Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1836-04-08


ing the Senate few moments with their recital La
16GS, Skinner English rchan petition
to the King complaining OF various wrongs and ontrages
he had sustained from the East India Company. The mat
ter considered nizabe by the ordinary tribu
mails, and referred by the King the House OF Lords
Strong objections urged the jurisdiction of the
House Lords but they took cognzancc
OF the affair and tually entered Judgment in favor of
skinner against the East India Company, E5 900 da
images THIS proceeding Immediately and earnestly
resisted by the House OF Commons contrary the law
of the land, and invasion of the rights people.
violent and proacted controversy ensued between the
two Houses; and the Lords being compelled last az
ter struggle of eighteen months repeated proro-
cations OF both Houses to yield their claim of ursdc
ton, they erpuaged from their journals the Judgment
they had entered in favor OF Skinner against the East
India Company, and the whole of their proceedings
nected with il whercupon the Commons, like
erpmnged from their journals the various resolutions
and proceedings they had adopted. In this instance
see proceeding even of judicial character, under
winch private rights might be claimed, eIpunged, IN
virtue OF the high discretionary authority of parliament
AIRY bodies their Journals and in such case, per
haps the cxpuncon is admissible, mainly the ground
that the obnoxious proceeding took place the
OF an egat jurisdiction at last admitted 10 be SUCH and
intended to he enounced, in fact it finally aban
doned by the act OF erpuaying the judgment, which
its fruit.
The other to which have alluded, occurred in
the proceedings the recognition bill in 1000. A
clause introduced into that BILL the motion Of
the Wing party of that day. and the friends of the Revo
uton declaring the acts the convention Parlia
ment though assembled without the formay of royal
summons, were good and valid This strongly OBJ
jeced to by the Tory lords, number of whom by the
the journalIhe Senate well know, that it is distinc-
tive and fundamental principle in the constitution of the
House OF Lords that any member or number of menu
bcrs, dissenting from which has passed that
body have the right with the leave of the House, to
ter formal protest against it the journal In this
case, The leave of the House granted The right of
the protesting lords became thereby vested and
plee and yet it appearing, subsequent examina-
ton of the protest that the grounds of objection taken
it, assaied, and snbversve of the principles of the
Revolution and settlement of the Government just ac-
compished, the House ordered it to be erpungcd from
their pyhtnh infao
and gave rise to another protest for expunging the for
protest.
But the precedents of parliamentary expunging are
by no means confined 10 the land of ancestors from
which derive the model of parliamentary nsti-
tutions and proceedings. Similar instances have &C.
CURED IN our country both before and since Re-
volution, subsequent, well previous 10 the adop
ton of present Federal Constitution, both in the
State and in the National Legislatures There is
in the history of my State, which, there appears
TO have been singular misconceptions about the Sc
will excuse me for mentioning some W hat i'm detail
refer 10 the expungng of n resolution of Mr. Henry,
which took place IN the House of Burgesses of Virgil
MIA in l765. This transaction has been referred as
an odious and abortivc attempt at expunging made
oy the h,"g party In the House OF Burgesses,
which was defeated by the energy and talents of Mr..
Henry; Such, sir, are not the facts, as transmitted
to us by the most unquestionabe contemporary tes-
tImony. The attempt to. eIpuRge not defeat
ed. The proposition, the contrary, carried. 1t
was carried, not by an odous King party, but with the
concurrence, as we authorized to believe from the
only account eXtant of the transaction of men who
were and who proved themselves TO be among the bright
est champions of American freedom and independ-
ence-such men Peyton Randolph, the President of
the first American Congress, George Wylhe, Edmund
Pendeton, Richard Bland Richard Henry Lee, all OF
whom, afterwards put their hands TO the Declaration
American Independence, bore conspicuous part
IN the deliberations which led TO and established it,
The circumstances these: MIR. Henry moved a Sc
RES OF rcsoluons five in number, declaratory of the
rights of the colonsts. The four first of these re-
soluions merely reafllrmed what had been earnestly
asserted, only six months before by the House of Bur
gcsscs three several documents the most solemn
character; address to the King a memorial to the
Lords. n rem franc IN he
he nth resolution, however, went somewhat further,
and seemed TO tender at issue of force with
mother country. These resolutions opposed by
Messrs Randolph, Bland, Pendeton, Wyhe, and other
gentlemen, devoted and firm friends of rights of
America any of the great Statesmen and Patriots of
that day, but who deemed MIR. Henrys resolutions
pcdient al that inasmuch sentiments and
principles they contained had already and very recently
been expressed III other proceedings, TO which the
pccted answers from the government in England were
not yet received. The filth resolution deemed es-
pecaly nexpedent IN The then feeble and deienceless
condition of the colony as it might provoke conflict OF
force, for which time and iorecaste necessary TO
pre- pave. The resolutions, however under nower IN
display of Mr. Henry's eoquence were passed BY one
or two votes only but the following day, motion
made Cor that purpose and carried, the fifth resolution
was expunged from the Journal. These the facts
as vouchcd by the testimony of Mr. Jefferson, and
the elder Judge Darlington, (both witnesses of the
transacton and recorded by the eloquent bographer
OF Mr.. Henry himself. There then no odious and
ahortVe attempt TO expunge, made by Kings pdTty in
the House OF Bnrgesses The attempt not dtcafed
as has been said; the contrary the proposition to ex
pnngc cdFricd-and carried are authorized 10
believe by the only authentic account which has
US OF the Transaction, by the influence and with the con-
currcnce Of high soued American patriots; of Peyton
Randolph, President of the first Congress; Richard Bland
the chosen delegates of virginia to that gloror
assembly Edmund Pendleon, another delegate; and
George Wythe whose name stands proudly at the head
OF the Virginia signatures TO the Declaration of indie
pendence The two last named gentlemen MIR. Pendle-
ton and MIR Wythe, afterwards for long period
respectively presided in and adorned the highest courts
OF law and equity ia the State and it will be dspar-
agemen hunby conceive, TO the pretensions of the
highest here, TO say, that they understood we'll and
felt as relgiousy the sanctiiy Of record any gem
tleman this floor.
Examples OF the like character have occurred i'm the
other States In the Senate of Massachusetts, as is well
known, few years after the close of the late war with
Great Britain resolution triumphanty carried for
e1Pungtng from lis journal, the Anti American sentiment
which the baeful spirit of party had recorded there in
The very midst OF the conflict, that it unbecomng
moral and religious people, rejoice successes
of our arms AT more recent period some seven or
eghl years ago, the Senate of another highly respecta
bile State, (Ienncssee0 learn from undonbted a m.
thorlty directed formal and important entry on is
journal to be stricken out; which done in the very
manner proposed by tie resolution on your table bv
drawing black line around the condemned entry But
without dwelling these instances let US descend Ia
cases which come Immediately home TO ourselves
The case which occurred in this body in 1906 and
winch has been already noticed by the Senator from
missouri, has been IN vain attempted be parted or
evaded In that case, formal entry made on the Jour
mai IN pursuance Of the standing rules of the Senate and
IN strict conformity to the truth facts they TRANSFERRED
was ordered to be eypUnged and actually rDlRged The
entry rccted the substance Of two memorials
10y member of The Senate containing crave and ctn
nal nsnuaions against the Executive, and stated also
the proceeding of the Senate which took place on their
presentation. This entry, | nave aIreadv remarked