The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-07-26
CON EssioNAL
IN SENATc. Trv.,pAr. Julv d. lao

PeutonS from benclH, IN california, III favor 81
making that iowa port of entry, were presented
! by Mr.. SouLE and Mr.. HAMLN, and referred to
to the Committee on Commerce.
\ On motion of Mr.. CASS, the Senate resumed
the consideration of the following resolution, Of
fered by him some time ago
''RssolUsd, That the Committee on Military AZ
fairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency
\ of prohibiting, by law, any officer of the Army
from assuming or exercising, within the limits OF
1 the u. 5. Army, civil power or authority, not
conferred by act Of Congress, and providing ade-
quate punishment for such offence"
Mr. HOUSTON replied to the speech of Mr..
PEARcE, delivered on last Saturday. He thought
it was hardly fair for the Senator from Maryland
| [Mr. PEARoEl to comment upon speech, which
had not yet been published, and which he [Mr.
HoUsroNl did not design to publish. But as the
Senator called his assertions in question, he felt
bound to reply, in order to prove his positions.
Mr.. DAVIS, Of Mississippi, asked for the proof
Of the Senators positions.
Mr. HOUSTON said he would produce the
testimony.
Mr. DAVIS, of MISSISSIPPI said if there was
any testimony, he would bring it out.
Mr. HOUSTON resumed. He explained the
conduct efthe Texans who had been complained
of by Gen. Taylor.
! The hour of IL, having arrived,
| Mr. CLAY asked the Senator from Texas to
yield for the purpose Of taking up the Adjustment
Bill. W
Mr.. HOUSTON yielded the floor, as he said,
with great reluctance R3 Es%5f
Mr.. CLAY expressed the hope that a vote
would be taken on the Adjustment Bill to-day.
The further consideration of the resolution was
then postponed till tomorrow.
The Senate then resumed the consideration of
the Adjustment Bill. s 6
The state of the question was this, Mr.. BRAD
BURY had offered the following amendment.
Strike out all after the enacting clause in sec
ton 80 to line 40, and insert in lieu thereof as
follows
60 That the President Of the United States be,
and he hereby is authorized, by and with the adj
vice and consent of the Senate, to appoint three
commissioners, who shall have power to agree
with such commissioners as may be appointed
under the legislative authority Of the State of
Texas, upon line of boundary between the ter
ritory Of the United States and the said State Of
Texas, commencing at the point where the Red
river is intersected by the hundredth degree of
west longitude, being the southwest angle of the
Rio Grande, to be agreed upon by the said COM
missioners; and also to agree upon the terms, con-
ditons and considerations upon which such line
shall be established; and the proceedings and
agreements of the said commissioners shall be,
as soon as possible, transmitted to the President
of the United States, to be by HIM submitted
to Congress for its action thereupon; and the said
agreement, when approved by the Congress of
the United States, and the Legislature Of the State
of Texas, shall be obligatory upon the parties. ("
Mr.. HALE moved to amend the amendment,
by adding at the end of it the following:
"And the rights both Of the United States and
Texas to the territory in dispute shall remain the
same they were at the date Of the exchange of
the Publications Of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidal-
go, and neither party shall be prejudiced by any
thing which has subsequently occurred, nor shall
either party take any further steps to reduce those
rights TO possession until said commissioners shall
have been appointed and performed the duties de-
volved upon them by this act, and Congress or
Texas shall have acted definitely thereon
Mr.. HALE, at the request of Mr. Benton,
briefly explained the effect Of his amendment. 1t
would be simply to leave the rights Of both parties
they stood at the date of the ratification Of the
treaty.
The amendment of Mr. HALE was then rejected
by the following vote:
YEAs.-Messrs. Badger, Baldwin, Benton Ber-
rien, Bradbury, Clarke, Cooper, Davis, Of Massa-
chusetts, Dodge, Of Wisconsin, Green, Hale,
Hamlin, Miller, Norris, Pearce, Seward, Shields,
Spruance, Underwood, Upham, Wales, and
Walker-22.
NAYs.-Messrs. Atchison, Barnwell, Bright,
Butler, Cass, Clay, Davis, of Mississippi, Daw
son, Dayton, Dickinson, Dodge, of Iowa, Doug
las, Downs, Fetch, Foote, Houston, Hunter,
Jones, King, Mangum, Mason, Morton, Phelps,
Pratt, Rusk, Sebastian, Soue, Sturgeon, Turney,
Whitcomb and Yulee-3l.
Mr.. BENTON, offered the following amendment
to the amendment, to come in at the end Of it:
Provided, That in agreeing upon said boundary
line, between the territory of the United States
and the said State of Texas, the said commits
sioners shall agree upon no line which does not
exclude every portion of New Mexico, either
lying on the east, or the west side Of the Rio
Grande from Texas, and which they do not be-
lieve to be the true and legitimate boundary be-
tween n ew Mexico and Texas.
He supported his amendment as right and pro-
per. 1t struck him as very strange, that the
word "New Mexico, did not occur in the amend
ment of the Senator from Maine, (Mr. BRAD
BuRY.) He thought his amendment would pro-
tect the rights secured to the people of New
Mexico, by the treaty of Hidalgo.
Mr. RUSK, briefly replied in maintenance of
the rights of Texas. He referred to the treaty Of
Hidalgo, and showed by the map accompanying
it, that Texas extended to the east bank of the
Rio Grande.
Mr.. BALDWIN, supported the amendment
He thought it absolutely necessary He went
into the whole subject of the respective rights of
Texas and New Mexico, and contended that
Texas had no right to the territory into dispute.
MIR. DAWSON thought the Senator from Mis-
souri, had no right to complain that New Mexico
was not mentioned in the amendment, for the Hon
Senator himself had said in his speech of June 10,
that the quarrel in relation to the boundary of
Texas was not quarrel between New Mexico
and Texas, but between Texas and the United
States. He read from Mr.. BENroN's speech to
show that he had used such language.
After further debate between Messrs. BENTON,
BRADBURY, HALE, DOUGLAS, and DAVIS, of Miss.
Mr.. CLARKE moved an adjournment
Mr.. CLAY called for the yeas and nays; which
was ordered.