The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-20

He demanded the previous question:; but at the
request Of
Mr.. p. then said. he would offer AN amendment
which he sent 10 the clerks table.
Il was read IL related TO the removal Of the seat
Of government to some point northwest OF the
Ohio.
The SPEAKER said the motion was not in order,
unless the pending motion to commit the bill was
Mr.. DOUGLASS would not withdraw the mo-
ton (he said) for this purpose.
The SPEAKER (apparenty understanding the
motion 10 have been withdrawn decided, on
suggestion from some member, neither seen nor
heard by the reporter that the amendment was not
in order, because il was irrelevant,
Mr.. PETIT. The Speaker has already ruled
the amendment out oforder,
MIR. G. DAVIS rose to make the point OF or
der.
Dir. PETIT called him to order.
The SPEAKER. The chair rules out the amend
ment on the ground of irreevancy.
r Mr.. PETIT. The Speaker has so decided
But have the floor.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Indiana
Is entitled to the floor,
Mr. PETIT. Well, sir, | do not intend to keep
il long, but | wish TO express my contempt for all
such miserable dwelling attempts at retrenchmert
and reform. They always make more nsise out OF
doors than they effect good here know OF no sen
ator or representative who has grown rich upon has
mileage or his pay. So utterly do deprecate anil
detest this system Of demagoguism-ofeec uoneer-
ing for Buncombe-that ! would sooner, and |
avow il here, would sooner vote TO double the pay
than TO reduce il. have done.
Mr. j. p. MARTIN was understood 10 say, that
for his part he detested this system Of putting
our hands into the public treasury, and taking from
il the moneys wrung from the hard earnings Of the
people. He had not here 10 plumber the treas
ury of the nation; and when gentlemen were thrust
ing her fingers IL
must not undertake TO prevent him from exposing
the abuse, by crying out that il was demagoguism,
or an appeal to Buncombe. He occupied here the
ground Of attempting to legslate for the inter-
ests Of his constituents and Of the country And he
scorned the alluson that had been made 10 anything
like demagoguism on his part If the remark was
intended to apply to him, it was unjust and I'M
true.
Mr.. PETIT said he had no reference to the
gentleman from Kentucky, lMr. MARrN,l or to
any other particular individual.
Mr.. MARTIN continued. The bill was one
whose passage had been demanded by the people,
as had been that Of the other bill which he reported
yesterday, and which would effect, conformity, a
saving in four years the public treasury of
thing like s250,000.
SS1e came not here for any purposes Of demagogu-
ism. He came 10 carry out what he believed to be
the interests OF the people. And he intended to
pursue that course so long as he remained mem
Der Of this body
Mr.. SEVERANCE said few words, Of which
nothing could be heard distinctly the left Of the
chair The reporter thinks Mr.. s. expressed his
concurrence in the views OF Mr. MCKAY, and his
belief that great abuses existed in the mileage sys
tenn which ought to speedily remedied.
The SPEAKER here nterposed with the remark
that the motion TO commit having been withdrawn,
the question before the House was on making the
bill the special order for Monday next; and that
being a motion touching the priority Of business,
was not, by the rule, debatabIe.
Mr.. DOUGLASS Correcting the misapprehen
sion Of the Speaker before adverted TOY said he had
not withdrawn his motion 70 commit.
The SPEAKER. Then the gentleman from
Maine Mr.. SEvERANcEl will proceed.
The conversation and noise in the hall during the
whole OF this discussion were loud and constant
that no part is reported with any confidence in It's
accuracy. What the difficulties were under which
reporters labor, when the House remains in this dis
orderly state is evidenced by the fact that the de-
bate proceeded on the supposidon by the Speaker
that Mr. DOUGLASS had Withdrawn his motion TO
commit, when in fact he had positively refused to
do SO
Mr.. SEVERANCE hoped the bill would not be
committed but that it, and the other bill also, would
be passed without delay.
Mr.. HARRISON said that this question Of ref
erence enabled him to say few words in relation
to the business Of the House. During the past week
the House had been ocs upied in the consideration
of bills coming from the Committee of Ways and
Means-general appropriation bills-which might
be acted on month hence with as much propriety
as at this time; and now forsooth, the chairman of
that committee [Mr McKArl proposed to make
this mileage bill the special order of the day for
Monday next. He (Mr. H.) desired that the
House should how this course Of proceeding
was operating The Committee of the Whole on
the state of the Union was now engaged in the con-
sideration Of the Indian appropriation bill; it had
been so engaged for two or three days. and from the
limitations of debate and propositions of amend
ment given last evening, it probable that the
bill might occupy this day and tomorrow also.
The next thing we should hear, would be prop
osition the part of the chairman Of the Commit
tee of Ways and Means, to take up the Military
Academy, or some other general appropriation bill,
thus appropriating to himself and his committee the
whole of the valuable time Of the House.
There were other bills besides these, and this
mileage bill, which demanded prompt and speedy
action. He would REFER for instance, to some of
the measures reported from the Committee on Mill
ary Affairs. As to the importance of action on
these bills every gentleman could form his own con.
lecture For the last day or two he had been endeav-
orng to bring them up; but they had been made
to give place to bills, for the passage of which there
was no immediate necessity. He had himself no
objection to this proposition about mileage; on the
contrary, he should, when it came regularly before
the House, give it his hearty support. But he OBJ
ected to making it the special order Of the day for
Monday. There was much TO be done which, he
thOught, Wouu justly caim priority over that meas
ure. He trusted, however, that the bill would be
other committed or acted on at once, and that he
might be allowed to call up some of the measures
which, in his Judgment, claimed the immediate at
tenton of the House.
Mr.. WENTWORTH said that if members were
anxious that this bill should pass Immediately, he
was for taking it up to-day 1t would be remem-
bered that only few days ago it had been proved
to this House that there was maori-
ty-a large maority-n favor Of taking up the river
and harbor bill. Under a republican government
the majority had the right TO rule and If that bill
was to be served as it had been served at the last
session-if it was to be kicked about by its pre-.
tended friendsto be put off from day to day to the
very last of the session, and them at that late peri
3D. to have provisions attached to il which the men
who offered them knew would cause il to be vetoed
and sent back to this House at too late an hour to
admit of its being revised-if, he said, gentlemen
allowed this TO be done, he, for one, would tell them
that they would not be doing their duty. If gen
tlemen wished to pass this mileage BILL let them take
1t up now. If they wished to pass il for the pur-
Dose of reHeCtnp credit IA