Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-02-05

"ResoIved, That a message be sent to
the honorable House Of Representatives re-
specially to remind the house of the report
of the commit ee of conference appointed
on the disagreeing votes of the two houses |
on the amendment of the house to the
amendment of the Senate to the bill re
spec,ing the Notifications of the United
States
You recollect this resolution. sir. having.
as reco!lect, taken some part on the occa.
sion.*
The resolution was promptly passed.
tie Secretary carried it to the House, and
delivered it. What was done in The house
on the receipt of this message now appears
from the printed journal. | have no wish
to comment on the proceedings there re.
corded-al may read them, and each be
obie to form his own opinion Suffice it
to say that the House of Representatives,
having then possession of the bill, chose to
retain that possession, and never acted on
the report Of the committee. The bill
! therefore. was lost. 1t was lost in the
House of Representatives. 1t died there
and there its remains are TO be found. No
opportunity was given to the members Of
the House TO decide whether they would
agree to the report Of the two committees
or not. From quarter past eleven, when
the report was agreed TO. until two or three
. o'clock ~ the morning, the House remain.
ed in session. IF at any time there was not
, aquorum Of members present, the attend.
ance OF quorum, we are to presume.
might have been commanded, as there was
: undoubtedly a great majority o. the mem.
, bers still in the city
t But now. sir there is one other transac-
= ton OF the pVpninn Which I al hnrpl -,
state, because | think it important, on sew
! eral accounts, that it should be known
i A nomination was pending before the
= Supreme Court. In the course of the sit
. ting, that nomination was called up and
i on motion, was indefinitely postponed. 10
other words, it was rejected; for an iedefi
+, mite pos,poncment is a rejection. The
y Office, OF course, remained vacant, and the
b nomination OF another person to fill it, BE-
If came necessary. The President of the u.
t States was then in the capital, as is usual
= on the evening of the last day ofthe session,
IN the Chamber assigned to him, and wit
n the heads OF demartments around him
i When nominations nre ejected under these
: circumstances, 1t has been usual for the
- President immediately to transmit new
y nomination to the Senate; otherwise the
d office must remain vacant till the next ses.
sion, as the vacancy in such case has not
= happened in the recess of Congress. The
J. vote Of the Senate indefinitely posrponing
II this nomination, was carried to the Pres
J. dents room by the Secretary ofthe Senate
:. The President told the Secretary that il
n was more than an hour past - O'Clock.
n and that he could receive no farther com.
e munlcallons from tie Senate, and immedl
atcly after, as have understood, left the
a capital. The Secretary brought back the
= paper containing the certified copy of the
d vote Of the Senate, and endorsed thereon
y the substance of the Presidents answer.
e and also a ded that, according to his own
e watch, it was quarter past one o'clock.
s There are two views, sir, in which this
If occurrence may well deserve to be noticed
Il One is a connexlon which 1t may perhaps
!, have with the loss Of the fertilization bill,
it the other is, its general Importance, as IN
G Producing new practice, respecting the
l. intercourse between the President and the
} houses Of Congress on the last day OF the
,, session.
l. On the first point | shall only observe
e that the fact of the Presidents having de
d cIined to receive this communication from
the Senate. and of his having left the cap.
l. ital, was immediately known in the house
p OF representatives.; that IL was quite obvl-
10 Gus that if he could not receive a commu
= nlcatlon from the Senate, neither could he
t, receive bill from the house of representa-
e. tives for his signature 1t was equally OBJ
ir vious, that it, under these circumstances,
he the house OF representatives. should agree
9: to the report of the committees of confer
Z ence, so that the bill should pass, it must,
IS. nevertheless, fail to become a law, for
If H., rrasiInnti, and that
ne in that case, the blame of losing the bill.
ne on whomsoever it might fall, could not be
d. laid upon the senate.
On the more general point, must say,
Mt sir, that this decision of the President. not
n 10 hold communication with the Houses Of
he Congress after 10 O'Clock, on the 81 o.
lid March, is quite new. No such objccto
he has ever been made before by any Presl
e. dent. No one of them has ever declined
IN, communicating with either House at any
Ike time during the continuance of the session
lrt on that day All Presidents, heretofore
N. have left it with the Houses themselves t
h. fix their hour of adjournment, and to brin!
he their session, for the day, to close, when
&C, ever they saw fit.
IN. It's notorious, in point of fact, that moth
Ter ing is more common than for both House
J 1t to sit later than l2 o'clock, for the purpos
Ike of completing measures which are in tn
it., last stages of their progress. Amendment
lis, are proposed and agreed to, bills passe,
'ok enrolled bills signed by the presiding off
md GERS, and other important legislative ac'
ned performed often at or 3 O'Clock IN III
and morning. All this Is very well known
- gentlemen who have been for any consl'
no cradle time members of Congress. And a
the Presidents have signed bills. and have all
cry maze nominations to the senate, witho
ng' objection as TO time, whenever bills ha'
yer, been presented for signature, or whenev
was 1t became necessaryto make nominations
part the senate, at any time during the sess
,use of the respective houses on that day.
first And all this, sir, | suppose to be perfe(