The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-08-03

he hau not called OH the Fresldeh' IN regard 10 IN,
bill
Mr. THURMAN rose to a point of order. and
raised the point that It not in order 10 refer IA
conversations with the President.
The SPEAKER overrued the point Of order
Mr. McCLELLAND said he did not understand
the gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr. THoMP,ox
as the gentleman from Alabama Mr. PAYNE seem.
ed to Nave understood hm-lo inquire whether h.
(Mr Nee did not present this bill It's df-rsb,
items to the President of the United States Nov
he would state that he did not consider himself bound
nor did he consider il proper here TO state any co.,
yersatlon that had taken place bet" cen the Presden
Of the IT, States and himself in regard to this mat
ter He considered all the communications he had had
with the President of the United States relation 10
this subject AS confidential He would state though
40 far as that was concerned that at any COnsulA.
ton he had had with the President he had not the
bill with him.
Mr.. CONSTABLE (Mr I. further yielding r..
marked that he very much surprised at The
question of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, as he
had no intimaton Of his purpose 10 ask IL and tha,
so far from that gentleman's having received any
such information from him, they had never tS.
changed n word upon the subject; bat that since The
general form of the question proposed TO the gentle
man from Michigan, and repeated 10 him, had forced
from him disclaimer, he felt bound now TO say thai
he had never seen the bill until introduced In
to the House, and knew nothing Of It's items, not
being u member of the committee Some coh-
siderable time before the bill reported he had eI.
changed few words with the President upon sin.
gle matter connected with the subject Of this bl.
during which the President had made remark from
which he (Mr. c. had inferred that the Pr,sldsa,
was friendly the item, and he still so believed As
there was nothing IN the veto message, as he under
stood it, inconsistent with the inference lie had drawn
from the remark of the President So far from
his having conferred with the President upon tn,
BILL either before after It's passage, he had but
/ .nUle with him and thai Ua
confined TO an item which was not included in the
| bill reported by The committee.
| Mr.. MCCLELLAND further said, he wished 10
say that he positively and unequiyOcaly declined
| TO give any answer to the inquiry the gentleman
from Pennsylvania Mr.. THoMPsoS had put.
A member 10 Mr.. THoMPsos.) You ought to
withdraw the mputation.
Mir THOMPSON, (continung,) said he had
made no lmputaton; he only asked a ques-
| ZION. II there was any lmputauon in the question,
| he could not avoid II.
A member. You are bound in honor to with.
draw the imputaIon because it is not proved.
Mr.. THOMPSON said he would leave that TO the
House, whether proved not. liza witness Will not
answer, we all know what the inference is. As to his
honor, he said he knew how take care Of that hs
would protect IL in his own way. He said that Col
Aber's report submitted TO the House in regard
TO the great majority Of these improvements, and he
understood from that officer that the matter had
been submitted to the President and it had received
his approval He asked why all this il all the lime
he had constitutional doubts and dlfcultieS Was
with a view to other matters Ito other measured
Was he silent in relation 10 this BILL on account Of
another measured Another thing he would state
that strange the Union" had come out the day
b fore the final vote in the House on the tariff in "a.
Of this bill, then in the hands OF the President
| the day after, 1t came out against 1t
A member. The editor explained that
Mr.. THOMPSON said he had seen the explsna.
ton. II was poor excuse. Did he not know
his own EDITORIAL And did he not read his
own revises' But whether or not the fact
so, the explanation came after the tariff bill was
passed. He said gentlemen seemed surprise at hs
remarks. He claimed the right, as an independent
man. to say whatever he thought 1t his duty to say,
even iii terms of disapprobation. What a consiNl-
ent not right TO speak freely Of his representative
to disapprobate hum if he believes he deserves IL
He said he had labored hard elect Mr.. Polk, and
! he would support him when he was right but he
knew Of no responsibility that would deter him from
making such comments in regard to his course as
| he believed himself justified in making, and con-
demning if he be ieved him wrong. He said he con-
ceved 1t extraordinary, that with all the evidence
showing the Presidents acquiescence in the works
provided for in this bill, that at the time he de.
niod the power Of Congress to make such improve
ments, and that intirnation oft given I'M
I'll this time. He did not wish TO be misu Understood.
he was not going TO come out against the President
as such, Notwithstanding the interests Of his own
! State were almost in ruins by an act Of Congress
| sanctioned by him. He would support him when
he thought him right and condemn him when he
thought him wrong. Herepeated, he did not wish
| to be misrepresened. Us he would misrepresent no
one, he would permit no one TO misrepresent him.
| The veto he was opposed to. No more works on
the lakes and rivers could be completed under such
views; no more could he undertaken, and those in
progress must 60 to ruin. To lie one winter ex.
posed in an unfinished state, as at present. would,
on the lakes alone, insure loss Of 00,00O and
If suspended during the existence of this admins
tratlon, would be utterly useless. After vote by so
large majority of this House in favor Of the BILL
and more than two-thrds of the Senate, il required
! courage TO veto the bill; and this too, when the
veto rests upon an abstraction to which Washing
ton, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Van Bu-
ren and MIR. Polk himself, might say, was opposed
Tome that must ruin the commerce of the lakes
and rivers, by putting an end 10 their improvement
In conclusion, he would appeal to the west to stand
by the bill to New York, surrounded as she ia by
important works provided for in it, not to yield up
their IN eress so long approved of; and to gentle
men on this side Of the House who voted for the
BILL not TO let any desire to see an infection in a
certain quarter prevent them from voting for the BILL
Mr.. WlLMOT said:
Mr.. SPEAKER | rise, sir, for the purpose of CIV
ing my cordial approval to the cour the President
has fit to pursue upon this subject. | opposed
this bill in every stage Of its passage through this
pec,atons of the party that elevated him to power
had he given his SANCTION to this bill. In this &C.
he has proved himself a man of hrmness and nerve,
, worthy of the high confidence reposed in him by
the republican party.
regard as fraught with imminent danger the vast
scheme of internal improvement marked out in this
bill. 1t passed this House by combination of IN
tcrests-by uniting the local and sectional interests
| of different portions of the country in one common
cause-by system of downright LOG. rolling. II
this government embarks in a scheme of inter
nal Improvements, there ID no human foresight that
where It will end. Ii will increase with tho
growth of giant. In few years. it will extend
and spread itself over the whole confederacy re-
quiring millions upon millions to feed and sustain
| 1t. Our legislation will degenerate into mere
scramble for money to feed the greedy and nsatae
| appetite of sectional and sensh interests Had
held the fate Of this bill in my hands OF its psssags
through the House, could have obtained any
| amount of appropriation to an object however To-
cal IN its character far the purpose of insurhg It's
success. Yes sir; could have demanded and re-.
ceived any appropriation Of hundreds Of thousands
| Of dollars to make the Susquehanna navigable for
1 a..