oOEth, and discovered that, however neu-
trdi III ITS language, its bearing was alto
gether against the cause Of the Patriots
TOW, asked h IS that war carried on
bui Tor The supplies drawn from this cOun-
Try thrOugli Havana, for sustaining the al
MY OF MOrIllo, III. modern Alva, whose
career Is Characterised by all The rnormi-
!ies WhlcB have consigned 10 perpetual
inidmy the name o! his great prototype
T. but tor The supplies drawn through la
Vana, whose port is open 10 us only for
me sake Di those supplies. General MorI-
10, e0Wd not have supported bis army
MS fact he hat from the highest authQ-
Il'y, from The commander Of one Of our
hail0nal vessels who had been on cruise
~ That quarter, and had received II from
'he lips OF MOIl.o himself J. becomes
us, Mr.. 9. said, really and bona hde 20
perform Our Erafrai obligations. lie had
seen and heard ofcirCamsianCes respeci-
ing tbs subject Illuminating ln The ex-
lTmc. tic had been iOid Tor instance,
Uat 30 TIE case lately argued in the Su-
pleme court oithc United States. of some
VI those individuals tried in Tie COuri
O' tie United States az Boston, moi only
Vas the Attorney Cseg.rti r~.fis .,f Ed