The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-12-21

4
Mr.. HOPKINS asked for the yeas and nays, which
| were ordered.
| Mr.. EVERETT inquireG whether if the House re-
fused TO resolve itself into consmttee, the bill 10
| peal the Bankrupt Law would be taken up;
| The SPEAKER responded afiirmatiyely
The question was taken, and the House refused to
| resolve itself into a Committee Of the Whole, by
vote of 80 TO %.
| REPEAL OF THE BANKRUPT LAW.
The House then proceeded to the consideration Of
the bill TO repeal the Bankrupt Law which is as lo-
| lows:
Be ii enacted by The Senate and House Of Representa-
tires ehe United States Of .7nerea in Congress
bted, That the act entitled An act TO establish uni
| form system of bankruptcy throughout the United
States" approved on the nineteenth day of August
eighteen hundred and forty-one, be, and the same
hereby is repealed Proeided That this act shall not
affect any proceeding in bankruptcy com
menced before the fifth day Of December, eighteen
hundred and forty-two, or any pains, penalties or
forfeitures, incurred under such act.
| Mr. EVERETT said the amount of bankruptcy at
the time this law passed, immense. This
evil was brought on the country, not much in
consequence the conduct of bankrupts themselves
as by the action of the Government in tampering
with the currency The great fire which occurred
in the city of New York as) caused great loss of
property, probably to the amount Of twenty millions
Of dollars, and involv ed large number Of the mer-
| camille community in utter bankruptcy His OBJ
ject, when he voted for the law to relieve por-
ton Of the country from the situation in which was
placed. He did not then view the law as perma-
nent measure and desired to offer an amendment
limiting its operation TO year; but he did not
press the amendment because he was fearful of de-
feating the bill However he glad that the
| measure had passed, 1t had effected much relief
to large proportion OF the people of the
/ country With regard to the voluntary clause it
was destroying confidence between man and man,
and seemed to be resorted to, by some as shelter to
live on the labor of others. He was inclined to
the belief that the future operations of the law would
be injurious and he was satisfied that beneficial
amendment could be engrafted on it. Ii any system
of bankruptcy to b estab shed let it be done by
means of another bill, and let it rest on its
rits independently Of the act at present in existence
and which he nov purposed to repeal.
Mr.. BARNARD said that the fate of the 9th
Congress was peculiar and hard one This Con-
gress composed of two parties, the lin of DIFF
ference between which were drawn, perhaps, more
distinctly than those drawn between any two parties
/ which existed in this country. One Of these
parties in decided majority Of thirty or forty
votes in this House. The constitutional Executive
power Of the country, aso in hands holding OPT
Mons in accordance with the majority Of the House
Before, however, the meeting of Congress for the first
time for the transaction Of business misfor-
tune fell upon them. They lost their own Pre-
sident, and the present constitutional incumbent
| of the Presidential Office not disposed
to act in accordance with the majority
as oclates and joined themselves to the President
who of course was supported by the whole body of
the opposition. In this way, and under these cir
cums,ances they to the transaction Of the pub
lie business They (the Whgs) struggled with diff
fcuties from the first moment that they entered on
their la5ors, and which have never ceased to the
present hour Their condition had been like that Of
poor Sisyphus-they had been condemned to roll
burdens up steep declivities, and to find Instructions
when they reached the height and to rcpeat the la
bors witch they had attempted, again and again
| A voice "He is preaching funeral sermon. i
All these their misfortune, and not their fault
In the midst, however, Of their difficulties they had
succeeded in accomplishing some good to the coun-
try. AT the extra session they passed the law for
the distribution of the proceeds of The sales Of the
public lands, ard they passed the Bankrupt law. At
the last session they passed the Congressional Dis
| trict law and what will rema of all these and
many other measures which they had adopted at The
end of this session, in his heart can tell
| A voice THAT'S MELANCHOLY TIE Land Dstrl-
button law was gone already the Congressional
District law threatened, and was in imminent
| danger. The Tariff law was proposed to BE- modera-
ted and modified out of all its protective character.
And now, at last, they came TO the fate of the Bank
rupt law and its repeal was moved by of their
| own friends One, too, who had passed upon il a
high eulogium. MIR. b. then spoke against this
| stable mode of legislation; for what security
there if men governed day by one set OF
opinions and another day by opinions entirely tie
reversed The only possible security for leu sation
opinions should last through Congress but which
it appeared, it was not likely they would have All
the evil that could be accomplished by the bill had
probably been done; and that it was entering on
It's career of usefulness, il was proposed to reIeal it,
If this to be done, let il be ACCOMPLISHED not be-
cause it had answered temporary purpose but if gen
| tlemen of that opinion because il was a bad
law. He moved that the bill be referred to the Com
mittee the judiciary and said that if it were not
! sent there, and any portion of the Bankrlpt act
| IN he lpH he Strh,,
TO strike out the voluntary feature to take effect on
the first day of July next He inquired of the Chair
whether, II the motion TO commit should succeed
it would be in order to submit his amendment.
| The SPEAKER replied in the affirmative
| Mr.. c. J. ING ERSOLL, offered the following -
''lhat the bill be committed to the Committee the
Judiciary with instructions to report the Bankrupt
law, excluding voluntary applications and banks
ed by States, and including such corporations not
| owned by Sates as issue notes for circulation"
The question was stated this proposition,
when
Mr.. WINTHROP said that it appeared that sum
mary execution was TO be done this last remaining
act of the i'll star of the session. and he con-
tended that the bill ought to be committed as sug-
gcsted by his friend from New York (Nlr Barnard;
for, If the House resolved to destroy their own
work, it ought 10 be done in such manner as to IN
tlict the least possible injustice the community.
Mr. PAYNE made some general remarks in rela
ton to the sulect in the course of which he said
that the President was blamed for not permitting the
majority to do whatever they pleased, and the Wings
had become as sick as death at what they themselves
| had done. But the President was S i'll blamed He
did not understand whether the gentleman from New
York had blamed the President for his vetoes as much
| as he had blamed the gentleman from Vermont Mr.
EvcretD for introducing the BILL If the Wings
blamed the President for not letting them do what
they desired, they ought not to blame him for what
they have done themselves.
Mr. GORDON addressed the II use in favor Of
the repeal of the law.
The question was again stated on committing the
bill with instructions and
Mr.. WELLER asked for the yeas and nays.
Mr. ARNOLD called for division of the insruc-
tons proposed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania