Litchfield enquirer., 1829-02-19


 by printing the extra number now or at Gu- The Speaker satisfied the inquiry by refer ring to the contract for the public printing. = lfthey were printed now, the expense would 1 he much less than ii it were deferred. Mr. LWmpkin moved to lay the, motion Of Mr. Mckean upon the table, but with0ut sue cess. at @ MT, Williams now called for the reading of the report, and it was thereupOn read.
 r. MT. Mdttury said, he hoped the motion of Mr. Mexican tUr an extra nuInher Of copies, should succeed. He thought that nieasurr due to the petitioners who had addressed this House. They were very numerous, highly respectable, and spread over alI parts Of the United States. Public opinion had been greatly excited. He did not consider an or. der for printing the report as involving an a. 1 greement to all the principles 1t might contain. Judging from a single hearing, it appeared to
 him to present calm and deliberate view of the argument. It treated the subject with
 much candor and Gairnpss,and would be look
 ed for with great anxiety by the people. who
 We're naturally desiro,,s of knowing what O.
 pinions were entertained by a,standiag com.
 mittee of this HOlse in relation to the peti:>
 tiOns they had presented. The document
 would be Milely sought for in every part of the Union, and he considered it much more proper to print an extra number of copies in this case, ,than on any other occason,On which it had been ordered by the House.
 Mr. Bueh0a0n hoped that the House would order the additional number of copies to be printed, which had been moved by his col league, Mr. McKean.] It was certainly an ably written report. The public mind was now considerably excited upon the subject, and there would be much curiosity to see the reports of both the committee of the Senate and of the House. El
 But, said Mir. B. do not rise to express a. ny opinion upon the question, whether we should prohibit the inail from travelling upon the Sabbath ar not. The motion now before the House does not require that should. Fl have risen for the single purpose of doing an act Of justice to those Oftny constituents who have signed the petitions upon which this re- port is founded. The petitioners are nnmer- ous and respectable; and their intention has been entirely misapprehended, both by the committees Os the Senate and of this House. They have not recommended union be- tween church and state; they have not asked Congress to interfere with the rights of con- science, and thus intePpose between man and his Creator. They are the last people on earth who would recommend such dangerous and anti-chrisiian doctrines. They request the | passage of no law imp0sing any penalty up- l on any man. They merely desire that the | operations of this department shall, be re- | stricted in the same manner that those of the other departments of the govern lnent already are. Your executive depart Ments, your courts of justice, the Senate. .and this House, are all closed npOn the Sabbath, and they are in favor of uniformity upon this subject.
 Whether the carriage of tho mail ought ar ought not to be an exception from the gene- ral rule, is an important question, concerning which there will be much difference of opin- ion. But should this House determine that the liherty which the Postmaster General now exercises, of contracting to carry the mail on all days of the week. ought to be limited to he six days usually devoted to labor, deny that 1t would interfere tn any manner with the rights of conssiencs. ar create any con nexion between church and state.
 Mr. Barber. of Conn. moved to amend the motion fMr. McKeap,by increasing tho num- Der to 10000. IMAM -,s,
 Mr. Fort said he was ata loss to know how to act in this case. He knew it was the or dinary practice ,pf the House to print the re- poris of the committees. and he was as will. ling that this should De printed as any other. But the report contained an argument which he fur one, was unwilling to lay before the people, us expressing the views and senti- ments of this EOdy ,and he apprehendea 1.-the large extra number now ptoposed should lhe printed. it would be s0 received and under stood hy the people. He agreed with that | part of the report, which declares itinexpe.l dient to stop tho mail on the Sabbath; but he could not agree to the resolution It recom- mended. which went to. prohibit the open ing of the mails, and of the Post Offices on the Sabbath day, because he believed that ! if that resolution should be adopted, and be- | come a law, all those mischieyous effects | would inevitably ensue, which the report so we'll describes as likely to Sappen, from stop | ping the course 0f the mail. 'the sanae temp | taiion would exist to tho multiplying of ex- presses In addition 'tO which, great abuses might happen through the establishment of an understanding between Postmasters and their particular friends, who might thus, De put in possession of important, cpmmercial or l political inf0r:nation. while it was withheld from the rest of the community. s ,v', ,,sss
 Nlr, Rates, of Mass. said, that it was not possible for him to conceive haw it could be
 violation Ofthe rights of conscience tO pass
 law, the effect of which was to prevent the
 citizens of the U. States from heing distnr-
 bed in she exercise ofrights which their con-
 science approved and enjoined. lf this doc
 ument was true, then all the lNNs passrd in