The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-01-19
CONGRESS-.
THrRTY-THIRD coNGRrss-FIRsr SESSION
Senate, January -, 1854.

TH1RTY-THIRD coNGREss-FIRsT SESSION.
Senate, January -, 1854.
The Chair laid before the Senate commu-
nlcati0n from the Secretary of War transmit
ting the report of the officers appointed to Sc
lect site for military asylum at the West.
Referred
MIR. Butler said that no quorum of the Judi
GARY Committee was in attendance With a
view of enabling that committee to proceed
with its business, he moved that an additional
member be appointed to act until the regular
members shall have arrived; and the motion
was agreed to.
MIR. Cooper presented the memorial Of the
Accessory Transit Company signed by its
President Charles X. Morgan praying the
passage OF an act which will authorize the
steamers belonging to that company to obtain
American registers; the steamers were owned
principally by citizens Of Now York. though
the company was chartered by the State Of Mic
arsgua and under the construction of the
revenue laws of the United States, the compa-
ny are obliged to obtain registers for their
steamers from Nicaragua, and cannot sail
them under the American flag without the in
terventiOn of trustees. Referred to the Com
mittee on Commerce.
Mr.. Weller gave notice Of bill to establish
q semi monthly mail between the Atlantic and
Pacific, by way Of Nicaragua.
Mr. Chase. | ask leave to present the me-
mortal of Edward A. Stansbury and others, of
the city of New York praying for the prohi-
bition of Slavery in the Territories, and wher-
al power to do SO.
recognise among the signatures of this pc
tition the names of not few among the prom
inent business men of New York | observe,
Also the name Of John Jay, q worthy grandson
of the first Chief Justice of the United States,
and tina. of John p Hale, recently one of our
associates in this chamber. The character of
the memorialists, and in my Judgment, also
the objects which they seek, commend this me-
mortal to our favorable consideration. | am
aware, however, that the Committee on Terri
tories, to which memorials Of this description
would perhaps be most appropriately referred,
is opposed to the passage of these memorials. |
shall therefore move that the petition be re-
ceived, and, for the present, laid on the table.
| | give notice, however, that | shall, hereafter
submit motion that this memorial, and others
on the same and similar subjects, &c taken up
and referred to a select committee.
MIR. Mallory introduced bill to repeal the
discriminating duties on Spanish vessels.
On motion of Mr. Adams, the Committee on
! Retrenchment was authorized to employ clerk
And on motion of Mr.. Gwin, the Select Com
nittee on the Pacific Railroad was allowed to
employ clerk.
Mr. Fish reported bill for the relief of the
captors of the frigate Philadelphia.
! On motion Of Mr.. Badger, it was ordered
that when the Senate adjourn, it adjourn till
Monday
Mr.. Badger submitted resolution, chang
ing the 18Th rule, regulating the admissions to
the floor Of the Senate Laid over.
The Senate then resumed the consideration
| Of the Message OF the President, transmitting
certain correspondence relating to the Clay
ton Bulwer treaty.
/ Mr.. Clayton then addressed the Senate in
reply to the speech made yesterday by Mr..
CaSs. He said that he was surprised, after lis
tenlng to more than one half of the Senator
speech, to hear him arrive at the same conclu-
sion on the whole subject, that he Mr.. Clay
ton had long since expressed He read para
| graph from the speech of the Senator to this
effect, and expressed his qualification at being
able cordially to shake hands with the Senator
| on this point and would stand side by side
with him in maintaining the treaty, and in en-
deavoring, if possible, to compel Great Britain
to observe it.
The Senator complained for two hours of
him, and he feared that the Senator would
wind up by declaring the treaty to be alto
gether null and void But they both now saw
that Lord Clarendon desires a new treaty; and
/
not be listened to, bat that the Government
of the United States should insist on England
observing faithfully the treaty. The Senator
chided him for two hours and then said he was
right. Ii reminded him Of an anecdote Of
schoolboy days where boy was fcgged and
scolded for half hour when the master told
him, az You have done right, you dog but you
didn't intend it--you were right only by acct
dent"
The error of the Senator in January Of last
year was in surprising that The Central Amer
lea meant by the treaty, included the British
settlement ut the Bclza commonly called Brit
ish Honduras; that grevious error the Senator
still persisted in.
Mr.. &. contended that the Senator has pro-
duced nothing new to sustain this position, ex,
cept the reliance he seemed to place upon the
ignorance displayed in the recent English des-
patches on this subject. He read note from
| MIR. CHAMPION, in which it was said that the
position assumed in the recent dispatches, that
the Belize formed part Of Central America was
not correct so far as it admitted that Honduras
was a part of the political Central America
He proceeded to show that the maps and at
Eases relied upon as showing Honduras TO be in
Central America, aiso described Mexico, Texas,
and California, as parts of Central America
Such authorities he held to be unworthy to be
used by any statesman. If the Senator in
voting for that treaty, relied On such map for
the description of Central America, he must
have voted to place Texas and California out of
the Union. He said he acted on the definition
of Central America made in the treaty by the
U. States with Central America in 1925 and
the same boundaries then named were defined
by the Clayton Bulwer treaty. With this sin
gle point, he could almost allow the fifteen col
umns Of the Senator's speech, full as they were
of errors to go unanswered. If the Senator
could produce the authority of any American
Secretary Of State to sustain him, he would
abandon the controversy and admit the Sena-
tor to be victor.
He then showed what the British claim was,
and maintained that by his treaty lie had
abandoned nothing.
He examined the quasi or conditional ratf-
cation of the treaty, and his counter declara-
ton, and maintained they did not in any wise
affect OF change the treaty itself He referred
to the precedent of the protocol with the Mex
lean treaty prepared by Messrs. Sewer and
Clifford, which the United States had most cor
rectly maintained that that protocol in no wise
changed the treaty.
He then took up the subject of Mr.. Cass's
interview during last winter with Mr.. King
and bis statements in the Senate of what took
place at that interview, and held that MIR.
Cass had then and now omitted to do ample JUS
tice to either Col. King or himself After dis
posing of this point and without concluding
his speech, he yielded the floor to Mr.. Badger,
on whose motion the Senate adjourned.
House of Representatives., Jan. IL, 1854.
After the presentation of two communications
from the Executive, the House resumed the con-
sideration of the resolution of Mr.. Stanton, of
Ii d. a.