Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1846-04-23
Gmtntp-Nintb Congress.
In the House Of Representatives, APril9.

about them.
would not ask the indulgence Of the House for my
personal vindcsiion. but the occasion involves the most
preciou. privilege of members Of this House, in which
the people are represented. Its freedom OF speech mas
been grossly attacked. through me. by q Senator. Mr.
Daniel Webster. of him as a Senator, or an Individual
I never have spoken here. OF Mr.. Daniel Websiers
misconduct, as Secretary Of State, | have often spoken,
mostly to censure il. in the instance which provoked him
this session, with q severity which, | acknowledge, ,Justihes
retort.
with q word Of explanation Of some resolutions, to which,
suppose. there can hardly be objection.
If adopted. I presume they maj be answered by next
Monday and then | shall pray permission TO speak on
the subject.
One Of them is designed to bring officially before this
House, the journals or minutes of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, in February, ls43, when the honorable
gentleman from Massachusetts,, (Mr. Adams) was Chalr-
man Of the Committee. Il
According 10 good ~precedenls and authorities, I am
entitled TO read these minutes TO the House, without Its
leave. But, as doubts may be entertained, l prefer to
obvis,e ali objections, by obtaining its sanction in form.
These minutes will prove that Mr.. Secretary Webster
made known 10 members Of that committee, by a written
communication, the Presidents wish for a special mission
to Great Britain. which special mission, | think, it will
sufficiently appear. vas to settle the Oregon question. by
Welding which Mr.. Webster has lately denied our right
10 claim.
The resolution for Information from the Department Of
State will bring forth proofs of MI Secretary Websters
misdemeanors in office, his fraudulent misnppIication and
personal use Of the public funds, and cOrrupting party
presses with the money appropriated by law for the con-
tingent expenses Of foreign intercourse. When ~dlscharg-
ed, as be was, from the department to which he was so
great a disgrace, he was a delinquent, a public defaulter.
He did not account for the public money he fraudulentiy
distracted from the department, till more than a year after
he was expelled from 1t, and did not account for most OF
il then by paving back the money he distracted, but by
vouchers from VIGOROUSLY base agents of his choice, who
receipted for it, to be expended in managing party presses.
Papers from the Department of State, some of them signed
by him, will reveal the mystery, of which one OF his cor
rurt agents, in a letter TO him, marked privdte,' applauds
as Mr.. Webster's new and admirable mode Of settling the
Northeastern boundary question, after the forty years
Numbering, however honest and patriotic, of The Adamses,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, and Van Buren,,
who did not consider it right to exPend public moneys in
corrupting the press and The people.
II is sickering, if not sad reality, that a man of fine
abilities, as preposterously as proflnely called Godlike,
should be exposed in his mean and palry contrivances
and associations with VIGOROUSLY base fellows, in palPably
vie use Of the public money. When spoke the offensive
words of the Secretary, which appear to have goaded him
to the madness generally ~betraying the guilty, | had no
idea of the extent of his offence. Indeed, | have not now,
for detection has only begun since he called me TO Il. One
Of his CONDUCTORS writes to the Secretary of State, that he
presumes the contingent fund is ample, and the Secretary's
control over it complies.
These papers, when made printed documents, will show,
also, application Of some Of the same secret contingent
fund to the release of Mcleod and, although Mr.. Web
sier is reported to have said in the Senate, that there was
only one letter on this subject, three, in one and the same
day. will appear.
Whether, when possessed of The proofs Of Mr.. Secretary
Webster's malversatiOn, corruption, and delinquency his
offences will be deemed improbable misdemeanors in
Office. conviction for which, might remove him from the
Senate. and disqualfy him to hold any office of honor,
trust, or profit, under the United States, will remain to be
considered.
should it prove necessary to go to that extremity, the
similiiude will be wonderful with a great English lawyer,
called by a poet, the wisest and meanest of mankind.
II will be perceived that the detection, If / am not mis-
taken, which my former disclosures may lead to merge
my individual wrong. and even the injustice done through
ma IN the representative character. freedom. and nriviieua
in this House, in the much greater importance Of misde-
meanor in office. WheR Congress sees the proofs / pro-
pose TO submit, they will judge all parties and do what is
right II is useless, and would be worse than useless, for
me TO apply epthets to Mr.. Webster. 1 desire to try him,
and be tried myself, by proofs.
now offer the following resolutions, to which I presume
no objection will be made. l ask that they may be read
for Information.
And no objection having been made, the resolutions
were read, as follows:
ResOIred. That the Secretary of State furnish this
House an account Of all payments made on Presidents
certificates, from the fund appropriated by law, through
the agency of that department, for the contingent expenses
Of foreign intercourse, since the 4h Of March, ls4l, with
copies of all entries. receipts, letters, vouchers, memoran-
dums, or ether evidence of such payment, to whom paid,
Tor what, and particularly all concerning the northeast
boundary dispute with Great Britain also, copies of
whatever communications were made from the Secretary
Of State. during the last session Of the 9th Congress
particularly, February, lS43, to Mr.. Cushing and Mr..
Adams, members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House, of the wish Of the President Of the United
States to institute a special mission to Great Britain also,
copies Of all letters on the books of the Department of
State to any officer Of the United States, or any person in
New York, concerning Alexander Mcleod.
ResolUed. That the chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs Of this House, submit to the House The
journal or minutes Of that committee, during the last
session of the 9th Congress.
Some conversation here took place, Mr.. McKII, of
North Carolina, Directing to the resolution. Mr.. IseER-
SOIL resumed
am sorry that my friend from North Carolina, land
be is the last man from whom | should have expected any
opposition to this resolution) obiges me to explain the
subject; for, as / before said, | had put in writing, and
that very briefly, all which | thought il was necessary now
TO refer to, and that other things might be reserved for the
coming in of the papers. / say through you to this House,
that my resolution predicales a gross abuse of that fund,
My resolution asserts that Mr.. Secretary Webster has
expended through vile agents part of that fund in corrupt
ing the press, IN coTuPting the party press, and conupting
the party press for the purpose of accomplishing the treaty
of the northeastern boundary and the question for this
House to decide now is, whether, If there were forty laws
from beyond the beginning of the government, any gen.
tlemsn would prevent these papers from being brought
forward. Sir, this is an extraordinary case This is M
common case. would be the last man, sir, (and I should
have known nothing about this, but for my connection with
the Committee on Foreign Affairs. and from what I know
about these matters) I should be the last man TO interfere
with the ordinary application of this secret service money.
But I will state what | know to be the flcts, and what I
presume the chairman of the Committee of WAYS and
Means knows TO be the fact, that from the accession of that
extraordinary man, Andrew Jackson, in 1929, down TO
the departure from Washington of Mr.. Van Buren,, at the
expiration Of has Presidential term. not one farthing of
that money was kept from public view, and that the pri.
vste use of it did begin Immediately after Mr.. Webster
came into Office.
Mr.. McKAT withdrew his objections. Mr.. DRoweooLE
obtsinsd the floor, and made some very severe remarks
respecting the Tyler administration, its corruption, &c.
for which be did not hold the whig party responsible. He
said:
In sllusion to the northeastern boundary. I shall NOT call