Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-01-17
HOUSE OF DELEGATES.
THURSDAY, JAN. 10.
y RTVTI E(.EC OF Tux ITnITC
HOESE


BRIEF SKETCH OF THE FINAL DEBATE
After trausacting some other business, Mr..
Chamberlayue called up the resolution ts take
Carter Il. Page into custody.
Mr.. Robertson (of Richmond) rose to submit
substitute Ito the original resolution) in the
following words:
The committee appointed on the part of the
House of Delegates 10 act Jointly with com
mittee of the Senate in examining the state
and condition of the Bank of Virginia and the
Farmers Bank of Virginia, and charged with
tie duty of investigating certain reports i'm
putting to the directors of the latter bank NAL
ractices III the management of the funds
thereof, and for that purpose invested with
the power OF sending for persons and papers
not infringing any provisions of the charter OF
the said bank having made a report to this
house, shelving that one of the witnesses called
before that committee hath refused TO answer
an interrogatory propOunded TO him for rea-
sons assigned by him, and stated at length in
the said report, and the matter aforesaid being
referred TO the house for further proceedings:
ReSoiued, therefore, by the House Of Delegates,
That while this house do not by any means
arraign the motives of their committee they
feelit dueto themselves, as well as to the citi-
zen who refused to answer the interrogatory
propounded to him, to declare, that the reso-
fusion of the I'd inst. did not authorize or con-
template an enquiry touching the private con-
duct, or private affairs ofany director of the
Farmers Bank, or OF any citizen of this COM
monwealth, but limited the investigation, 10
the official conduct OF such directors, and to
NAL practices III the management of the funds
OF that bank.
RESOLVED, That the refusal on the part of the
said witness TO give any other further All
swer than that stated in the said report, is 10
contempt of this house, nor is he liable to any
prosecution for such refusal.
Mr.. ROBERTSON said, that as a member Of
the joint committee, he not 0nly had not con-
sented, but had opposed the putting of inter-
rogatoTies to witnesses upon the private con-
duct of the directors. He would not now en-
ter into the enquiry, how far the legislature
had right to 10, even into the examination of
their official conduct, further than is contem-
plated by the charter of the bank. II was
enougl, for him that the resolution actually
passed gives no power of the sort assumed by
The committee; aud God forbid that this house
should ever give or claim the power to investi-
gate the private transactions oft citizen i
Mr. X. denied that they had any such power
from the constitution, or from tile charter,
winch only gives them right to enquire into
the general state of the bank, not the private
conduct ofits directors. Heasked what would
be thought of a man who should move the an
poliItment of a standing committee a sort Of
IuqnisitIon or star chamber committee, to scru-
tinize the private conduct of indyiduaIs5 If
yon have this right to investigate the private
transactions of the directors, because the exec.
utive appoints some of them, have YOU not the
same right tOappoint committee to scrutiuize
| the private character of every man who comes
| before You as a candidate for any office 3-But
| hare YOU transferred this power to the commit
| tee by your resoution1 No the resolution
solely relates TO the mismanagement Of the
funds of the bank and yet in the very teeth of
| this instruction, the committee have ATTEMPTED
| to set precedent the most obnoxious Of any
| which has been instituted since our revolution
! an enquiry into thc private conduct of
| public ofhceTs. Mr.. X. said, the substitute he
| had proposed did not arraign tie conduct OF
! the committee Jut asked, fit were not more
| maguaniInous for rs to admit that the commit.
| tee or the house ltselfhad gone wrong, than to
! perSeverc in their error After the committee
| mad instituted this inquisitOra scrutiny into
| the private conduct Of our neighbors, would
1 tho house 20 on TO issue writf0r tile purpose
| farrestingandi mprisoning the individualwho
\ had resisted such an enquiry Mr.. X. doubted
tie power OF the house they were not like the
/ parliament of England whose powers we're
| just such as they themselves chose 10 make
| them. Whence do we derive this power 10 in.
| caJcsrate a mdr tor every faucied nsuit upon
| oui dignity, DO yoa tell me that British par.