The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-01-21

punity shown to Capt. Davis would justify such
a conclusion.
After Mr.. z. concluded, there was contest
for the floor between Mr.. Blair, of Missouri,
and Mr.. Stephens. of Georgia pending which,
the Committee rose, and the House adjourned.
Thursday, January IA, 1853.
SENATE
Mr.. Houston gave notice that he would intro
duce bill to admit Kansas into the Union as
State.
Commodore Paulding joint resolution
introduced by Mr.. Doolittle yesterday, author
izing medal to be presented 10 Commodore
Paulding, was read second time; when
Mr.. Slidell suggested that, as the Senator
from Mississippi, Mr.. Brown, who desired to
offer an amendment, was not in his seat, the
consideration of the resolution had better be
postponed to some fixed day.
Mr.. Doolittle said he was about to make the
same suggestion, when he was anticipated by
tional reason that there were Senators who
might wish to be heard on the subject. He
would therefore move to postpone the further
consideration of the subject until Wednesday
next, and make it the special order for that day
at one O'Clock; which motion was agreed to.
Sldpes Taken During the War of 1872
The Senate then took up the bill for the relief
of William K. Jennings and others.
This bill proposes to pay from the Treasury,
out of the fund heretofore received from Great
Britain, under the first article of the treaty of
Client, for slaves taken and carried away by the
forces of Great Britain, during the war of 1872,
according to the following rate I: To William K.
Jennings and his wife. SLIGO; to Henry A.
Wise, $3.50; to Ann Robinson, $3.50; to E.
Rudd, fer six slaves, $l,680; to Robert Lind
Gays representative, 1890. The whole balance
left in the Treasury under this fund is 81, III |;
80 that there will still be left, after paying the
parties above named in the bill, the sum of
1862
The bill and report having been read
Mr.. Hale rose to ask the yeas and nays, in
order that he might record his vote against the
bill, as he never would lend his sanction to any
measure that recognised the right of property
ia man.
Mr.. Hamlin saw, from the reading, that the
bill based the claim on the first article of the
treaty of Client. Some of these slaves, it ap
pears, had run away and gone on board a Brit
sh vessel, and there might be very broad dis
tinction drawn between the cases of slaves taken
and carried away by force, and those who vol
UNFAIRLY sought the protection of the British
vessels. AS this fund had been given to pay
for those forcibly taken away, might they not
be charged with misappropriating the fund
Mr.. Doolittle thought the bill had better be
postponed until the matter could be further
looked into.
Mr.. Mason defended the report under the
treaty, extracts from which he read.
Ar. n he
Mr.. Pugh went into an elaborate argument
to justify the claim under the first article of the
treaty of Client. s
The question having been taken on ordering
the bill to be engrossed, it was agreed to by the
following vote:
Yeas-Messrs. Allen, Bell, Biggs, Broderick,
Brown, Clay, Crittenden, Davis, Doolittle,
Douglas, Evans, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Green,
Gwin, Hammond, Houston, Hunter. 1verson,
Johnson of Arkansas, johnson of Tennessee,
Kennedy, Mallory, Mason, Pearce, Polk, Sebas-
tian, Sidell, Stuart, Toombs, Wright, and Yu-
lee-32.
Nays-Messrs. Cameron, Chandler, Clark,
Colamer, Dixon, Durkee, Fessenden, Foster,
Hale, Hamlin, King, Seward, Trumbull, Wade,
and Wilson-l5.
Executive Session.-On motion by Mr.. NAL
lory, the Senate proceeded to the consideration
And, after session to very late hour, the
Senate adjourned to Monday.
HOUSE.
The Neutrality Laws. - The House then
went into the Committee of the Whole, (Mr.
Phelps, of Missouri, in the chair, and resumed
the consideration of the resolutions referring
the Presidents message to committees.
Mr.. Stephens, of Georgia, wished to say, in
tlopn tn IN,
should not stand upon or exclude him from his
ground as an advocate of law and order. They
sAHnN uetehoeTt or our treaty obligations and
| our duties under international law. That was
the ground he stood upon. He was an advo-
| cate of law and order, of cons Institutional law and
| international law, and was not in favor of ma
| tons or individuals breaking faith. So far as
the law of 1918 declares or sets forth the law
| OF nations, he would not erase q word or mod.
| ify syllable of it; but if any part of that law
exceeded the requirements of the law of ma
tons, be was in favor of modifying it; and if
| any part OF it admitted of doubt as to its con.
struction, he was for removing that doubt The
eighth section of the act of 1918 was of doa btful
| construction, as was shown by the debate upon
II; and therefore he was for making it clear
| and distinct
Mr.. Stephens then examined the eighth sec.
dls
| ing to its phraseology, it gave the President no
| authority whatever to use the army and navy.
and such authority could only be inferred from
| it.
Mr.. Blair, of Missouri, said be proposed at
| the proper time to offer resolution, to raise
committee to inquire into the expediency of
acquiring territory, by purchase or otherwise,
| in Central America or South America, for the
purpose of colonizing the free blacks of this
country, and those that might hereafter acquire
their freedom the territory to be held az de.
tendency of this Government, with guarantees
to the inhabitants for all their personal and DO
liucal rights. 1t was this proposition that he
proposed to discuss. The subject of Slavery
was universally known to be at the bottom of
the whole movement in regard to Central
America. There was party in the country
aiming to extend Slavery, by planting the in
shtutlon by force on the territories of our
neighbors, and then annexing them to the
Union; or, in case of failure to annex, to form
great Southern slavehoding Republic He
was opposed to every part of this scheme, and
IN favor OF putting it out of the power of any
body to extend Slavery anywhere on this cont.
nent
This proposition TO colonize the free blacks
was not new one, but was founded On the
| recommendation of Thomas Jefferson. who said
that in time such q plan must be adopted, or
worse would follow, and indicated his scheme
by the two words emancipation" and "de.
portation." The time had ripened for Mr.. JEFF
| terson's plan. By it the country could relieve
itself of a burdensome population, and confer
upon that population comforts which they could
not obtain in this country. They could rein.
vigorate the population of the southern repub.
lies. open to commerce those tropical regions,
which contain more productive soil than all the
balance of the continent, and put stop to the