The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-12-22
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
The journal OF yesterday having been read
LETTERS To THE ARMY


LETTERS TO THE ARMY.
Mr. MARTIN, of Kentucky, submitted the following
resolution; which read for information, viz;
Be IL rcsOpsd By the Senate and House of REPRESENTATIVES.,
officers and soldiers engaged in the Mexican beyond
the limits OF the United States, shall be received by them
free OF postage.
Mr. THOMPSON, OF Mississippi objected and moved
that the rules be suspended and the House go into Com
mtee OF the Whole on the state OF the Union. lie SAID
that he mode this motion because he had another matter
bring before the House, but desired that the business
before the committee should be first disposed Of
and he hoped that the House would sustain him
Mr. MARTIN, Of Kentucky, moved a suspension OF
the rules, in order TO admit his resolution.
Mr. HUDSON observed that he objected TO the suspen-
OF the regular order OF business, IN order TO prevent
if possible, that of procedure By which certain
gentlemen enabled TO get in their resolutions TO
the exclusion OF those submitted by other gentlemen.
IA voice You object to anything in relation to the
war with Mexico, or the army operating there.
Mr.. MARTIN demanded the yeas and nays upon his
motion; which demand however, was not seconded !;
and the question being put vOee, the motion
lost
CORRECTION oE THE JOURNAL
Mr.. VANCE said that he was not reported in the
morning papers having voted yesterday upon the
on TO suspend the rules, in order to admit the resolution
of the gentleman from Kentucky, [Mr THoMAssoNl and
he desired 10 know whether he recorded hav
ing voted.
The SPEAKER replied that he was not 50 recorded
Mr. VANCE. | voted in the affirmative.
The SPEAKER. The journal will be amended
cordingly.
I'VE requested to state, also, that Mr. SCAMMoNs
name should have been recorded in the negatirel
RULES.
Mr. SMITH, Of Illinois, moved that the rules be sus-
pended for hour in order call the States for peh
tons, resolutions, notices. bills &c giving rise 10
debate; (which motion was lost a division-ayes 70,
noes not counted
AMENDMENT OF RULE
Mr. COBB moved suspension OF the rule and that
the House proceed to the consideration OF his resolution,
submitted yesterday proposing amendment OF the IIst
rule He expressed the hope that the House would pass
the resolution, and thus put end to those speeches
which frequently inflicted upon the House by
bers desiring to be excused from voting.
The I S%N to suspend the rules was rejected S
petitions not in order
The SPEAKER replied that they were; and the chair
DESTROYS OF proceeding with the order if gentlemen
Mr., THOMPSON, of Mississippi, renewed his motion
to go into Committee OF the Whole the state OF the
Union which motion prevailed
The House accordingly resolved itself into Committee
of the Whole the state of the Union, Mr. BoYD in the
chair
MEXICO.
The CHAIRMAN announced the business before the
committee to be the resolutions submitted by MIR. BRoD-
HEAD, of Pennsy lvania referring the Presidents
Mr. MORSE addressed the committee He had sup
posed that his friends on the opposite side would have
seen the proprety OF waiting for some data which they
could properly animadvert If he regarded the sub
ect merely partisan, he would have reoiced in the
course which had been taken. L ne American people
might well be aroused by the fierce denunciaons of the
President and his friends the administration OF the gov
eminent. 1t not little singular to hear such vtu;
perative expressions from that party which claimed all
the decency" Whatever the nature OF the opposition it
evident that war to the knife against the admins
tration had been resolved upon He would say, let it
come. The administration that point was lnvunerable.
He would establish two proposlhons-frst, that the
war not an unpopular one that, the contrary,
was an emnenty Popu ar war; and secondly that the
course of the opposition had been, and calculated
to, afford " aid and comfort to the enemy. He had
nothing to do with the quo amino OF the opposition
speeches but they were fair and legitimate subjects Of an
tain subjects. But time and the American people would
decide which side Of the House had best fulfilled its duty
Whatever kind OF lie they might choose to call THE
lie direct, by implication or by circumstance, or the
{" scrptural e"-ta laughl-one thing certain, the
apped that ephet to the President Of the United States
Ii might be that his (Mr. MS views wrong but
without mpugning the motives of the opposition he did not
hesitate characterize their conduct till within very few
days-or they did to be getting tired ofitas cacuat,
ed to afford aid and comfort to the enemy He proposed
to show to the people the character Of the arguments
used to contover the clear and irresistible testimony OF the
message He meant dsrespect when he said, that if
better and more substantial arguments could have been
used, the gentlemen on the opposite side would have
made them known How did the debate originate
Gu bono There a conviction in the minds OF gen
temen that the people could to but conclusion
reading the message and necessary to manufac
ture discussion in order to give means of
ply to the newspapers against the message. Ii was
said that the message was the appeal Of a dema-
gogue. Was not the President bound to set forth
TO the people the grounds of the war Was il
not his duty to show that the brave soldier who had
answered the call of his country was engaged in no a-
gressive war mo of James X. Polk That "twice
was he armed who had his quarrel just !" He not
disposed to go into the details of Mexican aggression
and robbery The President had the whole matter
the clearest light But would not the accumulated
wrongs OF Mexico justify any nation in going to war
with her Nothing could have excused the President
had he acted otherwise One 1.-THE of the threats and
and the President had not directly invaded them, bonn
barded their ports and seized their vessel, he would
have been Justly chargeable with impeachment. After
the ablest men of the opposition had examined the
message, what had they been able to put forth
against it That it appeal TO the people
that the President did not recommend tax tea and
cohee--and that il too long! Next came the gentle
been nnocuated by disease which seized his worthy
friend in that city years agoa holy horror Of mill
tary cheftans After pronouncng his prophetic visions
of ruined constitution, he falls INTO rhapsody at the
discovery he had made that the President of the United
States, by of his commodores and generals, had
set up civil government in Texas. The gentleman from
Ohio thought that unanswerable argument. II
mattered little whether Santa Fe in Texas not.
Engaged in war with Mexico, it proper to hold that
territory and keep II safe. The conduct of the gentle
men--their acknowledgements calculated TO afford
aid and comfort" to the enemy. lie had exam
med the wing English press, and he found praises
of the galanry of the army and patriotism OF the peo
pie had been extorted from those foreign journalists
In the commencement of the war. Now the tone of the
English press changed. 1t held out gloomy fore
holdings Of the war, and said that party would trampe
everything II that press could be thus deceived, and
encouraged hope for the results the United
States what the natural inference Why, that the