The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-09-21
TILE SOUTHERN PRESS.
speech Of Hon. A. @. BRO VH,
or MISSISSIPPI


On the report of the Select Committee appointed
April 22, 1850, To examine into certain Off
cial acts of Thomas Ewing, late Secretary of
the Interior, and in rep'y to Mr. NINToy OF
Ohio.
Mr.. BROWN said:
Dir. SrEAKER 1t is with extreme reluctance
ila venture at this late period OF a protracted
e ,sion, to address the House. | feel called
! pon, however, by an imperative sense OF duty,
o. make brief response to the speech which
1 honorable gentleman from Ohio Mr. VIM
oJNl has just now concluded, and to that end
gave the indulgence of the House.
Before proceeding to the consideration of the
subjects embraced in the report and resolutions,
,llow me to advert for moment to the manner
g. which that report and the accompanying reso-
laliuns were received in this House
Nuw almost five months since a series Of re-
Solutions were passed by the House Of Reprcsen-
ialiyes directing an inquiry into the official con-
duct of the then Secretary of the Interior,
Thomas Ewing A select committee was APP
pointed and they were charged with the direc-
tom aud prosecution Of these inquiries. They
entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned
them. IL was then spring, the summer has come
aud gone and here in the beginning OF autumn
Your committee have concluded their labors-
They bring their report, and lay it upon your
thai courteous and respectful consideration
" me- lbs been uniformly awarded to all reports
coming from committees OF this House. They
ask that the report may lie upon the table and be
printed and that day may be fixed for its con-
slderaIion. This has been denied. A Judgment
is invoked in advance Of all consideration or re-
tlection without reading without printing be-
torea single member has had an opportunity of
eN;rnning the report, a judgment is asked. On
its first Introduction into the House. the gentle
man from Ohio, himself member Of the commit
1.r, calls upon the House to pass its Judgment.
How well he has succeeded in this, the House
spl the country already know.
Why sir, was the gentleman from Ohio so i'm
paticnt to have this report acted upon or rather
slurred over? Was there any important public
Interest suffering, or likely to suffer by little
delay! No, sir; another and very different in
trr.st was to be protected by smotiiering this
report. The conduct of a distinguished friend,
political and personal, of the gentleman, had been
criticised and justly censured: important and
startling facts had been brought to light. The
existence of these facts was wholly inconsistent
with the idea Of a faithful and proper administra-
ton of the Department of the Interior, and it
was necessary TO give them the go by--to bury
tGcni, it possible among the unpublished and
useless papers which accumulate during a long
session of Congress. The gentleman was iam-
lar with all the facts. He had attended upon the
the committee for more than four months He
ewswhat the report and the papers contained;
and take it upon myself to say, that in oppo.
sing the motion to print, and insisting upon
hriuging the House toa immediate vote on the
resolutions, he took n course which his eXpe-
rienrc assured him could result in nothing less
ban an acquittal, with trial. of Mr.. Ewing.
Mr.. NINTON said he hld insisted upon an
immediate consideration OF the report because
% postpone it would have been equivalent to
1oiug nothing, as it would never again have been
reached.
Mr. BROWN That excuse shall not avail
the gentleman. Ifhe had heen anxious to have
q ttir hearing, why not have asked to- make tn,
subject the SPECIAL order for some subsequen
day! Then it would have certainly come uF
lr considerations No, sir, the gentlemans
knowledge of the facts assured him that j
would not do to risk a fair investigation, anc
hi,t,ctics were employed to hurry on decision
before the House could be informed of thes,
facts. The gentleman knew very well that il
members could be- forced To vote without ;
Know ledge of the facts, they would aqut The
: cretary They would do this on the we'll
k1own ground that all men are presumed to be
ilnoccnt until their guilt is established. His
legal acumen was not severely taxed to discover
that if the facts could be withheld until vote
could be eyacted; the presumption OF innocence
would be strongly in favor of the accused.
Mr.. VINTON said, he had consented to the
printing of the report.
Air. BROWN, l know that | know the
&c ticman made a virtue of necessity, and con.
scented to have the report printed after his
course I'd been assailed by the charm IN of the
committee, Mr.. RICHARDSON. But what was
the geutleman's first movement To oppose
any postponement of the subject, even to allow
tue report to be printed. He succeeded in de-
ti.fig the postponement, and we have been
actually forced into the consideration of the
whole subject, and are now considering it, when
hot a member save those on the committee, has
ever seen the report or knows anything of the
real state of the facts. The gentleman now
makes a merit of conserving to have the report
printed. In the course of some days it will
hrvr been published. In the mean time the
House will be called on to vote. We shall have
the verdict first, and the evidence submitted to
the jury afterwards. This to say the least oft,
will be rather an irregular proceeding.
The gentleman, with the adroitncss of poll
tcian of twenty or more winters, laid this whole
scheme 80 rs to give it the best possible assn
rance of success. 1t is far from my purpose to
charge the gentleman with dishonorable conduct.
But really, sir, there is something about this
transaction which excites my curiosity, and
seems to invite the most rigid scrutiny The
gentleman from Ohio will correct me, If | err in
my rel N,on vf the facts. Ne went TO the chair
man of the committee and obtained the report
of the majority before its delivery to the House
as h. said (and no doubt truly 10 prepare a mi
nority report. II became important To have tn,
report copied, and though the Capitol was full
ufclerks and though the streets were crowded
with persons seeking employment, the gentle
luan could find no one to copy this report bu
Young MIR. Ewing, the son of the ex-Secrctary
whose. conduct had given rise TO and had beer
criticised in the report. The first we hear o
the report, it is in the hinds of Mr. Ewing; mex
Senator Mason, of Virginia, has it; and then
copy is handed roand among the Virginia mem
beers on this floor. All this was before the re
port had been made to the House, and withou
the knowledge of the chairman any membe
of the majority of that committee Now, sir,
to of, 4 IF prncnaIiurr