Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1823-12-18
more than supply the defect of the act Of the

more taau supply the defect OF the act OF thei
idsi Congress, Ia HhcE, l,y some "us>i"n, nj
appropriation had been made Ia meet On.
balance, If, according To the PROVISIONS of thar
act, alance should have been ascertainea Ia
be due IN be Mr.. TOmpkns. Nuw, what does
the gentleman from Tennessee tell us H.
wishes to know The ground of the settlement !?
he wants, IN short, 10 settle this account him
seli-to see the basis on which the officers of
the Treasury proceeded, in coming tn the
decision which they have laid before the Presi-
dent This, Mr.. T.. said, might have been
proper when the subject was under coDsidera-
ton AT the last session hut Congress had
committed the liquidation Of these accounts 10
another tribunal. Ii had committed it to the
accounting officers of the Guvernment-gen-
tlemen whose characters wer. unimpeached
and on whose accuracy, in this settlement, no
reflections had been cast. The gentleman
from Tennessee, whose vigilance over the
Treasury was the admiration of the country
and of the House, should have reserved the
remarks with which he had favored the
House, until the time when n final SETTLE.
ment Of the demands of the Vice President
on this government is called up in this
House-but now, when the sum reported
is Incontestible, when all the guards Of The
Treasury unite in declaring it Justly due,
when all that is asked is to supply def
cheney in the law of the last session, those
remarks, however eloquent, would, he trusted
have no weight.
MIR. LIvERMORE said, that he was opposed
To the appropriation, and of course in favor of
the amendment; proposed He had great res
pect for the individual commemorative man
cherished higher opinion OF his services !:
hui the House vas now called upon TO decide
great question. The act of the last session
empowered the officers of the Treasury to sell
tie this account. The account was not settled
the Presidents Message expressly declares
il remains unsettled. He has, to be sure, par
TALLY examined it-but that is all. Mr. L..
said he was willing to pay a. much respect to
Executive recommendations as any man, but
he wanted To see what was due To use ia
miliar phrase, he did not like entering " edges.
Congress had been led on in This way on 9th
| er occasions. In the case of the Cumberland
Road, for instance, the sum asked was small
at first, hut it grew larger and still larger, Till,
| AT length, 1t became intolerabe and Congr, SIS
would vote no more for it. II he was sure the
appropriations for the Vice President were Ia
end here, he would vote the sum at once, but
the House were threatened with claim for
other and larger amounts. The settlement
had been delayed, at the request of the cla-
mant himself. He did not like TO be led on
| blindfold, and wished to know at once how far
he was TO go.
Mr.. TRIMBLE said, that he believed his
worthy friend from N. Hampshire was under
some mistake in his conception of this subject
In ordinary cases, Of this description, a fund
was provided, out of which the public cred-
tor, if his demand was just, and the documents
IN proof of it were regular and sufficient, re
crved his due without farther difficulty. But,
if it should happen, that his vouchers, though
substantially evincing the justice ofthe demand,
were wanting in due form, or were of kind
not admitted in settlement, by Treasury rule,
then an application to Congress was necessa-
ry, IL Congress, when they knew such to be the
fact, would order the account tn be settled on
principles of equity and justice; that is, as he
understood it, without excluding valid evil
dence, though of an informal or irregular
sort. This was matter of every day occur
renee. The case of Mr.. Tompkius was one
of this description there were informal
VOUCHERS held by the claimant, which show ed
him to be justly entitled to what he claimed,
and the question was not, now, whether the
gentlemen from Tennessee and New Hamp
shire were to audit those vouchers they. had
already been audited: but, by some omission,
for which he was at loss to account, there
was no appropriation in the bill to meet the re-
suit OF such settlement The claim had, at
The last session, been submitted TO commit
tee, Of which he had had the honor to be "A
member, and he saw gentlemen near him who
had been his companions in the same service.
Ii had been carefully examined, aud after
wards by law submitted to the Treasury Off
GERS. Those officers have reported that this
balance is due. Now, pray you, said Mr..
L. when the account has, thus far, been set
tied, why is IT not tn be paid The gentleman
from New Hampshire has insisted that nothing
should be paid till we knew the whole that we
had to pay. But what would he say to a
pay master, for instance, who held large
amount of government money-acknowledg-
ed himself 10 hold it-acknowledged it to be
due-but who, having other accounts unset
tied al the Treasury, should say to the Govern
ment, owe you this balance, clear of all de-
mands, but my other account is not settled,
and will not pay dollar of what owe you,
till know al! that must pay on the final set
tlement? He believed the gentleman would
call such paymaster dishonest man. But
Why is government to be bound by different
rules in paying its debts from those which bind
an honest man? He said this in illustration
merely, intending no reflection on the purity
of the motives Of those whs opposed this bill
On the subject OF delay, charged upon the
Vice President, Mr.. Il. said, he could not but
feel something approaching to Indignation at
the delay which has already taken place. So
far was MIR. Il. from seeking such delay, that
he had claimed his due, he would not say from
day to day, bui from year to year. His proofs
had been submitted 10 The COMMITTEES. MIR.
T. had personally and attenlively examined
them. and avrrred, that they did completely
establish The debt he claimed. | will not go
into details, said Mr.. T. hut | do say, that Daniel
d. Tompkins peUer i0dS indebted 10 This go
rernmeni-and say SO after full exsmina-
ton Of the subject. He could not go farther
into The subject without expressing more feel