Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1836-03-18

its fate
When the message was announced i'm
medately moved 10 adhcreA I'D il this House
had done itself justice, the 3motion would
have prevailed. But ti2@les. iIYgliGn was super
seeded by one TO insist and ask conference.
The House yielded and solicited a confer
ence, Notwithstanding the repeated indeni-
ties OF the Senate, and the committee was an
pointed on the part of the House
The committee of conference waited only
TIL the message was sent to the Senate, and
10 learn whether that body had on its part,
agreed TO the conference, and even Of that
no official notice was ever received In the
mean time, the Cumberland road bill was
on its passage, and two of the members of
the committee voted on il immediately before
leaving the House
The hour when this committee was ap-
pointed has been much discussed, and gen
tlemen are appealing TO their recolections.
Whatever confidence | may have. sir, in
their integrity, they must pardon me for re-.
lectlng their testimony, resting as it does on
their memory of the transactions Of that
night | rely on the journal Of this House.
recorded as 1t is by the clerk and corrected
by the Speaker, and on the reports of our
proceedings in the public journals These
prove unanswerably that the first business
of moment after the appointment of the com
mittee, was the Cumberland road bill; and
although that bill was taken up some min.
utes before 2 o'clock, the ayes and noes
occupied some thirty minutes or more. and it
did not finally pass till after that hour
Mr. Speaker il was after the vote had been
taken on printing the Postmaster Generals
letter, after the Speaker had disposed of the
business on his table, preparatory to an adj
Journmen,, and with a perfect knowledge, on
the part OF the Senate, that the House had
been more than one hour in vain struggling
for quorum, and that they were making
final preparations for adjournment: i, was,
sir, under such circumstances and at two in
the morning. the following extraordinary
resolution was received from the Senate OF
the United States
Resolved. That message be sent to the
honorable the House of Representatives re-
specially to remind the House of the repor,
OF the committee Of conference, appointed
on the disagreeing vote of the two Houses
on the amendment the House 10 the amend
nent Of the Senate TO the bill respecting the
Qualifications Of the L. States"
When that message was read. sir, stated
what now repeat, that, when | came into
the House from the conference, the Clerk
was calling the yeas and nays on the reso
luton to pay Mr. Letcher, on which there
was no quorum; that on subsequent pro.
position to adjourn, the yeas and nays were
l.,I apI 10 ,h,r,
/ Under such circumstances, | did not feel au.
thorised to present TO the House an appro
preparation OF 100000 dollars That the
House had discharged It's duty to the coun-
i try by twice voting an appropriation OF three
millions for its defence, which the Senate
had twice rejected that the bill was evl
IDENTIFY lost, aud the Senate must take the re.
sponsibiity of leaving the country defence
less; that it was no longer in the power Of
the House TO compel members TO vote, to
call them here, or to command a quorum
that did not feel authorised 10 report the
! bill, situated as the House was but that
! if any other member of the committee o
conference proposed 10 do it, should make
no objection. though believed such pro
position utterly Intellectual at this time. MI
LewsS took the report, and, as the journa
states, made il. But, sir, In what manner
did he make itl When the gentleman from
Virginia read from the journal the para
graph about the report, | was astonished
When | came, however, 10 examine III,
journal myself, when | observed para
graph which had escaped the vigilanl ely,
of that gentleman, my establishment ceased
Here it is, sir: The item proposed by lh'
conlerees in lieu Of the amendment Of Tho
House was then read, and the question wa,
stated that the House do adopt the same
when it was objected that quorum was no
present" We shall see, sir, who it wa.
that objected "And thereupon Mr. Cambre
lcng and Mr. Lewis were appointed teller:
to return the House and the House being
counted, the tellers reported that quorum
was not present" Yes, Mr. Speaker, the
telers appointed to return the House report
ed that quorum caS not present. This, sir
is Mr. Lewis's report. Was not every mem
Der present counted, whether refusing tC
vote or not2 If any member had 'skulked,
would not Mr. Lewis have reported thai
fact But, sir, the journal does not state the
case precisely as it occurred though pre-
sumo the officers of the House felt obliged
TO place the report upon the journal in some
form. There appears, sir, to have been
some doubt about the fact; for the gentle
man from Massachusetts (Mr Phillips) in
quired of the Chair about it, and the report
states that The Chair stated in reply, that
as he understood, the report was made"
Mr. Phillips here rose, and stated that the
report was not correct-that he understood
the Chair to reply that the report had not
been made. The geutleman's recolleclions
corresnonds with nv ou,n nc 10 tbn fact that