The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-08-25

| Bonham of South Carolina, amply SttDtctenfi
and the chairman of that committee moved 80
amend the Senate's amendment, so as to redrSe
the appropriation from 100000 to $50, OOe,
The House Military Committee consistedzof
the following persons
Messrs. Faulkner of Virginia,
Savage of Tennessee,
Bonham of South Carolina,
Stanton of Ohio,
Curtis of Iowa,
Buf6nton of Massachusetts,
McRae of Mississippi,
Marshall of Kentucky,
Pendleton of Ohio.
When the vote was finally taken upon con-
curing I'm the Senate amendment, Messrs.
Faulkner, Savage, and Bonham, voted against
it, Messrs. Stanton, Curtis, and Bufinton, voted
for it, and Messrs. McRae, Marshall, and Peg
dleton, were absent, or at any rate, did not voos
The House being in Committee Ofthe Whole,
March l, upon the army appropriation bill, this
amendment came under consideration, when
the following proceedings took place, as reported
in the Globe:
"Mr FAULKNER. will state that this subject
was under consideration in the Committee on
Military Affairs, and they have authorized
me to prepare bill appropriating 10000 for
the construction of this road from Fort Ben
ton TO Walla-Wala. l move to amend the
amendment of the Senate, by striking out
100000, and inserting $4,000 in lieu
thereof.
"The amendment to the amendment was
disagreed to.
Mr.. BoNHAM. would say to the committee
that $4,000 is all that was originally asked
for this work and the Committee on Military
Affairs were of opinion that that amoult
would be amply sufficient. And, under the
{ he. L do MT
think that more ought to be appropriated.
Mr.. Grow Everybody knows that $4,000
will not build this road.
Mr.. GARNETT. 1t is well known that this is a
mere pretext for commercial road; and
ask for a division on the amendment.
"Tellers were ordered.
" The Committee divided, and the telers re,
ported-ayes 10, noes A.
So the amendment was concurred in"
This was a very decisive vote, nearly two to
one, but the opposition was SO far determined
and Incorporating, that on the next day the
yeas and nays were taken in the House upon
the amendment, and with the following result
YEAs-Messrs. Abbott, Adrain, Ali, Ander-
son, Andrews Arnold, Barr, Bennett, Billing
hurst, Blair, Bliss, Bowie, Brayton, Bufinton,
Burlingame, Cavanaugh, Chaffee, Chapman,
Ezra Clark, John b. Clark, Clawson, Clay,
Clark B. Cochrane, Colfax, Comins, Covode,
James Craig, Curtis, Davis of Maryland, Davis
of Massachusetts, Dawes, Dean, Dick, Dodd,
Durfee, Edie, Elliott, English, Eustis, Farms.
worth, Fenton, Florence, Foley, Foster, Gilman,
| Gooch, Goodwin, Granger, Greenwood, Gregg,
! Groesbeck, Grover, Grow, Robert b. Hall;
Harlan, Harris, Hatch, Hawkins, Hickman,
Hoard, Hodges, Horton, Howard, Hughes
| Huyler, Owen Jones, Keim, Kellogg, Kelsey.
Knapp, Landy Lawrence, Leach, Leidy, Love,
! Joy, McKibbin, Matteson, Montgomery, Nor
gan Morrill,, Edward Joy Morris, Freeman Fl,
Morse, Oliver A. Morse, Mott, Murray, Niblack,
Nichols, DIN, Palmer, Petit, William w.
Phelps, Phillips, Pike, Potter, Pottle, PuryH
ance, Ready, Reagan, Reilly, Richie, Robbins,
Royce, Scott, John Sherman, Robert Smith,
Spinner, Stanton, James A. Stewart William
Stewart, Tappan, George Taylor, Thayer,
Thompson, Wade, Walbridge, Waldron, Wal,
ton, Cadwalader c. Washburn, Elihu B. Wash
burne, Israel Washburn, Woodson, and Wor-
| tendyke-I23.
NAYS - Messrs. Avery, Bocock, Bonham;
Boyce, Branch, Caskie, Cobb, Cockerill, Burton
Craige, Crawford, Davis of Indiana, Davis OF
| Iowa, Dowdel Edmundson, Faulkner, Gar
nett, Gartrell, Lawrence W. Hall, Hopkins,
Houston, Jackson, George w. Jones, Jacob NJ.
kunke, John c. Kunkel, Lamar, Letter, Letch-
err Maclay, Mcqueen, Samuel S. Marshall,
Maynard, Miles, Milson, Moore, Isaac N. Nor
ris, Peyton, John S. Phelps, Powell, Ricaud,
Ruhin, Russell, Savage, Scales, Seward, Aaron
Shaw, Henry NJ. Shaw, Singleton, Samuel A.
Smith, William Smith, Stevenson, Talbot, Miles
Taylor, Tompkins, Underwood, Vallandigham,
Vance, Watkins, Winslow. Augustus &.
Wright John V. Wright, and Zollicofer-6l.
The entire Republican vote, with four excep-
tons, was given in favor of the amendment,
although the effect of it was to give to the Ad-
ministration the control and patronage of con-
siderable expenditure.
The vote upon the amendment, although not
exclusively sectional, is so to a degree, which
renders it certain that sectional views had a
preponderating influence over it.
OF the sixty-three members from the slave
States present and voting, forty-eight are re-
corded in the negative, and only fifteen in the
| affirmative, and of these fifteen, FIVE, or one
| third, were from Missouri, and the representa-
tives from that State could hardly refuse their
| support to proposition to connect the head OF
| navigation on the Missouri river with the head
Of navigation on the Columbia river. Outside
| of Missouri, only ten representatives from me
slave States sustained the Senate amendment
and of these ten, only three belong to the Dem
ocratic party. And of the fre-eating and dis
union cabal which controls that party, not g
| single one sustained the Senate amendment.
Of the one hundred and twenty-one members
from the free States present and voting, one
hundred and eight are recorded in the affirma
tive, and only thirteen in the negative.
| The explanation of the sectional east of the
vote, so Enthusiastically marked, is found in the
| apprehension expressed by Mr.. Garnett of Vir
! gina, that commercial road was the thing
aimed at. AT any rate, he and others perceived
that commercial road would be the thing
accomplished, whether the military reasons
upon which it was put, were 'preterts," or not
Aside from this special consideration, all the
general considerations applicable to the ques
ton, addressed themselves with equal force tc
both sides Of the House. If the road was need
ed for the expeditions and economical move
ment of troops to the Pacific, that was a rea
son for 1t, as interesting to one section of the
country, as to the other. If the condition of the
treasury dictated postponement of the requi
site outlay, that was a dissuasive, likely to be-
at least as eogent with the North as with the
South. 1t is only when we come to the aspect
OF the road, as commercial road" that the
peculiar hostility Of the representatives from
the slave States is explained
The Missouri river offers an uninterruptec
and good steamboat navigation for twenty-iv,
hundred miles to the Falls, and from Fort Ben
ton, near the Falls, practicable and easy lane
route of FIVE hundred miles, across a countr,
susceptible of settlement everywhere, and muci
of it country likely to attract population, con
ducts to Walla- Walla on the Columbia, an,
from WalaWalla, emigration may spread il
self, without impeachment, over the vast and in
viting regions of Oregon and Washington
This may be said to be the natural line of emf
grafton to the Pacific, indicated upon the ma
by the interlocking of the head streams of tn
Missouri and Columbia. 1t is the line whic
Mr.. Jefferson, more than half century age
|, | and amono his fret aotc tou,ords rod,o;nc, a.