Litchfield enquirer., 1834-12-25
WAsH1NsroN-THesdov Nirht.

kuC tGrtsUR tbu tuc k1OuSC OA kGCPESSeUtattEGS OO the subject of our relations with France. and upon the measures recommended to be taken by the President: it was such as to induce me to state, that if the proposed measures pass at all, it will only be by such lean ma iOrity as must convince him and his advisers, high and low, that the people are not willing tO leave at has discretion, the awful alternative OE war. As | stated last week, debate on the reference of the Message was inevitable. Mr. ConnOr having to day moved that the House should resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, for the purpose of disposing oft, the House went into committee, and he presented series of resolutions, making the usual reference Ofthe various subjects treated, of in it to the apprO- priate standing committees. Mr. Clayt0n of Georgia then immediately moved an amend ment, in substance, that so much of the Mes. sage as related to the French treaty, reprisals, Sc., for non fulflmeut, &c., should be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, With specific instructions to report thnt Congress, in- Ste0d cf complying sOith the vie,cs submitted to them by the President. should unit the further action cfthe French Chamber of Deputies, inas- much as the delay that occurred proceeded more from the character of the claims inv Ol- we'd and the perplexity attendant upon them than from any desire on the part of France to impair the friendship which for so long time had happily exsisted between the two coun- tries. l need otsta,e that this brought mat ters to a crisis. Mir. Clayton went into a history or the occurrences connected with the refusal of the French Chamber to make the appropriation. and after expressing his belief that the menacing language. if followed up by the grant OG the war-pOwer Of making repri- saIs, would inevitably lead to a war, he ap- npAIpn fn fh0 NanHnP of Sn bD House, whether under the circumstances that existed, and the state the country must be in, he was prepared to say this was a case in which such power should be entrusted to the President tO use, or whether it was one that did not demand delay, instead of precipitate Legislation for that purpose. He said he must treat the proposition of the President as ine- vitabIy leading 10 war, because it was also evident that such result was ;n contempla- tIOn by his cabinet. as would be proved by a reference to the Treasury Report on the fl. nances of the nation. Prudence, he urged, ] must prevent them taking such steps as would I lave tendency to destroy their own com. merce for the sake of getting an indemnity 1 which they had every assurance the French | government were desirOus to pay, although 1t had not heretofore been as promptly paid 1 us was calculated upon. Our Treasury, he | maintained, instead of a surplus of four mil 1 lions. was actually deficient two and half. l In just cause of War he was, he said, willing to join, heart and hand but in one against our steady friend in the time of need, one l with whom we were in amity for forty-ive 1 years, upon such grounds as those presented, he felt that the proposition would be secuted by the good sense and intelligence of the people. After he had concluded, one of the representatives from Virginia, MT. Claiborne, member who very rarely occupies the time or the House, obtained the floor, and follow ed In support of these views. in very cner- gelc, good common sense speech. He avow-
 Cd. that his reason for immediate decision by the House was, in order that, as the Presi 1 dents Message had already been scattered a. | broad, so might the proposed action of the l House be decisive of the feeling of the coun- try, and thus the bane and the antidote go to. gether. He ihen went over the History of our connections with France, in the RevOlutona-
 ry struggle, and said he was not willing to plunge the country into a conflict with so old and steady a friendly power, whilst he was equally determined never to place in the hands | of Andrew Jackson, who already had the power over the national purse, the discretiona-
 ry power contemplated in the Message, and which 1t was clearly apparent the President, or others for him, was desrous to have. Mr.
 wayne IOIOWeu tO TalNer miIO, ONt SOOth. ing, deprecatory strain, on the course taken by
 the preceding member, denying broadly, how
 evcr, r,thatt t1e Presidents Message had any thing pertaining to the character cf fVdr.as was assum.
 ed. He was against premature discussion,
 and .tor the original reference. that the subject
 might be discussed by the Committee, and their views afterwards presented to the House.
 Mr. Archer, of Virginia, wished the amend
 ment withdrawn. because it did not assert the
 principle directly that we ought not to go to
 war, nor declare that the acts proposed by the
 President would lead to it. and because he
 thought every object of the mover could be
 attained. if the subject was sent in the ordina-
 ry mode, when they should present their re-
 port. Then would be the best time, he
 thought. to raise question to those who, on
 light grounds. wished to involve the country
 in war. MT. R. M. Johnson, as usual, could
 not say whether he would vote for, or against,
 the instructions to the Committee, but on the
 whole, pressed the withdrawal of the amend
 ment for the present, as it was now leading to
 premature discussion, instead of which, the
 House ought iO refer the subject at once to
 the Standing COmmittet, SIc. After much
 of this, Mr. Clayton said that. having ascer-
 tained the sense of the House to be evidently
 adverseto giving the discretionary. or, in fact,
 any power to him, who has not hesitated to
 take SO much of it, he consented to withdraw the amendment; and the subject was then referred tO the committee on Foreign Affairs