Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-03-02

glsw wi Ia
ner opinions, the valuc OF the lands of said pan,,ons
Weir adaptation to the culture aud production of N,vy
mnTs, anu, wne'heI iI9m sucn report or reports, is
compensate the United States for the labor which mn 8,
oe expended for that purpose.
resolved, also, That he he requested rppor TO this
House. early rerod Of the next session of CONGRESS
such inr her information this subject, he may be fur
nshed with, by the agents, or others who may be en-
Poyed IN this service with his views of the best means nj
preserving the Navy timber growing the pubic lauds;
or IT he deem it cessary that he lay before Tins
n plan or system which he may think hes, calcula
cu 10 secure To Inc Nation adequate supply Of this
ea ehef by cultivation or the purchase of lands, now
containing such supply.
Mr.. WHITE, of Florida, moved the following
| amendments:
After the words Sin consequence of such dis.
covcrieS, insert
"nd that he oe further directed report to this House
me number of agents and assistants appointed the
navy Department for the preservation of Live Oak in
the last year, the date Of their respective commissions
me authority under which they appointed the sala
OF each agent and assistant with the les
aud expences OF EACH and the eXpences euuippy and
Keeping IN commission the several public vessels for the
protection of live oak, and whe,he in his opinion the
SAID have found live oak enough to nav their
RES, or To justify their continuance in cfice."
After the words "must be expended for chat
purpose" insert
Together with the report of the Navy Commissioners,
nade TO the late Secretary of the Navy, shewiny the
quanly OF 1--we oak on the public lands, and
Heu 10 cohS'ets M the report of last session. with any
correspondence and documents in the departments since
the last session, relating the reservation and purchase
for the purpose aforesaid"
Mr.. BRANCH said that the object he had m
view in presenting the resolution had been to pre-
sent to the House aud to the Nation information in
tmate!y connected with very important sub
Ject. lie desired to reprcss no information
relating to it, The object of the gentleman who
had offered the amendment was too manifest: Il,
was to make an attack upon an Administ ration
of Department that never had shrunk and ne
yer would shrink from scrutiny.
Ihc obI'ct OF his own resolution was simple
and obvious. 1t was to enquire whether there
existed, without the use of artificial means, an
adequate supply Of Live Oak Timber for the
uses OF the Navy. If the information it might
elicit should satisfy the House that the natural
supply of that timber was abundant, then i,
would be for the House 20 decide whether they
would enter into the artificial cultivation of il
or not. The only object sought in the resolution
was that the Nation might act on this subject
intelligently. Why, then, did the gentleman
from FLORIDA seek to interrupt or embarrass its
adoption! Was 1t that the gentleman appre-
hended that the facts when disclosed would re.
fleet upon him, or on his friends? He would
not say tn the gentleman did so apprehend:
that was tor others to judge. Commissioners
had been appointed to examine a site for the
plantation OF this timber near Pensacola; the
Information obtained was in the Navy Depart
meni let it be produced and 1T the House know
cial cultivation ut this species of timber or not
lie had hoped, since the resolution asked only foe
information. that there would have been no OBJ
lection to It, Why this e!for. was made to en-
barrass the resolution he could not conceive:
he waited to hear the gentleman's reasons.
MIR. WHITE SAID IL reply, that he had not the
slightest desire to emba.rass the passage of the
| resolution; on the contrary, he was much pleased
that 1t had been brought forward. Whether it
was designed as an attack upon the present very
competent Head of the Navy Department he did
not know; but he certainly had no objection O
the production of the information called for,
neither did he know whether it was intended to
make The result of the enquiry the basis for fu-
ture Legislation Oh the subject referred to: he
had no doubt, however, that Congress would
continue to cultivate its plantations of Live Oak
timber. He believed the gentleman from North
Carolina would be greatly disappointed in the
Information when he came to see it.
An agent had been employed by the last Ad-
mlnlstration, when MIR. Southland was at the head
| OF the Department. in reference to the preserya-
| ton OF this timber, with a salary of $1,000 to
$1,000, but had been discontinued by his success.
sor, on the ground of doubt as to the power
OF the Department to employ such an aren't, and
also on the ground that his services were use
less; but now the Department had seven such
agents at salary Of $4,000 each, with assistants
and vessels, the total expense of which amount
ed to little if any thing short of S45 600 wear.
MIR. w. observed that there was now no Com
mittee of Retrenchment ia the House, or he
should have moved to refer the subject 20 them
What he wished was, that it should be decided
whether the services rendered by this body of
agents were such as to justify Congress in per-
uniting the President of the United States or
the Navy Department, to appoint, by virtue of a
mere letter, seven public agents, each with a
salary equal to that of the Governor cf Florida
HE whole service could as well, and better be
accomplished by the United States Surveyor,
or the Collector sheuld be forbidden to permit
any vessel to clear with a cargo of timber until
the Captain should produce evidence that il had
been cut on private lands, and not those of the
OnIted States. He did not seek 10 embarrass
the gentleman's resolut ton. There was not a
maritime nation IN the world that did not possess
plantations OF timber valuable for the use of its
Navy; none which did not take means to pre-
serve such timber. The policy was adopted in
THIS country as early as the days of General
Washington. The plan has been express v
recommended by him. 1t had lately been sus-
pended for time; but it was now resumed
nlr. w. desired to know whether S15 900 a
year was to be expended from the fund set
apart for the gradual increase of the Navy, in
employing number of agents on the coast Of
district where the water was 70, deep ENOUGH
To lOat any craft drawing three feet, and from
which no timber could, by possibility, be carried
OH. What might have been reported to the
department he neither knew nor cared:-tbc
Government had, for some time, been irving We
ry hard to get report uDfavorable to the con-
tnuance ct the plantations, but had not been
able to get any, unless it might have been
from one very young maH who was here seek
ing office Commodore Rodgers and Commo-
| dore RIdgiey were both decidedly in favor of
thelr continuance. Mr.. w. said what he wish
ed by the amendment was to bring before The
House what he considered great abuse, in the
! creating and maintaining Of seven public apen-
cles which were useless, and without authority
OF law, and which had not resulted in the disco