The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-02-02
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1915.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
The journal having been read
The SPEAKER stated the question pending to be up
agreeing TO the resolutions referring the Presidents
to various standing and select committees, which
were yesterday reported from the Committee OF the
Whole on the state Of the Union; upon which question
Mr. COBB rose to address the House, but gave way
PERSONAL EXPLANATION.
Mr. RHETT said that yesterday, unconscious of Of
fence to any one he absent from hs~seat preparing
the speech he delivered last week for the press and
therefore had not the opportunity OF correcting, at the
time they were made several misconceptions and per,
from Virginia, Mr. GoGGIN.1 His first missatement-
that which reality is the OF his heat and person
alities-is follows:
House, that nine of ten OF them were the very men who
prolonged the war1 Mr.. G. never heard snch charge
brand whole party and that In time war ~iih giring
aid and comfort TO the enemies Of Their country and o-
commissioned that gentleman to come here and read to
members OF this House Lectures political morals and re-
Now said Mr.. r., | had said nothing whatever about
the whig party gving aid and comfort to the enemies
Of their country did not charge them with proonging
the 1rar What said this: that nine enths of them
land this expression, he admitted entirely toOsirong)
would be very sorry to hear that peace was concluded
Tomorrow and that they were very willing that the war
should continue until the next presidential election al
though they denounced it; and | assigned my
sons for this opinion. They looked to the the
to! ns hn " IN the
did not follow that he put any "brand' on the wing
party. They may ,conscentously believe that the
lesser sS than the Continued a M OF the demo
cratic party Many too may be of opinion that the debt
the must create. will be OF greater benefit 10 the
featuring interest by the increased duties imports it
will require, than the dres evils of the itself. But,
had he asserted what the gentleman charges he did,
that the wing party was in favor OF Rrolongng the ray,
it would have been nothing to be offended at it would
not have been without justification. Those from whom
the supplies must originae-the whg partyT~have ma
jory, and cam therefore, BY declaring their determination
to refuse the supplies stop the war at once Congress
has been in session two months and they have not done
this More than this the Committee of Ways and Means
entirely under their control, has reported loan bill of
eighteen mill ions to this House lthey will not stop the
war; when they can at any day. but op the contrary pro-
pose he supplies snn It an b e that they
The next error OF statement by the gentleman from Fr-
GINA is as follows:
"Thas gentleman had been TOO recently initiated into the
Of tho cabinet learn his lesson and yet he
talk members of that House about the powers
and he a the me ana S Sa M to
from the people and the peoples az kno'r
was still prosecuting the existing war"
This basis of his entire speech (Mr. r. said) he had
unfortunately heard of before He knew of call
uron the Executive to communicate 10 this House the
had been made. TO his knowledge in the debate
in the House There had been call upon the President to
communicate to this House the instructions given by the
President to Mr.. Slidel, in his mission to Mexico. To
that point he had spoken; and had contended that the
President had right to withhold the information the
House required but this point by means the
basis of his speech. 1t formed but pdrtone only OF
many other false positions assumed in the debate, which
he controyeHed.
The next error was no better than those he had already
noticed.
"The gentleman had said, So help him God, if he be-
eved the President guilty oil violation OF the constitution
~ imDpachmpnt tomorrow Could
gentleman see, even from his own case that man might
try yet not even Why did he mpeach
General Jackson These bad been democratic majority
at the time in the House, yet they meyer voted an mpeach
ment."
The charge here is that my professions not honest
because being in Congress, did not carry them out with
with respect to General Jackson who only carried out
laws Congress- had passed, is enough to repe the
charge of inconsistency for me to state that was not
member of Congress during any part OF General Iacksons
administration.
The gentleman from Virginia further says
At the last session, that gentleman had voted with the
supplies which declared that this war existed by the act
and charged the wings with proongng this war; and yet
refused TO say that the was begun by Mexico what
body surely must have commenced the The gentle
man refused declare that it the Mexlcans. Then
must have been somebody in the United States. 1t
not Congress. Who, then, was il 2"
Sir. said Mr.. RHErT, | refused 70 vote that Mexico
began the tDdr--as have refused to vote that the
President began the Both of these positions have
argued erroneous and large portion of my speech, TO
which the gentleman to have carefully attended,
was devoted to establish the proposition that Congress
alone, under the constitution can begin declare war;
and that by the act of May 1885, Congress did declare
and begin the war
Again, the gentleman from Virginia says:
The gentleman had stood shoulder shoulder with the
wings, In declaring that il (the war; begun by
Mexico and yet, five minutes after giving that vote he
had voted the supply bill with the preamble in its 'front.'
thereby direct COntradic OF his
speech. Now, when gentleman OF this sort charged in
the wings it would perhaps be well he
should look first al his own"
Mr. R. said that if he had been guilty of Inconsistency
he shared il with the whole whg party in the last Con-
xress, with but very few exceptions But, in truth,
there was inconsistency at all. Everybody knows
that preamble no part of law He had voted against
an incorrect preamble and when he voted for the law
he voted for all in it that constituted the law, which did
cerned the preamble nothing but little backing
on paper He should always deem 1t his duty to vote
for any law he approved of in spite OF any preambles
Objection by Mr.. T. B. KING, and Mr. ROCKWELL,
to the range OF explanation by the gentleman from South
Carolina before he had proceeded far this his re-
marks and points of order against his continuing them,
had been stated and successvey overrued by the deci
sion of the Chair that the gentleman was in order; but
here
Mr.. c. B. SMITH submitted point in writing against
the continuance of the remarks by the gentleman from
South Carolina, which were read by the Clerk. to the |
effect that the gentleman from South Carolina who by
unanimous consent, had been allowed to make personal
explanation, has right to speak upon matter not per-
sonar TO himself and that it abuse OF privilege
ana the courtesy Of the House, ior him to proceed IN
swe1 70 the Arguments Of the gentleman from Virginia.