Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1836-03-24

m i,,. sI, Il votes alt A.. carried in TIC al:
frma;v. Ly Sra< varying i"l ~ t. -; nays varying
from Is 10 = The it l>t oil nnYs wrrc: H.SsTs Sias
Betton, CHRISTOPHER Clark, Saururl W. Dana Calrb
Ellis. William Ely, Joseph Lewis, ir.. Jonathan -,
Nlosely, Jeremiah Nelson. Timothy r::aii, j.; J'S'
Quincy Benjamin ranadre, Sa:nue! I"nney, %.
w. Thompson, William K. Fun hcaSt-acf anu ''e
Wordsworth. ,.,,
Mr. B. then remarked upon The passages WIZ 1911
had read from the Senate and House )itil's to
that they established every point "hicn ,I Iy,,hIish
be made in support .; his ''o.' ., rynrurp in
both the riSht TO expunsc, an" i y.csdrrs agaius,
such q case as Is now presented III ie P ~; - -,
po;In,, I,ctsnn The memorials when were present
ed in the Senate and in the iio'ise % -. p
contained criminal charges a@1i'''' . : =, . ;,,,;
Thy ven, to c..riimtr hil as coiHe a. 'o'"'o''
49,, n,I In S,iyriatzc him for bad faith to those
nho had bprn his dupcS. he petitions were IN cuP!i'
ont. and were presented simultaneously IN lAe Two
Houses In the House OF Representatives, they were
;,,v me, by resolve denying their truth, declaring
tbon, 10 be unfit matter TO be presented to the House,
and ordering them 10 be returned 10 the petitioners
In the Senate they first ordered 10 be returned but
no reason assigned they were then ordered to DC tx
nunred from il, and expunged in the most e.frctu'
al and recoverable manner They were dropped from
the volume. The very pages which contained mem
we're dropped and Omitted For the journal being sun
in loose sheets, the sheets which contained tue oohoHl-
Gus proceedings were left out Of the bound volume,
and thus all trace Of their existence dsaPpeared.-
1, is only by looking TO the minutes ana le oorha OF
the House Of Representatives., that we can ma ou'
!. is a complete and perfect precedent for the case
of 1896. The mcnoriuls were attacks upon hlr'
jefferson. They contained impcachabc matter against
him. They charged him with connVance ana seetet par
tcipaton in the unlawful disastrous and rag'ca eNpe
ditop of Miranda The churges which they contained
had filed all the opposition newspapers OF the Guy, ana
had been used for every purpose OF party warfare against
hun. To get these criminal charges on the Journals
was the next object Ia the Senate, and in the t"uSc
Of they presented by the political
enemies Of MIR. Jefferson and so far as they received
support or countenanoe it from The ranks Of the
Opposition. So OF the proceedings against President
Jackson. They attacks upon hun. They charge
him with violating the laws and the Constitution
They 90 to crninae and TO sgmatlze him. lhe
CHARGES which they exhibit universally circulated
in the opposition newspapers before they were presented
in the Senate. The Bank oithe United States !au
formally accused the Prcsident and all the publications.
OF the day, PERIODICAL dIurEl, and what not, th&l rS
pouscd the cause OF the Bank filled with the
charpes Party warfare had used them tu the ut,ernoSl
in The fall elections of 1888; but that was not sufficient
the party SPIRIT and The sane party-the BANK re-
Gcsal party, which in 1906, wished to have It's charges
arainst President Jefferson transferred from the ncwspa
pcrs 10 the journals of Congress- thence To be transmitted
to pos.rry part us the legislative history OF the
country-that spirit and that same party has wish
cd to do the thing with the accusations against ire
sden, Jackson The Congress of lSii6 both House and
Senate met this unconstitutional attempt it deserved
The House refused The memorial, and voted il 10 be un'
sustained by evidence and rcprehcHsbr in lis character,
Senate ordered Tie whn!c proceedings and every trace
aud letter Of it, TO be cxpungrd from lc journal 1t Is TO
40 purpose, MIR President, that any may attempt to
draw distinction where there is difference. 1t IS TO
purpose that any may attempt TO draw distinction
between expunTng at the session, and At sub.
srouent one There is difference between the
Tie light to cxpunge rests upon the right To Keep the
na:n clear OF what ought never to be upon 1t. II rests
uroa thc right to purify 1t from any thing Improper,
which inldvetencp, mistake, or the nuScc VlEu!cncc,
and fury OF party spirit may have pat upon it. To this
publication there is limit of ,!ie either i'll law or in
morals. 1t is not for statute of limitations
Thus, irUri ts very nature, the publication at the Jour
nal Is TO BE- effected when II can be and that always I'M
plies TINE pusterior to the wrong; and in the of
tnc;lon, naples time poserior to tie downfall OF the
faction The precedent OF lo the objection Of
1S:6. Il it full and fair in the face. 3e ohiec
is, that the Senate is bound to preserve its proceed
IS; that il must write down all lis proceedings i'll the
oniua and then preserve them forever never aiterlng
changing rlAc,ng word, letter, one lota one
title the sacred wo:k, from the moment it s douc 10
the end Of time THIS is The objections and it has been
repeated rather too often to be Itself changed or altered
to avoid te ovcrrowcrns authority OF the precedent u
150G And this, sir NY answer 10 the Senator from
Louisiana, (Alr. porter} tell him. the cxpun ing
only at the session, but tue day that
the proceeding took place.
would here drop this head of ny argument, but it
that something has occurred in history
which gentlemen rely, either justify themselves
crimnate ihris opponents; aude to the cusc % MIR.
Barry, who was condemned for violation Of the laws
by the unanimous vote of l!e Senate. This was done
at Tie session, ana few months later, than the
condemnation OF Mr. Barry: and it is argued this mast
sanction the proceeding against the President, involve
IN an inconsistency: those who voted for that cOndeM
nation withou. Objection, and now object to TIE pro-
cccdiDg in the ui the President. Not SO the fact
or The consequence. The proceeding against Air
Barry wis objected to- and that in the very first stages Of
1t, upon the same grounds on which now stand IL 4
the case OF the Presidcnt and the vote which gvea
by me anu my friends put, forced upon by the
majority Of the Senate, and being 50 forced upon US,
was given as We believed, according 70 the truth and
the fact. wr recoec that VOTE and the conversation
among ourselves TO which tgavc rise. Some though We
should vote against H. the ground that the proceeding
was unconstitutional, and that in It's favor would
Commit Us on that point others, Of WHOM, was one oh
lected to the negative vote because il would be against
evidence, and would subject 10 tic !u!ation Of
ting as parzats, and not Us Senators, ana because ne
ga,lve vote admitted The urSdctiou Just as much as an
Si'rniative one. Upon these grounds. and cC the
majority had the power, and enforced It, compel 4
vote we took the alternative, which! truth Scc:ard To-
require, and acted upon the principle in both
cases, that Of Mr. Barry and that of Prcs,tn, Jackson
voting according tn wlsst believed 10 be the fact i'm
each case But LEI n" che drlndr hnlsrf with the
ton that the proceeding against Mr. Barry was not OBJ
ected to Let suppose that The difference in
rank, has made difference Ike opinions held in the
two cases. The proceeding againS, MIR Barry was OBJ
lrcted TO- and fully and unequ!rocay in open debate
aad upon all the grounds assumed afterwards in the
OF President Jackson Here is the proof taken from tie
debate Of February TO- 1881 and preserved in the con-
gressonal history of that period. The debate
the adoption OF resolution, OF crlNnatlvc aspect,
corning the examination at witnesses as To the
OF their removal by the Postmaster General from Office
ana The speaker the same that ROW addresses you:
MI Benton then aud sa that he dill appear loo
for The purpose o joining tic ca- any opinion
the truth OF the allegations violently Postmaster
Gencia lie atl 10 opinion tie maitcr Ill wish
one, except 1t tina, Fcsumirc ouun Of which
law" awarded TO all ta accused which pure
waited character Of Mr. Barry euaua, clas. II
might be hts duty to sit III Judgment upon Eno ii ne
opnon IN the case 10 retire from the judgment he could
tho accused to take The Gsc VIII; or
bc dropped
o rose, he repeated ahoyc
but 10 express his opnono The character Of the proceeding which
was carrying on aaiSt hn Gal 20 intimate ..a
proper DO done hereafter regard then affirmed that no
looked upon the whole preceding rs, inception 10 thai
on E ntI.u