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


The most noticeable proceeding of the Sen.
ate, on the 18th, was the ratification of the nom.
ina.ion of Mr.. Clifford, of Maine, as the sue.
cessOr of Judge Curtis on the Supreme Bench.
The ordeal to which he was subjected was q
severe one The Opposition alleged incompe.
tency, and several supporters of the Admins.
tration, 1t is said, admitted this so far, that
they were willing TO see the nomination defeat.
ed, although reluctant to assume a direct re-.
sponsibity In the matter. 1t is further said.
that had Mr.. Allen, of Rhode Island. con.
! sented to vote against it, the measure would
have been defeated. As it is, the assent of thu
Senate 1t is supposed, must be regarded as an
act of Difference to the President, rather than
an evidence of the fitness of Mr.. Clifford for
the Bench.
Ia the House, so much OF the Walker CORES.
pondence as relates to the action of Comma
dore Paulding was referred to The Committee
on Naval Affairs. A message from the Presi-
dent communicated letter from the State De-.
partment, stating that no complaint had been
received from Nicaragua of any trespass upon
her rights.
The Walker correspondence and the Neu.
trailty Laws we're the principal topic, of discus.
sion IN the House, and, as usual, the President
was left almost unsupported by his party.
Mr.. Kellogg, of Illinois, justified the coud act
OF Commodore Paulding, ard thought, If auv
error had been committed, it had been commit.
ted by the President, in failing TO sustain him
The President had mistaken his Commodore
and the Commodore his President. Mr.. Hsskin.
OF New York, attempted to explain wha. he
said about grand larceny; he used the tern,
only in fgura.ive sense. Larceny vas The
stealing OF personal property; a crime defined
and punished by the statute laws; and could
not therefore, apply to the conquest of Cuba or
Central America"
We 90 not see how this explanation relieves
Mr.. Hsskin. To make war upoa sna;n o.
Central America, merely for The nurnosa of
possessing ourselves of Cube. or Nicaragua ia
the act CT highwaymap, who knocks you down
Tor the sake OF your purse, or the act of pirate,
who seizes year vessel, for the sake of plumber.
ing the cargo.
Mr.. Thompson, of New York, said:
There appeared to be three parties or schools
IN the House and in the country. First the
national flibusters who go for theft on GRAND
scale, whose doctrines srring from the Ostend
manifesto. lie supposed the President had
qugveu fire rn''ffu y v,,r,,- t,.. b., "a
those who saw nothing wrong either in private
or public maraudirg, if the victim be foreign.
and the plumber land. The third school looked
TO the silent and serene progress of humane
and Christian civilization for the propagation
of American ideas. They had discovered the
great truth, that justice and good faith only
can build up lasting dominion, and give per
maneDce to empire. So far from abolishino
the neutrality laws, he would uphold and vindi-
cate them in every letter and line. He vonld
play no farces by keeping the letter while viola.
ting the spirit of the law, and would honor in
stead OF reprimanding the brave officer who
crushed cut sin, without treating very politely
the sinner. The neutrality laws were not in
the way Of i:s,, peaceful, and permanent civ.
llizatlon, but preventive OF rapine and piracy"
Wednesday, January Is, 1858.
SENATE.
joint resolution was intro, uced no Mr.
Doolitte, of Wisconsin, autt. orizipp the nre.
sentation of gold med...il to Commodore III.
ram Pauldipg, in t.sen of the approval by
congress OF h's recent conduct in the arrest of
Gen: William Walker. Mr.. Brown, of Missis-
slppi, gave notice of his purpose to offer an
a'aeadment expressive of the surprise and dis
appreciation with which Congress has heard of
Commodore Pauldings unauthorized invasion
OF q friendly territory Ill effecting the said ar
rest.
The joint resolution extending and defining
U Of he H. 81
January l6, 1857, "to promote the efficiency
OF the navy was then called up, on a motion
to reconsider the vote by which the Senats az
previous session had adopted an amendment,
offered By Dir. Hunter, providing thai the act
should no. be so construed az TO increase the
number OF officers on the active-service Est "a
now authorized by Law. After debate of
some length, the motion was carried; and the
question recurring Oh the adoption of Mr..
Hunters pFoViso, 1t was lost, and the Joint
resolution passed in its original form, after be.
ing slightly amended, on motion of Mr.. Cola
mer,
Relations Of Pdrties.-Mr. Fitch, of Ind;an.
received the privilege of the floor, for the pur.
poee OF making an explanation which he de-
SGrioed as partly personal and partly political
ne resolutions lately adopted by the Demo
cratic Convention OF Indiana, he argued. were
Meant to be an endorsement of the policy
marked on: by the Administration with refer.
ence to Kansas policy which he. as AN In
diana Senator, had determined TO su-.ea;n. but
which he would not do in oppc1t;on N the
known and declared wishes of his nol;t;cai
trends In that State. The resolution adonted
py mat convention IL Its adjourned session.
ana Whlcn appeared 20 be condemnatory of the
residents Asnass policy, was 80 only because
oi az lnaeearacy in the telegraphic despatch.
ae resolution, after reaffrming and defining
Inc doctrine CT the Kansas Nebraska act, pro-
ceeds to cay, land hereafter no Territory
should be admitted into the Union as a State.
without fair expression of the will of the peo-
pie being first had upon the Constitution, &C.
eompanylns the application for admission"
lnstS-d OF hereafter, the Geographic despatch
had substituted therefore, thus materially az
feetipg the sense; for the Convention, in osinp
The word hereafter, had intended to endorse
specifically the very doctrine OF President Bu-
chanan.
Mr Toombs, of George, thought the xhola
explanation of Mr.. Fitch entirely out of ordsr
IL was disagreeab.e to him to listen to such d.
tails respecting party Convention with whose
proceedings the Senate had no concsrn.
as, Douglas remarked, that he sbould not
have claimed the courtesy of the Senate in the
matter, II he had not been referred to bv Mr.
Fitch IN connection with the resolution. The
verbal insccuracy cited had doubtless arisen in
It's transmission through the telegraph Offices.
where such mistakes were of daily occurrence
! bat the resolution, however, in its corrected
orm, could not be made to sustain the CON.
'tFuction pat upon it by Mr.. Fitch, was cana.
Die, he thought, OF an easy demonstration. A.
=xamination of its language would shov nov,
impossible 1t was to reconcile such an internrs-
atom with the former clause of the resolution
n which the Democracy of Indian. daois-s