The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-03-24


Dulinghsm Dobbin Douglass, DromgOols Enimsn Fafan
Feklin Fries Garyn Goodyear, Grover Hamliu HaTsl
s Houston, Edmana W Hobsrd, Hungsrford Charles D
lngersol Joseph Johnson, Andrew Johnson, George w
Jones Ieb, sere, Lyon Lumpkin, MCLEAN MeC rate
| Joseph !. Mcdowell, James Mcdowell Mckay John 7
Relic. Ritter, sawyer, seaman Alexander D. Sims Leon
ard H. Sims simpson. Thomas smith, Robert smith, stan
TON ssrkT ssasr :. John sykes JANE, Tho%psoS
ward. Woodwork Yaneey, Yell and Yost-s9.
SO the House decided that the resolution should
| not be laid on the table.
And then the resolution was adopisd
Mr. JAMES THOMPSON again asked leave to
present memorial, which he desired to have
| printed.
Objection was made
| The SPEAKER said, that the regular business
would be the call Of the committees for reports
On motion Of Mr.. HARRISON, the House re-
solved itself into Committee Of the Whols on the
state Of the Union, (Mr, Mckay, of North Carolina
in the chair, and resumed the consideration Of the
said bill, and Of the amendments thereto pending
The floor was the property, from yesterday, Of
| Mr.. ISAAC L. HOLMES; but
| Mr. MCCONNELL rose and moved that the bill
be laid aside, with view to take up (as the reporter
understood) the bill he had designated yesterday.
The CHAIRMAN decided that the motion was
not IN order, because the gentleman was not entitled
| TO the floor TO make IT,
Mr.. JAMES A. BLACK rose also and addressed
| the chair.
Mr.. ISAAC E. HOLMES said, that as he had
no disposition To tnfiei speech upon the committee
on military subject, and as the gentleman neal
him Mr.. BLACK could do so much more justice
to it, he (Mr. H would yield the floor in favor Of
that gentleman
Mr.. BLACK resumed the floor but yielded al
the request Of
Mr.. HUNGERFoRD, who gave notice of the
following amendment,
"That the President Of the United States be, and
is hereby, authorized, by voluntary enlistment, to
increase the number Of privates in each company
Of the existing regiments Of Dragons artillery and
infantry, to any number not exceeding eighty
whenever in his opinion the exigencies Of the pub.
lie service may require the same"
Mr.. BLACK then proceeded with his remarks
In considering the bill before the committee he was
disposed to take the following view Of it. The
amendment of his colleague, Mr.. HoLMEs,l u
which he wished particularly to call the attention
Of the House, provides that the two regiments, II
raised, shall be Differed by transfers and promo,
tons from the line of the army. From comparison
with the expenses Of the LIST regiment Of infantry
he estimated that case the officers of these reg
mens were taken from private life, their pay for a
single regiment would be about s43, 1873, and for
two regiments about ss7 $50. This sum would be
saved to the army If the amendment Of the gentle
man from New York Mr.. HUseERFoRpl is adopt.
ed-viz: for the two regiments, over $4,000. The
amendment of the gentleman from South Carolina
Mr.. HoLMEs,l IL adopted, would effect a saving OF
about s60, 900. BY raising two additional regiments
and offering them from the existing number OF
supernumeraries, the expenses for the frame. work
Of our skeleton army will be increased only by the
small amount of about $4,000. For his part, he
had great preference between the different prop
ositons before the committee, except that he was
decidedly in favor of having at least additional
regiment mounted.
! The present number Of the army was about
| 5000; the proposition Of the gentleman would make
| 80 enlisted men to each company, and therefore
would increase the aggregate amount Of the lao
companies Of the army to about IL, 600 men. The
proposition Of the Committee on Military Affairs
was to increase the companies by an addition OF
| 10 men TO each company, which would make an in
| crease Of 400 men TO the companies now in ser
vice, and TO raise two additional regiments amount
ing to about 400 Thus the proposition Of the
committee was TO increase the army about SOC
men, making Its aggregate number TO about 10 SOC
| men.
He was therefore decidedly, in favor of the prop
oston to make two additional regiments; but he
was equally in favor Of offering them by transfer,
and promotions from the army. II would be rec.
objected by members Of the last Congress that this
House at the last session passed bill by major
ity OF threefourths Of those present dismssing IS
| supernumeraries in the army. That bill failed in
| the Senate Here was proposition to employ 6S
of them; and could they justify themselves if they
authorized the officers for these regiments be Sc
lected from private life, and then turned round and
dismissed these supernumeraries' Their course
was clear If they decided upon increasing the
companies to 80 each, he believed would be their
| duty to appoint As additional second leutenants
| He hoped the bill would prevail. He hoped also
that the amendment of the gentleman from South
| Carolina would be adopted; and also that of the
| gentleman from Kentucky, Mr.. BoYp,l which au.
thorized the mounting Of such portions of the two
| regiments as the President shall think proper II
that prevails 1t is not to be supposed that the Pres
| ident will mount more than one regiment--proba.
bly, not so many. That these were intended a.
western rangers, to some extent, would not be de-
nied they were best qualified for the necessities OF
the country, for Transporting the mail from posi-
to post, for carrying information and for guarding
| emigration. .-. :.
| Mr.. TILDEN then took the floor, and, 40 far as
his remarks could be heard the left of the chair
spoke generally to the following effect
| He did not often, he said, trouble the House
with any long speeches, nor was he disposed, on
this occasion, to depart from his general practice
But, if he understood the matter correctly, this
measure was proposed originally for the purpose oil
giving security and protection to our citizens emf
grating to Oregon; and he was anxious to place
himself right in the vote he was about to give on
that account. He did not wish to stand before his
constituents in the position of voting against BILL
(as he intended to vote against this,) which had
Tor Its object the encouragement Of our emigration
to Oregon, and its protection on the way there II
he could convince himself that such was the objec,
or design Of this BILL he should undoubtedly feel
bound to give to it his sincere and hearty support
But he did not believe it; he did not believe it had
any such object; he did not believe that such had
been It's original design, much less that it was so al
this time. he might be wrong and if so he should
be happy to be set right but he looked upon this
an effort on the part Of the administration to raise
these two regiments of rifemen, TO be Differed,
cording to the views of the gentleman from Arkansas
Mr.. YELL, by western gentlemen, experienced in
Indian warhre,) to conciliate the great western
democracy for the disappointment they had under.
gone by the failure to carry cut their views in rea
ton to the northwestern boundary. This might be
afar-fetched conclusion, but it was that which had
presented itself to his mind. ... ...-
Something like 80 or 80 officers would be re.
CURED for these two regiments If the object which
he had stated was not the real object Of this
ure; If it looked solely and exclusively to the best
interests of the country, how it that the recon-
mendations of the President and the Secretary Of
War had been departed from in the framing of this