Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-08-07

= l"'No iNhsN - ~ no 49, 49," u
prnrcd To- dav, thus:
ION ONE OCCASION, WHEN TIE PREsI-
DENT HAD BEEN REFERRED TO AS TO THE
NEED OF A PROPOSED APPROPRIATION. HE
HAD DECLINED EXPRESSING ANY OPINION
OR WISH UPON THE SUBJECT"
Now if the bare facts stated by MIR. LlScoLS himscl
be considered hat The President I'M no 0ccaSiDn re-
q"eSfrd m npprnpriniion-Mat IN one occnSion, irhrn
an "PProPrt"hon 'rns Prop0sed 10 htm ny me ~romm"tr',
he dccHncd rpr'sSiDg an opinion or irish an The S"tjrf,
The Impression which The Glnbr Reporter received from
uhenl and conveyed 10 The public, will not hr far from
shat which every fair minded man would take up from
Mr. LIScoLS's account of the matter. If the PREsI
dent had not felt n reluctance to cXpend money fnr
The "hj"ct proposed hy TIE committee, he could no,
have "d'clmrd (as Mr.. LINCOLN says he did) express
ny any opinion or with on The snljrci."
Tue truth *, the Government House and the Co
vcrnmrnt furniture are concerns which those who re-.
present the nation 10 which both belong, have the rinhi,
as il is heir duty to dispose of and put in such coudi
ton as they think best brb,s :Lr character "t The conn
try. II they make an Appropriation author zing the
President to repair Tie house, and he nrglccts to do 50,
he IS waning t"a trust rrp"srd III hlHn II they pro-
vide an appropriation 10 fla nish the house decrntly OF
rsplrnd dly, rs they deem il should h., for The fiji recrp
lion OF the citizens al the United States, and Of forciru
States, and the President fails 10 apply il 50 as 10 be-
enabled To extend The hospialities OF the nation in the
manner which Congress CONSUMERS due To the character
of the American people and their Chef Magistrate, he
would be culpable, and IN snmr degree dslionorcd.
The President has simply fulfilled his duty in direct.
ing the Register of The Treasury (Alr. Smith, whom he
made his agent lnr ihe pnrposr) to apply The money ac.
cording To the direction of the appropriation law. The
President himself could not waste lns time among The
shops and stores of New York aud Philadelphia IN So
lrctiug new furniture, or directing the repairs "f the
old. \" President ever made The purchases himself,
except Mr.. Monroe, who bought those marvellous gold
spoons, knives, and i'Tks, made o.! SILVER aud turned
Ia rnld IN iEc eyes nf "3cGRdrrian WILLY (tvrs,)
! and rnmarcing Mr.. Onlc. L" the eyes of others, tho
1 SILVER shows as DlainIVDu the worn SurIlcp as The hiark
hearts "f the i"n rrnrradrs do in their d'ngy skins.-
Mr.. Monroe bought also the fnc chairs, which cost
20 much for r%r.gidtng. and which Mr.. Van Buren, strip
ped of tho impcriai rro1cn with winch they were drcn.
rated, substituting the stars of his country. twas The
boast of some member OF Congress, that when any of
his constituents sat down on one Of those chairs, he
sguatfcd on an hundred acres Of land-for each cost
about the Government price of that much land. Those
chairs were made for Napoleon, We have heard, and we
t''lnk that Mr.. Monroe might haze beer severely hand
led for Introducing such Gazzl, mr. furniture INTO a Re-
publican mansion, but certainly Mr.. Van Buren, Is mol
70 be- blamed fer not turning out of d"nrS, what had
been brought N by a President, who had received the
support OF both parties, ard hat lad hcrn tolerated hy
his Immediate predecessor, and ms opposite, Sr. Adams.
II seemed {" b. the PRIDE Of the Republicans 10 see their
constitr"nts-thcrr sovcrcigns-scated IN the chairs
made for an Emprror-and The Federal lenders never
conplai ned uft!cm because they hoped, nj snrr" timr
themselves, 10 occupy thrn- and now In" Federal
gang have sci Oglr at work to lay or. ln) NJ. Mon
roe 5 : ms at iha door OF Mr.. Van Buren,, simply for The
purpose "t giving them an exclusive possrssi"n "f The
very mansion aud furniture which 50 eycites their in
diIuatinR,
But wc leave The question Of the appropriateness
and rA pcnsivrncss Of the fnrni,nrc, and The attempt to
att3ch The responsibility Of either To the President, 10
he settled by the speech Of Mr.. Lincoln. He shows
Cnnclnsivcly, hy The undivid. d vote Of his own friends
for the Appropriation, not asked hy The President, that
Mcy, IN cfrct, ordSrd the addition to and repair Of tic
furniture wlrch they now make n subject o. universal
cutlery against HE President. MIR. Lincoln, in his
speech, which We r~cpmhl'sh from the lntrlIigcnccr, de-
cIarrs, "TflEY PASSED 1T WITHOUT OBJEC-
TON"
t. this Oglc rnpI;"d, conscious Of lis effect,
"No; A MEMBER NEAR NE SAYS HE OBJ
JECIED.
Mr.. Lincoln asked:
SENTIENT. If ANY HAD THE VIRTUE AT
THAT TINE TO THINK IT WRONG, HE HAD
NOTTHE COURAGE TO MAKE 1T KNOWN.
WHERE Is THE RECORDED VOTE AT CALL
EVEN FOR a DIVISION UPON THE CUES
TION:"
Under this repeated demand. MIR. Ogle, who had
falsely asserted (rxprctrnL mt 10 he questioned that a
member near him had objected, sat silent, and By his
silence confessed that what he said WAS false, as he
could not po, nj oni the nhjrctnr. Mr.. Lincoln, there
fore, Justly cons drrs That If the appropriation of S2a,-
COO for rrftting the Presidents Ii"usr, Uhe lowest sum
ever appropriated rs The outfit for thnr pmrp"sr-Mr.
Aiams's Sl4, 600, III l14, was more than 100000 nowD
was wrong, Congress WIS 10 blame a, every successive"
term for the last forty years, and moi the several P7rsi-
dental inrnmhrnts, and least Of all the last, who d d
not EXPRESS even n wish IN r"grrd 10 II; and = AS Justly
concludes that If Mr.. Van Buren, is Il III at, rs suggest
ed by MIR. Og'c, fr applying the m"nry 10 The object
drs' gnaird by law, s." were Washington, the two Ad.
arrsrs, jeff; rson. Madison, Monroe, and Jackson.
Mr.. Lnculu does not leave Congress undrtrndrd, hut
goes IN 10 show that the appropriation was necessary
and proper; and referring Ia his former speech, liz re-.
prats the views gwen by the Globes report of that
speech.
-, " - r. a..
rrr proposing additional expenditures on furniture for
The House beyond the S:l1,hi0 outfit.
In ,hr CONCLUSION, h. repeats what excited the ire of
Mr.. Ogle and his friends:
81 I'D saw, however, generally, | have already to-day
rcpca.cd, aud | now rei,rratp, that To u casual observer
the. furn Iturr appears neither tno rich nor too abundant
for the size and magnifrrncp of the mansion, nor too
rood for the nst of the first representative officer al a Tree
and severe RI people. Bnt of 'h $ make no mntier OF
personal controversy with the member. understand HIM
now tn say that he has never been nj ihr house. How well
then, It may c"mport with n becoming mod"s'y, or
sense Of Justice even, to dcnnunce unseen that winch
prudent and honorable men have sanctioned, ! leave
for others 10 consider. He condemns the articles, AZ
he exhibition of arisi"cratIc pride and splrnd"r. wen,
sir, defend moi the purchase nf these articles, huttakr
nv posilinn behind The character of those by whose
authority they were procured. insist that whatever
fault has been committed is with those who furnished
the means 0fsrcli exiravagance, 1t extravaganza there
br-with the Representatives Of the people, who, again
INV bphlHs ui'hhl SNfiy 1900 $3.50
knowledge Of the manner IN which the money would
b. expended, have voted the appropriations without re-.
stric,irn or qualification. have shown that whatever
rrproach attaches to the Procurement aud use OF such
furniture has been incurred by the head ofeacli success
sive Administration.
REMARKS OF Mr.. LINCOLN % M,ss.cHrsETTs.
iCupird from the National lntcllrcnrrr.
In hc House IF Representatives, .fPrI Ito, lc4o-ln re
ply TO Mr.. Onlr, upon the proposition oi The latter to
strike out of the General Appropriation Bill a small
item for alterations and repairs OF the Presidents
House, &c.
When Mr.. LINCOLN obtained the floor, it was lat"
in the evening, and, prrc wing that he was tai'gurd
by The long sitting, it was proposed to adjourn the de-
bate to The following dag, but Mr.. J.. preferred saying
at once what he had to say. He hegnn by replying to
some remarks 81 Mr.. Og!- incidental to the main debate,
taking occasinn, in the conrsc of his reply, To state GER
tain particulars in which his remark on a former day
had been m'sstarcd, probably because misunderstood, hr
the Reporter for the Gl"he newspaper. After disP"sin.
Of This preliminary matter, MIR. l.. proceeded to tn
main subj ect before tn. Committee of the Whole, upon
which he spoke rs follows:
The member from Pennsylvania (said Mr.. Lincoln.
has ms; sted that the tendency Of my remarks was L
Justify the purchase Of xirtvaganta articles OF iurnIfrir'